Is money the root of all evil?

In short I say no! Money is not the root of all evil, or any evil for that matter. Evil is a human concept and thus we are its root! Anything destructive that happens that is not human created is a result of nature and is not technically evil, its just destructive. Wether you believe in a God or a Great Spirit or even just science and Mother Nature you usually would not call these forces good or evil, often God is thought to be the very essence of goodness and it would be considered blasphemous to call any act of God evil.

Money these days in technical terms is just bits of paper or metal, and fast becoming numbers on a computer screen. How can something so inanimate and lacking of desire or a concept of self be evil? Money is really just a concept of value, it represents something commonly associated with value. The bits of paper and metal in your wallet or purse, the numbers on a computer screen at your bank (for instance) are a representation of something else, commonly gold and other precious metals and stones.

So what is this relation between money and evil? A common belief regarding wealth is of greed and excess, we often think of political fat cats and greedy bankers and war mongering governments. We tend to attribute poverty to virtue, a simplicity of life, these people are the salt of the earth. These beliefs have a lot of basis in the actions of people the world over and through out history and are not often challenged. I would like to challenge these views here.

I purpose that wealth can be virtuous when used as a tool to help and improve the lives and education of others. With wealth you have much to offer your community and are in a position to help people in other countries when tragedy or disaster strikes. Those in poverty are in no such position. A person in poverty will struggle just to survive and will often need to rely on the generosity and social welfare of the society in which they live. 

These days in the build up western societies there is to be found a culture of welfare being given to those who maybe could work and a devaluation of an honest days work. These societies struggle with the challenge of helping those who truly deserve the help and those who are 'sponging off the system'. Many associate the pursuit of wealth to selfish reasons and fail to value that pursuit when it is motivated by a great feeling of compassion and the desire to have a position that makes giving an easy thing.

Many people are trying to use the internet to create wealth and struggle with it. If not completely then at least in part the struggle is with the perception of money and wealth. If your personal belief is that money is the root of all evil and are pursuing wealth how can you ever achieve your goal? Would not achieving your goal make you the 'greedy person' that you associate with wealth? If you should manage to achieve your goal will you allow yourself to keep that hard won goal? I believe that it is impossible for a person in this situation to both reach their goal and maintain it. My suggestion is that if a person wishes to experience a life of abundance and wealth they must examine their thoughts and feelings about wealth.

I believe that a life of abundance and wealth is every persons birth rite. I am enjoying my journey to abundance and feel great satisfaction when my experiences can help other people on a similar life journey. I look forward to the day when I can turn on the news and see some tragedy and not feel depressed at my inability to offer help. Instead I can have the feeling of being useful by collecting food or other supplies and joining with established charities to get those supplies to the people who need them. I would also love to be able to improve what poverty means in my local community so that it is not as scary a thing as it is today. I will not be able to do any of these things if I fear wealth or harbor negative feelings regarding wealth.

For me it is imperative that I believe both the journey to wealth as well as the goal itself is an exciting and noble pursuit so that I take both on with great energy and gusto! I hope that if you are thinking about self improvement and wealth you will think about these things and examine your thoughts and feelings too.