I just had an enlightening discussion with one of my favorite nieces who, I swear, has some Platonist streak in her. What is it about millennials and GenX-ers that set them apart from baby boomers, like most of us? They are never patient, are always in a hurry, and often have an unorthodox knack of solving life’s problems.
My niece and I were talking about the state of the nation and comparing notes on who to vote for in the coming 2022 elections. My contention was that some politicians are there for the money first, and service to the people who elected them is last in their priorities or goals.
To wit, if one takes a look at a politician’s SALN before and after completing their tour of duty, one can easily discern the huge difference in income and assets accumulated during their term. You can count on your fingers those who have chosen an impeccable path towards serving their constituents. Are they honest or just plain stupid?
Let me just insert a disclaimer here before I get called out for false claims. I said, there are politicians, not all of them, who are guilty of fattening their purses and feathering their nests while ostensibly serving the community. How else can you explain a hefty change in their financial health after only three or six years in politics?
So, I asked my niece if money can really corrupt a person. Her answer is, money by itself does not, but greed does. She explained that there has always been this wrong perception about money. That people are sold on the assumption that money creates havoc and disharmony and that it is the root of all that is evil. Why is that always the first quote I remember when talking about money?
To my niece, money is just a commodity, mere currency. We use it to buy food and other necessities, to send our children to school, to trade it for more money, etc. For sure, it would be catastrophic to not have a single peso to one’s name. More so for someone like me, who counts the proverbial centimos. I need to be very careful on how I spend it and be grateful that I can still earn money doing honest labor or sometimes be gifted by my children, siblings (ahem!) and nieces (double ahem!).
It is not wrong to possess great wealth. What is wrong is if you acquire the same through dubious means, or if you use that money to pursue devious and evil desires – to hurt, or to destroy. Classic examples are the drug lords and terrorists. In their pursuit of having more money, lives are at peril or ruthlessly destroyed.
If one’s love for money gets a person into trouble, then why do we allow ourselves to be enslaved by it? The simple answer is because money can give you fame, a false sense of being looked up to, and a certain pride that you can, without having to sweat it out, get whatever your heart desires.
I said before in one of my columns that there are wealthy and well-balanced individuals who give generously to charities. My guess is that they will be the ones who will inherit the earth or, is it penance for the exploitation of innocent masses and illegal activities while accumulating their wealth? What is certain is that they won’t be able to bring their riches along with them in the afterlife. So why not dispose of it in ways that will benefit humanity?
Money is not the root of all evil. The love of money is. And while money is not the most important thing in one’s life, it would be hypocritical for me to say that having some is certainly helpful and useful. However, we should all learn to be content with what we presently have – family, good health, happiness, and be doubly thankful that we don’t have to answer to Him on Judgment Day for any wrongdoing in our past life.
After all, rich or poor, we are all equal in the eyes of God. And the Ferryman only charges one coin for us to cross over. – NWI
