Money.
Next to love nothing else has inspired more songs, intense discussions (read: arguments), or shame and guilt. But why?
Isn’t money just paper and coins with pictures of dead presidents? (Yes I know, Ben Franklin was never president). Why does money cause such a stir in the hearts and lives of people?
Money is just an exchange of value. Before governments made uniform pieces of paper or round disks of metal with specific values people bartered.
They exchanged one thing of value for another thing of value. Bread for eggs. Chickens for shoes. Whatever I have of value for whatever you have of value.
Money is just a simplification of the process. Because maybe I need your shoes, but you don’t need my chickens, you need someone else’s bread.
So if money is just an exchange of value why does it tie us up in knots? Why do we fight over it, discuss how evil it is, feel guilty for asking for it? Why have we assigned a moral value to money?
“She has so little money, look how pious she is.”
“He’s got so much money, he must be a horrible person.”
Money is amoral.
It’s neither good or bad. Money is a representation of value. Not the value of a person, everyone is equally valuable, no matter how much money they have. Money is a representation of the value you’ve provided to the marketplace.
“But what about all those horrible people who just inherited all their money."
Again, money does not have morals. At some point, someone in their family likely provided value. “They’re still terrible people” Well maybe they are, but money doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Money just amplifies what you already are. Give a jerk more money, he’ll be a bigger jerk. Give a saint more money, she’ll make a bigger and better impact for good. Let’s stop equating money with good or bad.
Money is a tool.
The more you have, the more you can do in the world. Stop feeling guilty for earning money. Show up, provide value, collect your reward, change the world.
