A Portuguese novel written around the XVIth century tells the story of a Portuguese man who went to new India, to make money. A few years later he went back to Portugal with several ships loaded with riches. When he arrived to the port city, he decided to test his family members and friends. He left his riches there, he dressed as a poor man and visited his relatives and friends asking for help.
He visited his cousin and said: “look here I am, after a few years looking for wealth, I came back with my hands empty. I have no place to stay. May I live with you?” His cousin answered: “sorry, I have no room for you.” One after the other his relatives and friends rejected him.
Once he had visited all his acquaintances and they had closed the doors of their houses to him, he went back to where he left his riches, he dressed as a wealthy man, he bought a mansion and began enjoying his new life. Soon after that, his relatives and friends realized that he had tested them and said: “how foolish we were, we missed a good opportunity.”
This is what happens when we are attached to material things; we miss the opportunity to obtain the real treasure. The real treasure is not any earthly thing, but rather heaven. To reach heaven we need to detach ourselves from material things. Material things like money, talents, good actions, etc. should be used to help bring us to God instead of being used to boost our pride or to have a comfortable life here.
There is another important obstacle that comes when we are attached to material things: mistrusting. Attachment usually goes together with trust, meaning that the person who is attached to earthly things will trust in them rather than trusting in God. That person thinks that his talents, good actions, money, etc. will save him. However, we cannot be saved by any creature. No created thing has the capacity to make us reach heaven; only God can do that.
