“Money doesn’t talk, it swears”

Dollar Sign by Andy Warhol

This lyric comes to mind whenever I hear stories about the growing inequalities between the rich and the poor; how money is corrupting the political process and financial industries; the violent gang warfare taking place to determine who will control the illegal market for drugs; the expensive battles being fought by couples going through bitter divorce proceeding; and the woes of families who fight to distribute the large sums of money they win in government sponsored lotteries. With the media reporting all these stories about the evils of money, it is easy to understand what led Bob Dylan to sing out that money doesn’t talk, it swears.

But in truth, money is not good or bad. It is the things we do in life to obtain money and how we use the money we obtain that matters. St Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy that it is not money itself that is an evil, but the lust for it that leads us to wander off the path:

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

People that let their lives become infected with the love of money are like the character in the John Steinbeck novel The Winter of Our Discontent who believe that “there is no such thing as just enough money. Only two measures: No Money and Not Enough Money“. Pursuing this philosophy can lead to grief when people become slaves to the acquisition and protection of their money at the expense of the more important things in their lives.

It can be easy to become deceived that money brings happiness, but we have countless examples in life that show riches and fame and power do not guarantee happiness. All you have to do is watch one of the many reality TV shows that document the drama and misery of most celebrity lives. After viewing a few of those shows, I’m thankful that I’m not rich, powerful, or famous. I think it would be difficult to live when people treat you like a god and you have to deal with the kinds of temptations that come from knowing you can have anything you want. And it must be an empty feeling to know that you have all these things yet none of them brings you happiness. I once listened to a nurse talk about a hospital in Miami that catered to very rich and famous people. She said that the number one reason why those people came to the hospital was because they were suffering from depression.

Theodore Parker acknowledged that having too much money or too little money can make life difficult when he wrote “Wealth and want equally harden the human heart“.  I’m convinced that money itself does not bring happiness, but I do realize that money does make life easier. People with means have more freedom to make choices in their life that are not available to those who are struggling to live from paycheck to paycheck. And statistics show that the well-off are better educated, have better access to health care, live in safer communities and have longer lifespans. Money, when used in the proper way, can be a good that gives people more freedom to make choices about how they will live their life and those who have it are better able to positively influence the lives of their families and promote the causes that are important to them .

In my life I have tried to live a life of integrity, living simply while using the money I have accumulated as a means to an end – not in the acquisition of things but in the accomplishments of my life’s objectives. I have been fortunate to live somewhere between wealth and want  – in that ideal middle ground that Pablo Picasso once described “…as a poor man, with lots of money“.

Here are some examples from my life that show how I attempted to avoid wandering off the path in my pursuit of money, while at the same time using the money I did make to help achieve my life goals:

• When my wife and I were newly married and just starting out, we made the collective decision that our living budget would be based on my salary alone so that she would not have to work and could stay home with our young children. That decision led us to buy a reasonably priced house with an unfinished upstairs that I could afford with my salary and finish in my spare time as the family grew and our financial condition improved.

• While the children were young, we spent money for my wife to take college classes at night so she could get a teaching degree in Early Childhood Education. As a result, when the children reached school age she was able to land a job teaching at the same private Catholic Elementary school that our children were attending. The time they shared together and the bonding that resulted during those formative growing years was priceless to us and worth all the financial sacrifices that we made.

• Throughout my career I have made it a point to avoid becoming coin-operated – chasing salary and job positions solely to earn a higher paycheck. Several times during my career I turned down promotions and other job offers that would have paid me more money, but would have resulted in more headaches, more time away from my family, and less job satisfaction.

• From my first job as a paperboy when I was 10 through all the various jobs I have had in my career, I made it a point to save a portion of my paycheck. This practice  allowed me to always have money on hand to pay for those inevitable emergencies that come up during life and to put money away to pay for my eventual retirement – so that I will not become a financial burden to my children in my old age and so that I can retire while I am still healthy and pursue other activities that interest me and will contribute to my growth.

• I allocate a percentage of my income to donate to the people, organizations, and causes that I feel are worthy or that have touched me along the way in  some way great or small. A Memorial Fund for my wife that benefits childhood education, Catholic Charities who provide services to help the poor and vulnerable, Hospice programs that comfort the dying and offer bereavement programs for their loved ones, a Conservation organization dedicated to preserving wilderness areas for the public and contributions to individual causes that come up in the course of daily life.

My objective in all the ways that I obtain and spend money is to turn Bob’s phrase around – rather than make my money swear, I try to make my money pray. A prayer to do useful and productive work in the world, a prayer to provide material comfort for my family, a prayer to help those who are in need, a prayer to assist my loved ones to reach their full potential, a prayer to preserve our world for future generations and a prayer to retire with dignity and leave a legacy for those that follow.

My prayer for you is that all the money that you receive and spend be for a blessing – and not a curse – all the days of your life.