putting stuff in its place

Today St Leo the Great tells us about the proper place for earthly things in A Year with the Church Fathers.

He tells us not to despise the world and its wonders... God made them, after all. And He called them good. But neither should we hold them too highly... we shouldn't give them too much esteem. Because the kingdom of God is eternal, and is made up of what is NOT seen, while what we see all around us is temporary.

This includes such things as wealth, power, and honor, I would add. These things are not bad in themselves. Wealth allows us to help the poor. Power enables us to enact good change in the world. And honor is what naturally comes when we remain humble... remember Jesus's teaching about taking the lowest place at the table, and how results in being raised to a higher place.

As long as we are seeking Him and His kingdom first, then everything else falls into its good and rightful place. We just have to remember not to seek those things as ends in themselves... that's when we get into trouble.

God, please help us keep our eyes focused on You... so we'll know what to do with the stuff all around us.