Is Money Evil?
"Money is the root of all evil." How many times have you heard people solemnly intone that bit of wisdom. It's even in the Bible, they'll add if you remain unconvinced.
And there's plenty of evidence to be marshaled in favor of that argument. Certainly many people will attribute their woes to money:
Consider how many marriages founder over money. Disagreements about how the paycheck should be spent soon spiral into blaming and resentment. As the breach develops, each spouse begins to hide purchases from the other, leading to suspicion and spying. Afraid that the other will pillage a joint account, each spouse creates a secret account and squirrels away money "just in case."
Marriages aren't the only relationships that can be torn apart over money. How many wills have become the subject of acrimony when substantial sums were at stake? Family members soon become bitter enemies in the struggle to capture grandma or grandpa's legacy.
As people accumulate money, they often become increasingly materialistic. Work no longer becomes a source of pride and accomplishment, but simply a way to earn more money to buy more toys, none of which seem to ever offer real satisfaction.
As people become more focused upon their earnings rather than their work, they become increasingly selfish and mercenary. Instead of thinking about how they can benefit others, they look only at what's in it for themselves.
When people seek quick wealth, they are apt to turn to increasingly questionable ways to gain it. They may become involved in gambling, even squandering their livelihood in search of the big prize. Honest work becomes too tedious in comparison to the hope of striking it rich.
Other people may turn to illegal activities in their quest for financial gain. Would fraud and government corruption even exist if it were not for money?
However, as we look more closely at all these situations, we can see that money itself is only part of the problem. The real heart of the problem is people's attitudes toward money. When money takes the place of other people in our affections, it becomes a locus of evil, fostering greed and resentment where generosity and gratitude once resided.
Money is in fact nothing more than an economic tool, and like all other tools is in and of itself morally neutral. It is how we human beings put it to work that determines whether it will work good or evil in the lives of ourselves and those we touch. And the actual Biblical quote is "the love of money is the root of all evil." (I Timothy 6:10).
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