From Christianity in the Arts (thanks, Desiring God),
Repeatedly in the history of the Church, Christians have been tempted to devalue the richness of creation and therefore to devalue also the arts, as if it would be somehow more "spiritual" to live a life devoid of beauty, of good things, of music, of literature, of painting, of color, etc. It is as if bare simplicity, barrenness, and even ugliness were somehow considered to be more pleasing to God. Behind this idea is the conviction that it is only what is "spiritual" that matters, and that the physical, therefore, is only of secondary value at best. In this view, the arts are thought of as an optional, rather extravagant, and unnecessary extra in life. But this belief is nonsense, and is, according to Paul, a heresy of the most serious kind, for in the end it is a denial of the goodness of creation.
I would say, based on what I'm learning right now, that this includes not only the arts, but capitalistic pursuits. There have always been those in the Church who have been "fond of sordid gain" and have devoted themselves to pursuing money out of a great love for it. We must keep our lives free from the love of money and this requires hard work.But corresponding to the above quote, there is an opinion lurking in many that poverty, making enough to "get by," and making sure I don't make too much are somehow more pleasing to God.Paul in Philippians 2:4,
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Paul also in Ephesians 4:28,
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
I'm coming to realize that making "just enough" money for yourself and/or your family is often a guise for selfishness and is little or no better than making lots of money and hoarding it. We think that because "I'm not making as much money as that guy who owns that SUV and a boat and a bigger house" that this somehow makes us more spiritual, content, and loving than he is. The amount of money you make is no necessary barometer of your spiritual state.
What you do with the money you have is. How you think about the process of making money and meeting other people's needs is. How much time you spend on yourself and your own private pursuits, be they solitaire or snowboarding, is.
There's more to life than merely meeting your own needs. You've got to get outside of yourself and give to others. And here's something I'm coming to see for Americans: it's okay to dream up and pursue just capitalistic schemes that result in large amounts of profit.
It's what you do with the profit that matters. Are you rich toward yourself and not rich towards God and other people?
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