Opinion, Play, Writing

Money Is The Root Of All Evil

IS it ? IS it really ? … personally I beg to differ, especially since people often misquote and leave out the crucial “The love of” and “all kinds” … Context is often everything, and misquoting is, well, verging on lying really !

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“Money is the root of all evil”

IS NOT CORRECT, from what I understand the correct quote is :

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.“

– Timothy 6:10

My interpretation of the “real” quote is – the lust for or addiction to money, is the root of all kinds of evil. ie Greed. Not money itself.

I might rewrite the quote, for a “truer” statement :

“An obsessive or compulsive desire to possess money is often at the root of many evils”

SO ! – I’m very much not convinced that “all evil” has at it’s root cause as “money”. After all there are those who carry out despicable acts, and aren’t doing it “for the money”. A suicide bomber for instance, isn’t doing it for the money or because of money, more likely he’s a fanatic who’s been spun a yarn – a lie he believes so strongly he’d kill himself and innocent others for it.

Money is at the end of the day just a representation of value. In days of yore money was made from precious metals like silver and gold. People used money to save time and hassle in business transactions. I mean if I want to buy a new iPhone, it’d be a real hardship to drive 20 sheep 300 miles to a city in order to pay for it. That’s about efficiency. Imagine the queues at the Apple store if we were still paying for things like that … what a picture that conjures in my mind !

When I say business I’m talking about every currency transaction carried out by man, or woman. Not some far off business man in an ivory tower ! YES YOU AND ME. Perhaps you prefer “commerce” or some other word where there’s an exchange of value, personally I just call it business.

Some business transactions would be simply impossible without money. If I want to sell a house in one country, and buy one in another country – virtually impossible without money, because shipping a whole house thousands of miles by sea is utterly ridiculous, in all but the most obscure circumstances.

Money is used to pay for a heart operation to save a baby’s life – is that evil ? No it’s not.

Money is used to pay for the food you eat, the heating for your home and the clothes you wear – all these things are necessary to stay alive – is that evil ? No it’s not.

Money is a how we live our lives, not why we live out lives.

So money itself is a way to make our lives easier and simpler. Efficiency, basically. For the greater good. It wasn’t invented by some evil genius who concocted a scheme to ensnare us all into cruelty, wickedness and evil ! People are perfectly capable of being evil without it.

It’s VERY possible that it’s wicked and evil to be saying “Money is the root of all evil”, because it gives those who believe it a distorted picture of how the world really is.

AND I’m not unaware that people do carry out evil actions in order to obtain money. That’s evil people, not the money itself. It’s the people who’re to blame, not the money itself. There are good and bad people in the world, money is not the problem …

Money – the root of all evil ? Or just a way for human beings to exchange value ?

(Please note – Don Charisma is already saved … or put another way – I have little patience for being preached to, I’m can and do reach my own conclusions on what I do or do not think)

Cheers

Don Charisma

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119 thoughts on “Money Is The Root Of All Evil”

  1. The desire to increase profits is at the root of so many bad things in this world – slave labour, cost-cutting measures, unemployment, outsourcing jobs to those who will do it cheaper etc etc. So I can understand why others would think that money is evil.

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  2. Pingback: Falling Down – Is It A Justification For Crime ? | Don Charisma

  3. Well said. I agree. Money is a civilized way of trading. It’s an agreed upon value. I’ll give you this much $$ for your product/service. I value your product/service and you want/need the money. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship. (And now I know what the ‘Ratings’ option is on WordPress!)

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  4. I agree with you. The reason the barter system evolved into currency is that barter may work in small communities, but in larger it may be hard to equally assess values and needs. Paying for a baby’s operation isn’t evil, but like the little lefty that I am I can point out that many view the exhorbitant costs of medicines and medical services as evil – especially when the bulk of those costs may be for the profit of the pharma company. Paying for the skill of the doctor though? Certainly seems fair! But I guess that would go into what you said about the quote meaning greed is evil, not money itself.

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    1. 😀 … UK has a “free” medical system, so baby would get operation for free … however it’s all paid for using tax payers money, so it’s not really free … and yes I paid a lot of money for medicines here recently, they were imported probably US … as for evil, not sure … businesses run on for-profit, which means mark up !

      Reply

  5. Great post Don. Can’t say I hate money, because it comes in handy when the rent is due and the pantry is empty, and it’s nice when I want more yarn for my afghans, but I can say I don’t want any more than I need to stay alive, have what I need with a little more for what I want, but not enough to make anyone feel I have so much they should envy me. If I have something they want, they can have it. I’ll eventually be able to replace it if it’s important to me, but it probably isn;t all that important. Just stuff, and stuff isn’t all that important. Have a roof over my head, food to eat with some to share, clothes to wear. What more could anyone ask for?

