Michael Cavanagh, in his book The Effective Minister, talks about different types of “self” that can either enhance or hinder a minister’s effectiveness in ministry—behaviors that can help or hinder the minister in reaching out and touching people in ways that really matter. And one of these hindrances is “the narcissistic self.” This is a quality in which seeking self-enhancement becomes the overriding goal in nearly all situations. Ministers self-aggrandize by wearing their virtues and successes on their sleeves to receive validation and compliments. “I did this, I built this, I am the one who organized that successful meeting,” you name it. They find security and fulfillment in galvanizing people to recognize how much they are performing, but not genuinely. I am sure you have encountered such individuals in your life, if not yourself.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents a parable in which he calls the rich man a fool, and he warns against covetousness (greed). Of course, the rich man or farmer is a fool not because he is wealthy or because he saves for the future, but because he appears to live only for himself and because he believes that he can secure his life with his abundant possessions. This rich man only talks to himself, and the only person he refers to is himself: “What should I do? I will do this. I will pull down. I will say to my soul.” His life is consumed by his possessions, and his only interests are in himself. In all this, it is all about him, with no sign of thinking about sharing his riches with others or considering what God might be requiring of him as a person. He is blind to the fact that his life is not his own to secure, that his life belongs to God, and that God can demand it back at any time. Jesus faults this rich man or farmer not for his industriousness, but rather for his egoism and selfishness. The problem that Jesus is addressing here is greed.
The desire to keep acquiring can leave us blind to other, more important realities; it can impoverish our relationships with other people and with God. Operating from a narcissistic self can easily lead us into self-obsession and self-centeredness, where we feel full of ourselves, start showing off, or usurp attention at the expense of someone else. In a family or even at a place of work, we can blame others for mistakes, take advantage of others to get ahead, or respond to feedback with hostility. Why? Because it is all about me.
Jesus declares in the Gospel that it is the person who is rich in the sight of God who is secure in the ultimate and true sense of that word. We are rich in the sight of God when we set our priority on who God truly is in our lives and on how God is working in and through us to be instruments of love, generosity, and compassion. It is about how our lives can be fundamentally aligned toward God and others. The more open we are as individuals to God in our daily lives, the more likely it is that we will begin to see God all over the place, moving away from focusing on ourselves—not in accomplishments and successes alone, but also in the face of a neighbor. We pray that the same generous spirit that filled the life of Jesus would also fill our lives, so that we would know true and lasting security.