Things I have learned Day #18

#18. The love of money is the root of evil

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain." 1 Tim 6:10

When I was young I remember my mom telling me "Money is the root of all evil" (which is a bit of a miss quote)... I remember asking, "How is money evil?" And my mom said "Well, money is not evil in itself but it can be the cause of a lot of evil and problems."

That always stuck with me but didn't make sense. Money was good, come on. I knew my parents wanted more money, they always said, If we had more money we could do ____ but because we don't have it we will not be doing that. I knew I wanted more money. I knew more money would buy me better stuff... stuff that I couldn't have otherwise. So how could "the love of money be the root of all evil" if it would bring so much more fun into my life. The thought that money causes evil was not computing well in my young mind.

It makes a lot more sense now. In fact just in the last few years have I begun to see why and how money cause so many problems.

First, the love of money is not only human nature, something programed into us, but it is also taught to us from a very young age. In elementary school what were you always asked? What do you want to be when you grow up? And what were the "ok" positions? Yes, they were usually ones that earned money.... and the higher you strived educationally and financially, the better you were viewed in the eye of the teacher (or so it seemed).

For example, Johnny and Jimmy are in a classroom. Johnny says he wants to work changing tires like his dad does, at a garage. "Oh, that nice" the teacher would say. Jimmy says he wants to be a vetranarian. "Oh, that is a great job!", the teacher says. And then you have little Bobby who says, "I want make a million dollars!" "That is a great idea Bobby! I think you can do that!" says the teacher.

Now, not the teacher is wrong for encouraging kids to strive to do great things but great things seem to be related to money in our culture... at least that is what it seems when we are younger. So all my life I grew up wanting more money. Realistically, all I wanted was to have more money than my parents. I remember my dad telling me once that "Staticstics say that this coming generation will make less money than the one before". Meaning, I will make more money than you will (and he is only a teacher... although a lot of teachers are doing ok too). I remember my whole life thinking all I wanted to do it make more money than my dad and then he would be impressed with me. I would then feel as if I had won.

But now, most of my money pride is gone (although I still really sometimes have a desire to make money above all else). I just have seen how much of a problem money can be... how much evil it can bring. I have seen marriages fall apart, families spit apart, constant jealously in relationships and then you start watching on TV and seeing that money was the root of many murders, it is one of the main reasons drugs are so popular (if a lot of money couldn't be made drugs would be more rare). It is just amazing how money seems to in some way be linked into most "evil" things of this world.

Anyways, that being said, money is still a confusing thing to me. Because realistically, money is how we survive and without it we are essentially screwed. We all know that deep down inside... or even not so deep down. It is all about the money you make. But my final thought is, is it really about the money you make? Could you as a "Red Blooded American" Try to live differently, just put yourself and your money out there and see what God can/will do about it. It is nearly impossible for most people to just say, "Ok, God I am yours, this is what you told me to do so here I am... even if it doesn't make finanfial sense