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    1. Kentucky Angel, I feel the same! It’s freeing when money and possessions don’t have a stronghold in my life. As you stated, we need money to live, as long as I can pay my bills I’m happy. Having extra to buy yarn is like winning the lottery. Money is a hardship for people with very little, but I also think it can be a hardship for people with too much.
      I read your comment and just had to respond, your attitude is so similar to mine!

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      2. Jane, I had money at one time, and angered my kids by giving it away, and not to them. They didn’t need it, other people did. I hated the responsibility involved in having it, the people asking for some, so I found the people who didn’t ask but needed, gave it to them, and now have what I need, some of what I want, and I’ve never felt so free or so happy.

        Don, no one could ask for more. By the standards of 95% of the world, I’m wealthy, because I do have a roof over my head, food to eat and enough clothes to wear a clean outfit each day, with extra dress up if I’m in the mood to dress up. I was in the mood one day about 27 years ago.

  6. Good point on showing that evil can lie also in things outside money. In particular, people’s character and behaviour.
    I think that one can have a good attitude to money or a bad one.
    Anyway, for all of us, money is independence and the possibility to realise many dreams, for example, studying. Not to forget that from oldest times, money also served to compensate for damage. This should not encourage causing it.

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  7. I took a writing course in college, and my professor said something very profound. Every villain in written history carried out their plan with the intention that they were doing a greater good. Whether the greater good was for themselves or changing the world in some profound and extreme way. I think that using the end result of “to make more money” can cause greater risk than benefit.

    Why does big business do what they do? Is it to create a product that will help society as a whole? Or is it simply to rake in more dough?

    It is necessary to make money in order to live, and everyone wants to make more money. Life would be so much easier if i made a little more, or so we think. I do agree that obsession of any kind can cause us as a human beings to do irrational and sometimes destructive things.

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  9. Please look up the venus project or watch paradise or oblivion on youtube “the whole money structured society is a fault society” we need a complete redesign of human civilization humans could do far better if we put greed aside

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  11. I like the part from Prov 30:8-9 (NIV) …”Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
    Leslie

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  12. I agree sir. Some quotes tend to lose their intended application due to paraphrasing. At the end we have a misinformed society. How sad! You cleaned it up and brought it out as outlined in the Bible.

    Like the commonly misused phrase: ‘All men are the same!’

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      1. Hehe! It’s very mean a phrase. I’m made to understand it came from a Chinese woman who lost sight of her husband in a crowd, and exclaimed how most Chinese men looked a like making it difficult for her to point out her man. Now it’s misused by ladies, too bad. 😦

  13. Money is necessary. In a society that rarely utilizes bartering, we need a means of acquiring goods and services. However, greed for money, or even for excessive amounts of the goods and services it can purchase is bad.

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  15. Don, you have put it well and your words are funny 😄 when you write about moving house. The imagination of moving the house from one country to another country makes laugh aloud.

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    1. LOL … I liked that one too … a little poetry in there too … I’m also imagining people queing for miles and miles with sheep, ducks, cows, chickens etc outside the Apple store queuing to “buy” a new iphone 😀

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  16. I disagree Money is not sentient and there is no such thing as good or evil. There is however a thing called Control and controls need to control that has bad consequences for a lot of people and shapes our world

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  17. Hi Don! I believe that it is the love of money that is the problem. I know a man so consumed with making money that he will steal, cheat, lie, etc., to get what he wants. He has a twisted way of justifying what he does, and he believes his own lies. HIs greed for money has spilled over into all areas of his life. Greed is a poor substitute for God.

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  19. A very good post. It explores the popular quote in the necessary depth to find the truth. Money, like all inanimate artifacts used by man, is a tool to extend the efficiency and effectiveness of our lives. But humans, so imbued with the dualities of life, will use any and every tool for good or for bad. When we accuse money of being the root of all evil we are refusing to accept responsibility for the flaws in humanity. Denial, transference, and rationalization are strong human traits but the truth cannot be long kept in the dark. Thank you for your voice of reason.

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    2. I have to agree with Randstein. Money is a tool. A tool which is necessary to our survival. When we leave here we can’t take it; so use it to wisely. For the love of represents greed, which is a sin which is considered evil doing.

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  20. WTF?…. I sat typing up a post today about this topic Don…… unbelievable… I don’t think I can take much more of this ! LOL. Didnt post it…long and needed editing and I had run out of time. Ha! Imagine I had though. That would have been funny. Now I feel like a jerk if I post it :/ Gees man – pip me all the time – 😉
    GREAT article! I shan’t elaborate further – already done that… hahahaha.

