Is Money the Root of All Evil?
When I say “Wall Street”, what comes to mind?
I’d bet it’s a Leonardo DiCaprio ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ type character. White guy, rolling in cash, throwing money at women, drugs and every luxury imaginable, and he’ll climb on top of anyone to keep what he has.
Is seeking to acquire money evil?
When they say “money is the root of all evil” this is what comes to mind.
We live in a capitalist society, and the very definition of capitalism is “an economic system controlled by private owners for profit”. Ie - our economy is controlled by The Man so he can make more money.
With this model in mind, it’s easy to connect the lines between money = bad person, no money = good person.
But if you’ve ever said to yourself, “I don’t care about the money”, let me ask you: why do you spend 8 hours a day working for a paycheck?
Unless you work completely for free, you work 8 hours (or more) a day for a boss or a company, so that you can pay for things in your life. Even if you are self-employed or own your own business, the money you receive from that employment supports your life. Even without a boss, you’re tied to your source of money. Money matters.
I’m not criticizing people that work for money - I’m one of them - but have you ever thought about how you would spend your time if you didn’t work for money?
Perhaps you would get more involved in your community, spend time caring for your loved ones, or traveling and learning about other cultures. Money provides you the opportunity to do those things.
If you had a child with a chronic illness, would you want to spend your whole day working, or caring for your child? Without money, you have no choice. But if you had enough money, you could spend all your time caring for your sick child; is that selfish?
The fact of the matter is, you can afford to be more generous with both your time and money when you have more of it. I heard one time that George Clooney tipped a barista $100 for a cup of coffee. I’ve never tipped that much for a cup of coffee. Sure, George Clooney is also a millionaire with houses all over the world, but that’s exactly why he can be so generous with his money, when I can not. He has more of it.
What do you think society would look like if we could all afford to be this generous? If we all had enough money to meet our needs?
I would imagine crime rates would plummet, education would rise, health would improve as people could afford to pay for healthier foods and had the time in their day to exercise.
If we lived in a world where everyone had enough money to meet their needs, I believe people would be more generous and kind with one another.
As with all things in life, money is neither good, nor bad. It depends on who controls it. People that are greedy and selfish will use money in greedy and selfish ways. People that are generous and kind will use money in generous and kind ways.
I seek wealth for two reasons. The first is for the security of knowing that I can pay for a roof over my head, food to eat, and medical expenses to keep myself healthy. The second is for the freedom of being able to command my own schedule and being able to travel when I want without the restriction of a 9-5 job. I don’t believe either of these reasons are selfish.
So I invite you to consider - what if money is the root of all good?
Action Items:
Think about how you feel about money. Do you like it? Do you hate it? How do you feel when you get your paycheck every month? Where do you think those feelings come from?
If you didn’t have to work for money, how would you spend your time? Do you think it is selfish to do that?
If we lived in a world where everyone had enough, what would it look like?
Your life may not be perfect, but it is imperfectly yours. The only way to live it is your way.
