Many people have a deep love-hate relationship with money. When you have it, you love it. When you don’t, you hate it. Even in biblical times, when currency was not quite as advanced as it is today, money was still an issue of circumstance. From 1 Timothy 6:10 comes one of the most prominent quotes about money, used by people even today:
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs!”
In 1 Timothy 6:9, there is also a warning:
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
The True Nature of Money
Today, you don’t have to search the Bible to realize that money can solve many problems. It is nearly impossible to turn on the television, radio, or computer today without being inundated with information about money. Many people have come to believe that money is evil, something that only corrupts and destroys the desires and dreams of humankind. The truth is, money is not evil at all. In fact, money is nothing but metal and paper—coins and bills. It is not the abundance of, or lack of money that causes evil; rather, it is the attitudes and mindsets that revolve around money.
When it comes to financial well-being, each and every one of us is different. You could give ten people a $10 bill, and each would do something different with the money. The man who saves is not any better than the man who spends it to buy food for his family or shoes for his feet. According to Napoleon Hill in his book Think and Grow Rich, first published in 1937, there are 16 definitive success attributes that, when implemented, can make people wealthy. The ideals identified in his book have been adapted and recreated to suit nearly every facet of life, from personal success to financial success. Even after almost 75 years, the book remains a bestseller.
In short, Think and Grow Rich stresses the importance of our thoughts about money and success. The lessons learned in the text are likened to the laws of attraction and seem to be applicable to both financial and personal success. The book also describes why money, a simple physical representation of something inanimate, is not a measure of wealth or success in life. Instead, it is our ideals about money.
If you believe you are rich, then no man can tell you otherwise. If you believe that you cannot handle financial wealth, then that is true. If you believe that you will always live week to week, month to month, fighting the good fight of stealing from Peter to pay Paul, chances are you will never break free from that routine. On the other hand, if you believe that the possibilities of success are infinite and available, and that your progress and life success don’t depend on a figurative amount of cash flow, you will attract wealth to you.
Nearly every ‘wealthy’ person on the planet agrees with the fact that if you ‘think rich,’ so shall it be. Those who ‘think rich’ are completely different from those who have a poverty consciousness. If you have a poverty consciousness, one that makes you feel like money is the most evil of all things, you likely do the following:
- Complain and worry about money.
- Waste money on frivolous items.
- Measure your success by specific amounts of paper and metal (coins and bills).
- Feel resentful upon paying bills rather than grateful that you have them.
- Fear checking your account balances or going to the mailbox.
- Be preoccupied with thoughts or worries about money and the lack thereof.
- Believe that money, and money alone, are the answer to ALL of your problems.
- Covet and be jealous of what others have, seeing yourself as a ‘have-not.’
These six habits are those of perpetually poor people. They might have a roof over their head, food on the table, and a car to drive, but their beliefs and fears about money—rooted in worry and stress—cause them to be constantly stressing over finances.
Just as the only real, proven way to lose weight is to eat less and move more, the only way to get out of a financial problem and begin seeing money as something positive is to spend less and save more.
With each savings, pride will grow. Slowly but surely, you will learn to think differently about money. When you take pride in saving your money and start believing—whether by faith or otherwise—that you will always have enough, you will see that you do. Your attitude and negativity about money being evil will slowly but surely begin to change.
The truth is that money is only as important as you believe it is. By linking your happiness with money and believing that one cannot come without the other, you are limiting your life and the possibilities. You are also buying into the sheer power of metal and paper—coins and bills—and giving up your own control over your life.
Money is important. Money is definitely a priority. But more important than the amount of money or the things you have is the mindset you adopt about financial well-being.
According to Forbes magazine, “the love of money—in other words, greed—has become the evil in our society. It is not money itself but the love of money which has reduced the value of human life. That so few could willingly profit at the expense of so many is the true evil.”
Money today is essential to live. If your attitudes, mindsets, and feelings about money are in order, and you feel confident in your ability to make enough money to live happily, chances are high that money in your eyes won’t be evil at all.
One Response
Evil people brought money. Money makes people think they are safe. People are all around trying to rob you of that money. A den of theives is at work. Evil people built this country. Evil people are running the church making nude people and people who have sex with another mammal and gays having sex, and pedophilia people to be bad rather than the evil people who built this country. The world needs to change all at one time. People need to respect what is around them even as the Indians who respected the land that was around them.