MONEY NEARLY ALWAYS THE ROOT …

A popular saying is ‘money is the root of all evil’.

Not entirely true; most serial killers couldn’t give a hoot about money. Possibly because they know they’d have no opportunity to spend it. But seriously, money is the root of nearly all evil, though we should not overlook the great American writer and philosopher, Mark Twain, who said: “It is actually the lack of money that is the root of all evil.” He had a point. But, then again, he always did. That, however, was over a century ago, a far cry from the obsessive consumption behaviour of today and against a background of very limited communications.
This article is not to trivialise how serious an issue the naked pursuit of money can be. The reality is of course that if it’s your god, you’ll never have enough. That’s why you see very rich people often chasing more, especially in terms of material possessions. But that’s their choice.

Illegally

Where one has the right to judge is where money is gained illegally, especially where corruption is involved. I always wonder how thieves of public money reconcile that behaviour with the morals of the Christian or other faith they might have. What exactly are they expecting at the Pearly Gates? A room at the side for confession and immediate ‘saving grace’ (God’s benevolence to the undeserving), I wonder. But I‘m not going to ruin your day by going on again about public theft. Let me share some views on the very subject of money; but away from the vexing issues associated with it; and embellished with the humour of some of the comedy greats of the world. The advent of credit and debit cards introduced a new dimension to the spending of money. In short, it became easier to be wasteful with a card than when parting with the actual cash. The absence of the notes themselves seemed to minimise the impact; thus carrying dangerous potential. King of the one-liners, Henny Youngman agreed: “I had my credit card stolen but I didn’t report it because whoever had taken it was spending less than my wife.” I may be in trouble with the ladies over that one, especially as, in this day and age, the lady is often the breadwinner.

Helping

Money is clearly the means to acquire enjoyment and the acquisition of assets. It is also a way of helping others. Lending to a friend in distress is a very satisfying act. All the more gratifying if you actually get the money back later. Celebrated comedian Emo Philips recalls such an incident with some regret; “I lent a friend of mine 10 thousand Dollars for plastic surgery, and now I don’t know what he looks like.” With most, it’s not so much an obsession with money but with the need for food, shelter, education costs and other basic necessities which need money. And the issue of money goes well beyond the individual. Nearly all countries rely on money - tax and customs revenue - to fund public services, though few taxpayers leap joyfully into the payment of tax, despite being encouraged to do so. Stand-up comedian Jackie Mason remembers a national plea; “My country’s revenue authorities said everyone should pay their income tax with a smile; I tried but they demanded cash.” And, of course, money talks. It gets you a better seat on the aircraft and a handy cab on the high street instead of queuing for a kombi. But too often when money talks it’s merely saying ‘goodbye’. Which may or may not be a happy moment.

Gambling

For many there is an innocent lifelong preoccupation with money; where the lottery dominates. This is the extreme example of gambling to win far more than you put at risk. All who buy lottery tickets imagine one of the colossal wins – US$50 million is now considered a relatively small amount – will bring happiness. If you are struggling frantically to pay the bills, the win does eliminate that stress from your life. Otherwise, it does little towards genuine happiness. In fact, a survey of big winners of lottery money found that many of the wins produced alarming results. Emerging from the initial shock in a stable condition is a challenge. The head spins with the range of spending options. You no longer know who your real friends are. And a high percentage of big lottery winners had lost most or all the money within five years of their win. You aren’t going to let that stop you, so just remember to give some of your winnings to those who weren’t so lucky in life. I like a gamble myself. In a butcher’s shop recently I bet him E100 he couldn’t reach the shelf with the meat on it. He refused, saying: “The steaks are too high.” The empirical evidence apparently shows that money does not buy happiness, though most people, given the chance, would love to try. Youngman would add, “And what’s the use of happiness anyway? It can’t buy you money.” Lol.

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