July 28

Corban

Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters. — Mark 7:13 BSB

It’s a good thing to dedicate our possessions to God. But when we do, we must be careful to use them in ways that align with God’s commands. It won’t do to cover up greed or miserliness by pretending that we’ve given our money to God and therefore can’t use it for charitable purposes.

For instance, if someone has elderly parents in need, one of the first ways to use consecrated money is to care for them. A person might claim to be saving money to build an orphanage or a home for the elderly, saying they’ve dedicated their property to this noble cause, but if they allow their own aging parents to suffer in the meantime, their consecration of property is not pleasing to God. Setting aside the fifth commandment to use money for the poor is a mockery in God’s eyes. No amount of service in the Church can make up for neglecting one’s duty to family.

The situation is even worse when, as under some rabbinical traditions, the money or property wasn’t truly given to God at all; the claim of "Corban" was just a pretense to avoid fulfilling family responsibilities. Dedicating money to God always means using that money in ways that serve Him. God doesn’t want money hoarded; He wants it to be used to do good. We often apply the parable of the talents to various aspects of life, but it also applies to money. We should never claim to have given our money to God as an excuse for not giving it away. In fact, giving it away wisely is exactly what God wants us to do with it.