What We Give to God

In his recent book “Four Thousand Weeks” Oliver Burkeman writes, “The true measure of success is not wealth or fame, but how well you use your limited time on Earth.” Further along, he says, “What you pay attention to will define, for you, what reality is.”

In the Gospel, Jesus says to repay “to God what belongs to God.” So the question is, what belongs to God? The answer is… everything, reality, our existence. Sure, part of reality is material stuff like money or property, but these are the things we’re preoccupied with, like the Pharisees who try to entrap Jesus, they’re not the primary concern of God.

The greatest honor or gift we give someone we love is our time and attention. Even the best material gifts we receive aren’t the most expensive, but the most thoughtful, the most attentive to our personhood.

Pope Francis constantly warns about how we use our time and attention. In 2021 he said, “Brothers and sisters, let us ask ourselves: what are we investing our lives in? On things that pass, such as money, success, appearance, and physical well-being? … This world will pass away and only love will remain.”

In the end, the only thing that counts is the love shown to God and to our neighbors, through our time and attention. St. Teresa of Calcutta says it best: “God bends down and uses us, you and me, to be his love and his compassion in the world… He depends on us to love the world and to show how much he loves it. If we are too concerned with ourselves, we will have no time left for others.”