Is Money The Root Of All Evil?

EXTRACT OF POPE'S HOMILY

(Source: Vatican Radio)

Money sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, and even poisons our faith, leading us down the path of jealousy, quarrels, suspicion and conflict. It drives to idle words and pointless discussions. It also corrupts the mind of some people that see religion as a source of profit. 'I am Catholic, I go to Mass, everyone thinks well of me... But underneath I have my businesses. I worship money'. And here we have the word we usually find in newspapers: 'Men of corrupted minds'. Money corrupts us! There's no way out.”

“We can never serve God and money at the same time. It is not possible: either one or the other. This is not Communism. It is the true Gospel! They are the Lord's words. While money begins by offering a sense of well being. Then you feel important and vanity comes. We read in the Psalm. This vanity is useless, but still you think you are important. And after vanity comes pride. Those are the three steps: wealth, vanity and pride.”

“But, Father, I read the Ten Commandments and they say nothing about the evils of money. Against which Commandment do you sin when you do something for money? Against the first one! You worship a false idol. And this is the reason: because money becomes an idol and you worship it. And that's why Jesus tells us that you cannot serve money and the living God: either one or the other. The early Fathers of the Church, in the 3rd Century, around the year 200 or 300, put it in a very blunt way, calling money 'the dung of the devil'. A so it is. Because turns us into idolatrous, fills our thoughts with pride and leads us away from our faith.”

Money can appear to be the rootof all evil when used to avoid relationship with another. However money can also be perceived as ‘good’ when utilized to enhance our relationship with another. Money is not the root of all evil, it is the avoidance of relationship which more strongly deserves this label. This is because avoiding relationship directly harms our ability to experience the happiness, freedom and fulfillment that we have always wanted.

It is possible to make money completely redundant within our life by no longer needing anything from another. However if we live in this way we have less of an ability to positively impact the life of those we love. This is because we will spend much of our life foraging for the essential, rather than thriving upon the beauty of connection which is at the core of every community.

Money is nothing more than a powerful tool; it is certainly not the root of all evil. The root of all evil appears whenever relationships are not prioritized within the life of a human being.

Money means different things to different people but the ideas are the same – which is to spend and invest.

Money is a means of exchange that we as a society all agree on. That is why Louisa May Alcott stated that, “Moneyis the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we as a Society cannot get on without it.”

We must understand that money is something that is not real but created first in the mind, and comes to realization through hard work, determination and focus.

You make money by thinking big and having creative ideas; not by cutting corners or dubious ways and that is why life is called a “challenge”.

Money, the root of all evil, has shaped our world into a corrupt Nation, a people without a conscience and a society of desperation. Many people believe that, “Money is the root of injustice?”

No, money is not the root of injustice. The root of injustice comes out of the wickedness of man and his love for money.

It is our egocentric and immoral ways that have perverted and uprooted the basic principles for which the idea of money had been originally devised for.

Many people have said a lot about money, the poor says money is the way of life in a sense that, money makes the impossible possible. The rich say, money answers all things. Philosophers say, money is injustice while the bible says, lack of money generate evil to the heart of men.

I conclude by saying – money is one of the canker worms that has eaten deep into the minds and caprices of humanity.

What then is Money to you?