"... it appears to me, that a soul which, though not in a state of mortal sin, is worldly and preoccupied with earthly riches, honours and affairs. Even if the soul sincerely wishes to enjoy the beauties of the castle (here lives the king, i.e., God), it is prevented by these distractions", says St Teresa of Avila in her book The Interior Castle. This is her way of illustrating what Jesus spells out: "You cannot be the slave both of God and money." (Lk. 16:13).

A person's attitude to money should not be such that it controls him, his beliefs, or his actions. Jesus repeatedly describes money as "tainted" (vv. 9 & 11). It is not tainted in itself but in the way it is used and regarded. The comforts and gratifications of money can become an exaggerated and sullied love that can only lead to damnation. Thomas a Kempis comments in this connection that "nothing so mars and defiles the heart of man as an impure attachment to created things - the attachment being what money stands for. To be trusted with money is to deal with it in holy indifference, which produces in a person the kind of spiritual poverty loved by God.

This spiritual poverty, this total dependence on God's goodness, is what Paul speaks of to the Romans when he proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ, "a mystery kept secret." (v.26).