Money

What would you do if you had a lot of money?

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. - 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Money is not a bad thing.  We can do a lot of good with it.  But only if we don't fall in love with it.

There is a lot of talk these days about income inequality, referring to the gap between those who have a lot of money and those who don't, but the term is a misnomer if used in that context.  It is not about income at all, but about net worth.

Those who have a lot of money can use that money to make more money, which is a form of income, but it is an investment requiring no physical work on the person's part.

Those who have no money to invest, have to work to get more.  And while the dream may be to get to the point where they don't have to work to get more money, that can take a long time.

So, we become jealous of those who have more.

I read recently that Shaquille O'Neal squandered his first big paycheck, blowing a million dollars in one day.  I'm not sure how true that is, but the lesson apparently changed his mind about money.  Instead of blowing it all, he started to invest.

He chose to invest in things that changed people's lives, and that strategy has paid off for him, since many of his investments have had great returns.  But he told Ellen DeGeneres that he doesn't think about the return.  He thinks about the benefit to people.

It sounds like he hasn't fallen in love with the money.  Instead, he uses it to help people.

Maybe that's the model we should all try to follow, to do our best to make life better for us and those around us.  And if in the process, it makes us money, we shouldn't be married to it, but be ready to use it to foster hope in the world.

Lead us not into temptation, we pray, and when it comes to money, that's a critical issue.  It can corrupt, if it becomes the goal, rather than the means to a goal.

So, the lesson I take away is to do good with whatever I have.  Don't squander on foolish things, but invest in life, and it will return good things for all.

More to come...