    Reply

      11. I am 100% – just a lot in my head and a little girl who does not want to doo-doo cos she slept in the car on the way home… bless her (grrrrr) lol!
        Yes – well we COULD still do two nasties alongside two kindred spirits etcetera… hmmm – two nasties. 😉

  21. I agree. You explained it perfectly. People often use those phrases to excuse their inability to get or to explained why them preferred to be watching tv instead of doing something productive.

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  22. I agree with your post, Don – though there is one thought that didn’t yet get explored by the blog or other comments. Why do people do heinous things in order to acquire money? Perhaps it is because they cannot find a way to put a roof over their head etc by the normal means of working for money, or are burdened by all the taxes and restrictions placed by an ‘advanced’ society. A person’s most valuable financial asset is their ability to work. If that is taken away by economic circumstances, ill health, or govt restrictions, then the temptation to do ‘something heinous’ arises. Because others see these issues and see that the same thing could happen to them, then yes, a love of money arises, because that represents security. My parents/grandparents generation knew that if they worked well all their lives they could survive until a modest retirement. My generation can expect to live much longer, but be unemployable by the time they’re in their 50s. The next generation cannot exist on a minimum wage job. There is no security. Take away the security and people will naturally take measures to reinstate it.

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    1. Skyscapes, wise words. I did want to comment that I feel like the reason people do heinous things for money is out of desperation. Also, the fault lies largely with the parents or whomever should have been in charge of educating them. Had the state or government, or someone educated them to begin with, they would have had more options for a career path and less likely to have a need to steal or kill just to survive. Again, just my opinion, for what it’s worth.

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      1. We’re drifting off topic here which is “Money Is The Root Of All Evil” …

        SO PLEASE NO MORE COMMENTS ON THAT TOPIC FOR NOW … possibly tomorrow 😀

    2. LOL … well first I’d refer you to the “off topic” rule … and second – be careful for what you wish for … I say this because it’s interesting to me, I may do something on it in tomorrow’s opinion post … will probably quote what you’ve said here, as it’s kind of your idea 😀

      D

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  25. Sir, Don,
    Well said, and exactly my thought.
    Money is an inanimate object, incapable of feelings or character traits or flaws; such as greed or evil intentions, and traits would include acts of kindness and generosity.
    Some translations of the bible actually go on to say that money is for a protection, and what king David said Prov. 30:8 was that he did not want to be in either extreme of wealth nor of poverty. Yet as a king, he was vastly wealthy. Its not wrong to be in possession of money or material things, as long as we aren’t using them to avoid helping our fellow man.
    I happen to agree with you Sir Don, that evil persons and greedy people will act as such in any situation, with or without money.
    So, hopefully you will not mind my commenting on your excellent writing piece. I also firmly believe that only God is the judge capable of reading hearts, so only his opinion matters in the final say anyway.

    Cheers back,
    Angela

    Reply

  27. Yes, I also agree here. Money itself has nothing intrinsic, it just represents an agreement in regard to an exchange of a certain value.

    If we talk about evil, we talk about a certain stage of development of the human soul. That is e.g. about the state of the very self that incites to evil vis-à-vis the more advanded states of the soul representing the reproving self and, ultimately, the soul at rest.

    Kind regards,
    Salva

    P.S.: BTW, I am supposed to send a big hug from Audrey, which I consider done herewith. 😀

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  30. Very well stated my friend and now the record has been set straight. Thank you for sharing.

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      1. Not at all, I am fluent in Ancient Greek, part of my theological training. There are many errors in the Bible, largely due to puritanical ministers who don’t like the real wording.

        For example, the parable of Jesus and the adulteress. Everyone knows the story, but the true meaning has been hidden from them. After delivering the line “let he who is without sin…” Jesus goes back to drawing in the sand. Now, in the original Greek we find out that a stone does come flying past, hits the adulteress, killing her. Jesus looks back to see who threw the stone and cries out, “Damn it, mom!”

  32. So totally agree with your clarification about ‘money and evil’. If money is so evil, why are we able to do so much good with it? Where charity and love prevail, the material side of life can be a blessing and bless others.

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  33. I like to think of money as the gasoline for my car. It should not be mistaken for the car, or for where we are going in the car, or our enjoyment of travel. It is, however, necessary.

    Reply

  35. I like to think of money as the gasoline for my car. It should not be confused for the car, or where the car is taking us, or our enjoyment. It is, however, necessary.

    Reply

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