Most people assume that “Money is the root of all evil”…wrong. It is “The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10). Money is a tool, which we all need to exist, unless you live in a society where everything is bartered. Every culture in the world has their own brand/type of money: dollars, pounds, lira, francs, yen, rupees, dinar, etc. In total, 180 types of legal tender are recognized by the UN. In the European Union there are 27 countries, and each used to have its own currency, which was a hassle crossing the borders, exchanging currencies, until the euro was instituted in 1999. Now the euro is the sole legal tender in the EU for 350 million people. I think the term ‘euro’ is a perfect description for their monetary unit.
The brilliant American humorist Will Rogers wrote, “Too many people spend money they earned…to buy things they don’t want…to impress people that they don’t like.” Have you ever been guilty of that? I bet everyone has at some point. “Mo money Mo problems” is credited to B.I.G. Biggie Smalls. I think most people assume, “If I had more money, I’d be OK…I WOULD BE HAPPY.” Weren’t you told as a child, ‘Money can’t buy happiness?’ I suppose you will never know until you have a million-dollar windfall, an unexpected fortune. Millions in the U.S. play the lottery, with chances of winning are one in 24 for the usual ones, but one in 300 million for grand jackpots. Whereas your chance of getting struck by lightning is one in 15,300!
When I was a kid, I loved reading Donald Duck comic books, but I could never understand why his rich Uncle Scrooge McDuck was so stingy and never helped his struggling nephew raise three ducklings: Huey, Dewey and Louie. Scrooge’s warehouse was ginormous, (no windows) with TONS of money, and he was always in there counting his money, even walking on it; swimming and diving into it! As the richest duck in the world, he was obsessed with money, yet he was NOT a philanthropist. In Lawrence Wright’s book Mr. Texas, he writes…“a common affliction among billionaires is the belief that money equals wisdom.” Scathing!
The biggest waste of money I ever saw in my life was at a Greek nightclub in Philadelphia in 1972. My Greek fiancé and his brother, both merchant marines, were docked there. I took the train from New York to meet them. We went to a large club, packed with Greeks from ships and Greek Americans who lived there, having a rollicking good time. The owner was an immigrant who had ‘made it’ and was showing off to the entire room. He made a BIG scene and wanted everyone in the room to witness the ‘proof’ of his wealth. So, he had a table cleared of plates, put a special tablecloth on it, placed a RED five-gallon plastic bucket on it, all of this by snapping his fingers at waiters. Then he proceeded to fill the bucket with REAL money, U.S. dollars. I’m talking… ones, fives, tens, twenties, fifties, hundreds, until it was FULL to the top. Handfuls of money…no telling the amount, hundreds or thousands? SNAAAAP, and a fresh bottle of Jonnie Walker was brought to him. With a big flourish he emptied the entire bottle on top of the money, tossed in the top for greater drama. Then with another SNAAP he held a cigarette lighter in the air, dramatically sparked it, then dropped it onto the pyre. The onlookers were astonished at the wasteful spectacle as flames leapt high for a few minutes…money goney-gone-gone! Then ‘show’s over,’ snap, mess cleared off the table, back to music and dancing. He had “Money to burn!” Would you do that if you could? I would NOT!
Warren Buffett, the astute investor, said, “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” He is referring to investing your money (and wisely). Buffett is a self- made man; worth close to 160 billion, and bless him, he plans to leave most of it to charity. Our brilliant statesman Benjamin Franklin’s admonishing words were: “Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has, the more one wants.” True for you??? In the Bible, there are about 2,500 references to money! A HOT topic! Whereas there are only 300-700 (depending on the translation) references to LOVE! Hmmmm?
There was a 1991 comedy starring Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck… entitled “Other People’s Money.” Wouldn’t it be FUN to be able to spend ‘OPM’ on what YOU want! As far as movies go, there are HUNDREDS of films about money, as it is a universal theme including greed, power, ambition, etc. And songs; tens of thousands of them! ABBA’s worldwide hit was “Money, Money, Money.”
The 1969 British comedy with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, “The Magic Christian,” has a scene in which men in suits jump into a four-foot-deep vat of stinking sewage to retrieve the cash money tossed into the cesspool. There is a large banner with the words “Free Money” spray-painted on it, causing the men to dive in! Would/could you do that? ‘Everyone has their price’ is their message!
Carol Veliotis is a local columnist for The Covington News. She can be reached at carol.veliotis@gmail.com.
