18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: August 2/3 2025

The Vicious Cycle by Subham Garg

Once upon a time there was a beggar.  A dirt-poor beggar with no money for food, shelter, or decent clothes.  He roamed the streets begging for food, shelter, and work.  Often times he slept on pavements and park benches in the cold.

On yet another insignificant night in a tiny street, he walked by a man pushing a cart who was selling fruits and vegetables. Upon his begging, the man pushing the cart was kind enough to part ways with a few apples for the beggar. Thanking the man, the beggar went on his way.

At that moment, he thought, “God bless the cart-pusher. I wish I had a cart and some money to buy fruits and vegetables. I would not go to sleep on an empty stomach ever again.” At the same moment, the man with the cart noticed a merchant closing up his shop.  He thought, “I wish I had a shop like that.  My feet hurt and I am barely able to sell anything on this stupid cart slogging away every day.”

The merchant who owned the shop noticed the man who ran the grocery closing the store across the street. He thought, “I wish I had that large grocery.   That way, I could at least make enough to put my 3 kids through school.  I have no idea how I will pay my bills next month, much less save for their education.  My business is so slow because I can’t compete with the prices of that grocery.”

The man who ran the grocery looked up, and across the street in a fancy apartment - he saw the owner of his grocery building.  He thought, “I wish I had enough money to buy this building for myself.  That way, I would not have to pay the hefty rent every month to him. The business is slow and I cannot compete with the larger supermarkets that offer free delivery.  I don’t know if I can keep paying the rent and still make a profit.”

The owner of the grocery building looked down on the street and saw the beggar.  He thought, “That beggar has a better life that I do.  He begs for food, fills his belly, and goes to sleep unencumbered every night. He owns nothing so he has no fear of losing anything.  Sure, he may go hungry a few nights, but at least he does not have the mental burden of losing everything he owns in a calamity. . .”

So this story is meant to convey the darkness of the vicious cycle that all of us are, in one way or another, a part of.  Never being satisfied and always wanting more.

Never being satisfied and always wanting more.  Let’s call it the modern day “bigger barn syndrome” suffered by the man in the Gospel, and perhaps many of us, that is us in the United States.

Case in point:  in the United States there are between 50 and 52,000 bigger barns, they are called storage facilities, amounting to more than 23 million individual storage units available in the U.S.  One for every 14 Americans, amounting to a $20 billion, with a B, spent on storage a year.

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions." Or as St. Paul put it: “If you were raised with Christ, as we all were in Baptism, then seek what is above, not what is on earth.”

“You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you, and the things you have prepared,  to whom will they belong?  Thus will it be for all those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”  And what are those things that matter to God? Mercy, kindness, compassion, generosity, acknowledging and serving the least of our sisters and brothers, are but a few. All of us are, in one way or another, a part of the vicious cycle of never being satisfied, and always wanting more.

A cycle that we can escape by practicing two things:  contentment and gratitude. Contentment is the exact opposite of wanting a bigger barn.  Contentment is a state of being happy and satisfied with one’s current situation, regardless of external circumstances or desires for more. It’s a feeling of acceptance and appreciation for what one has, rather than constantly seeking more or striving for perfection. Key attributes include satisfaction, lack of envy, humility, and a focus on personal growth rather than external validation. Contentment fosters a sense of inner peace, reduces stress, and promotes positive relationships and mental well-being. Gratitude is simply acknowledging how blessed one is - and being thankful for what one has - rather than being disappointed in what one doesn’t have.

Contentment and gratitude can break the bigger barn syndrome, perhaps that’s why Jesus taught us last week only to pray for our daily bread, as tomorrow will take care of itself if we strive to become rich in what matters to God.