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The Root Of All Evil

- David Stidston

By David StidstonPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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“Money is a tool. Used properly it makes something beautiful; used wrong, it makes a mess!” - Bradley Vinson

Is it true that money really is the root of all evil? The answer to that question is "no", it certainly isn't the root of all evil, because money can actually provide the most wonderful of blessings, rewards, and help, to all of us, in life. It's interesting to hear that statement thrown around though, because funnily enough, it doesn't truly capture the complete message of what was written in the Bible, as people seem to believe, not entirely anyway. There's no denying these words are indeed written for everyone to see, however if we actually refer to 1 Timothy 6:10, in which we find this phrase, we will quickly see a whole different meaning to this message. The actual phrase reads "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." It completely changes the complexion about the phrase, just with those four words added to the beginning; "for the love of". You see, it's not money that is the root of all evil, it's humankind's love, desire, and desperation for it. As I mentioned, money can be used for a plethora of options to better our lives, and the lives of others, however the problem is that too many of us are possessed by it, and we fail to use it for the greater good, but instead to satisfy our own greed and selfishness. Whether physically possessing it, or just hungering for it, what a great majority of people would either do, or currently do, is either keep it entirely for themselves, spend it on luxury items, or spend it on material things. Meanwhile, across the globe, we continue seeing an ever increasing trend of poverty and homelessness.

Okay, so let's be both realistic and fair about this. Firstly, we wouldn't be human if we didn't use our wealth and money to enhance our own life, in some form or another. We all deserve to reward and treat ourselves, because for many of us in life, we work damn hard. The problem is, much of what we purchase, or would choose to purchase, we wouldn't truly need, and it's that word, right there, that says it all; need. We would rather live our life in luxury, surrounded by luxurious items, and yet simply turn a blind eye to those in desperate need of help. Secondly, no it's not our responsibility to help others out of their own personal hardships, circumstances, and adversity. We are each accountable for our own future, and for our own destiny, and we should never place our faith in others to help us achieve our goals, or create the life of our desire. But whilst we may not have a responsibility to helping others out of their own personal hardships, circumstances, and adversity, we all have an obligation to help our fellow humankind. There are times in life where we all need some form of help and support, and we certainly appreciate those who come to our aid. We feel forever in debt to them, as it were. Just as those have helped and supported us, we should carry those same traits of generosity, kindness, and compassion, towards others. I'm not talking just friends and family here either, I'm talking of opportunities to help anyone in need. It's not about giving away all our wealth, just so others can prosper at the expense of our own livelihood, it's about distributing a portion of our earnings and our wealth to help those in need. It's about supporting and assisting as many others in life as we can, and not just financially, but also uplifting them and inspiring them to achieve greatness for themselves.

So I've highlighted how the love of money is the root of all evil, firstly for the reason that we are possessed by selfishness and greed, and that we care only for own interests and well-being, whilst denying those in need. What about what the love for money does to our behavior? When we talk about a root though, we know that they carry water and nourishment to plants and trees via numerous branches and fibers. When it comes to the love of money, the root isn't at all beneficial though. It's various branches and fibers represent the various channels of our life in which that love for money causes destruction. Those channels, in fact, represent our decisions and actions. Basically, a great percentage of our decisions and actions are based around money. A great example of this is our job, or our business. Considering around 9 in every 10 people hate their job, or the work they do, why would people want to go spend 5 days of their week, wasting their life away doing something they hate? Obviously it's because of the money, as we need an income in order to buy food and pay our bills. But why make an income doing something we hate? It's because of the beloved paycheck, of course. We couldn't bear parting with something that we place all our faith in to feed us, provide us shelter, and pay our bills. We basically would rather sacrifice our own happiness, for the sake of receiving our paycheck. We dare not take a risk to invest in an opportunity to do something we are truly passionate about, because we then risk losing precious money. This isn't truly living, just merely existing, all because we allow money to possess us.

Then we have those individuals so desperate for money, they go out and break the law, or even harm others. It would be a total rarity to ever watch a nightly news bulletin, and not see something around an act of theft, or an armed robbery. We see countless instances of individuals thieving from their own workplace, with cases of embezzlement at their finest. There are those who falsify their tax records, in a bid to avoid paying tax, so to pocket extra funds for themselves. Drug dealing is another avenue where many love to defy the law, in order to make some mega bucks. Another act of deception comes in the form of anti money laundering, as many attempt to disguise illegally obtained funds as being income. Then we have another common one. Rather than being committed to creating wealth and prosperity via means of investment and hard work, so many of us choose to spend our potential savings on gambling, praying and hoping that we strike it lucky and get to live life on easy street. That's not success, that's pure laziness! Then we even see this evil highlighted in the conflict between couples, and within families, be it over divorce settlements or entitlements to inheritance in wills. Fair enough everyone has a right to their share, or what they are entitled to, but most people don't stop at that. They want over's and above's at the expense of others.

One thing money does do, and that is it defines a person's character. You very quickly see the real person when it comes to money, and whether their decisions and actions are based around desperation for funds, or whether they view money as the ultimate tool to help others. If only more of us changed our approach and thought process regarding money. As vital as it may be to our survival and quality of life, there are far more important aspects of life to which our decisions and actions should revolve around. There is our happiness, our health, our well-being, our family, and our goals, for starters. It's these aspects where our priorities should lie, not money. Money may enhance these areas, but it doesn't generate the happiness we believe it does. Our goals should also never be based around money, but instead our purpose, and personal success. If our focus is effectively directed, and we are working to our passion, the financial side of life will take care of itself. Ask yourself honestly today, are the decisions and actions you are making in life revolving around your desire for money, or are they success based and about serving others? In order to truly start loving and enjoying your life, you need to disengage from your love of money, otherwise you are only setting yourself up for disappointment and destruction. It's a given!

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About the Creator

David Stidston

My name is David Stidston, and I live in the beautiful city of Hobart, in Tasmania, Australia. My aim is to inspire and motivate as many people as possible, to pursue their goals, and create a future blessed with happiness and fulfillment.

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