Money get’s a bad rap. Money in our society is just a medium of exchange. It’s not magical, nor is it evil. Having it doesn’t bring bad things into your life and there’s certainly nothing noble about not having it. It is simply the modern day method of trade. It is the means to get the things you need in life. So, why are people so messed up about it; even mad at it?
Here’s one place you might get it twisted. You’ve been tricked into associating money with greed, or in other words, something or someone sold you a lie. Have you ever noticed that people who think money is evil tend not to have much of it and when they get it, try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Here’s a newsflash folks, you need money. Money may not buy you happiness, but it’s a damn site easier on you than poverty. It’s accepted that you don’t need incredible luxury, but if you’re honest, you probably need more than you have.
Did you know that people who are truly greedy never give the concept a second thought? But, there you are chastising yourself for wanting something nice. “Oh, that’s too much,” you say. And why exactly shouldn’t you have something nice? Who convinced you that your value was so low? Do you realize that it doesn’t make any difference to God whether you have a Mercedes or a Ford? Who is the car for anyway? Well, what blesses you? So, why would you think it matters? I submit it’s because you bought a lie. No-one gets anything in life without believing they can get it. The things you enjoy in your life, right at this very moment, you have believed to get. Whether you did it by hard work or by investing or expecting it from your parents, you believed for it. I’ve often mused why the children of wealthy parents seem to become wealthy themselves. Simple. They grew up accustomed to the best and naturally expected to have the best themselves. Lottery winners, generally unprepared for a windfall, tend to lose it quickly, so don’t think rich folk’s only advantage is starting with money!
What exactly is greed anyway? Greed begins where need ceases. Greed is the unbridled urge to acquire things. But make no mistake, greed is not the desire to have your needs met and have them met abundantly. Shoot man, that’s a promise from God. An abundant life is a life of abundance, so you figure it out. To say an abundance of money is somehow contrary to an abundant life is absurd. We aint trading cows honey, we’re using money. Greed has also been defined as having more than you need. So what do you need? Who decides that? You do! Follow my logic for a moment. If someone else defines what you need, where does that end? Let’s say you can afford a modest house. Is that greedy? You could always get a more modest house, right? Or what if you decided to sell that house and buy a larger, less modest house? Are you being greedy now? What if, in your prospering ways, you earn a ton of money? Are you now not allowed to buy a deluxe house? Because, you don’t need it? Again, who gets to decide that? You see it all becomes very foolish. People are mad as hell at Joel Olsteen because he lives in a mansion. Joel said he receives no salary from his ministry and makes his money via book sales and speaking engagements. Yet, because he speaks a positive message of God’s love for people and preaches messages of encouragement for God, he should somehow live in a modest shack approved by the masses! Whether he needs a mansion or a modest, deluxe home is his business and why on earth should we care so much? Well, we care because our own needs aren’t met and we are still mad at money!
If I read one more meme attributing virtue to not having money, I think I might scream! There’s absolutely nothing noble about not having your needs met. There’s no joy in not being able to do what you really want to do. There’s no happiness in constantly repeating that you cannot afford something or worse, “if I can’t afford it, I don’t need it.” You know debt isn’t the answer, but aspiring for better is a natural God-inspired desire. Your life is worth having the best. Other people have the best, why not you?
Obviously I’m not talking about being poor and doing the best you can to escape it. Nor am I condemning the simple life minus a multitude of stuff. I’m confronting the notion that money is bad or evil and that you are greedy if you want it. I’m challenging the idea that all wealthy people are crooked and somehow wrong because they haven’t bought into the lie. My good friend at work lives in a very wealthy neighborhood and he says those folks are some of the most giving people you have ever met. Hmmmm, something to that maybe?
The love of money is the root of all evil, not the money itself. Money is just money. Evil enters in when you do ‘whatever’ to get it and then use it and the power associated with it to hurt people and utlimately hurt yourself.
So, what is your takeaway prize for indulging in this discourse? You need to change your mental relationship concerning money and take away both the magic and the evil. Money is simply a means of exchange; exchanging your money for the things you need and want. God wants you to live a more than abundant life and you’re gonna need a little cash to get the job done!
Believe to get your paper!
Just some good thoughts…