It's a subject worth considering. The subject has within it alot of conditioned responses, responses that different environments, societies, including religious ones of great influence, have taught people to have.  I can recognize where I have been a recipient of many "conditioned" ideas and ways of Thinking.                                     I am with those who saw or see the clarification that it's "the love of money" that leads to evil or we might say shallow goals or ones that do not hold much interior value.  Money for the sake of having money...seems like there must be a motive or reason for wanting it, and that motive or reason might be what this whole subject is really about.    

   Do you all agree that our society has largely taught many that Rich people are materialistic, greedy, superficial, etc..., and also that many a poor man, because he is not consumed with the treasures of this world, has a heart or mind or spirit more in tune with God, or more virtuous?  I believed that at one time and that leaves you with many feelings, such as:  my friends may not like me if I'm Rich, people will think I'm a snob, etc..., I will lose myself in materialism!, I will drift away from God, I will be bored-what will I have to do if I have the money to have everything I want? and on and on....(ha ha!)  Oh my, consider the "thinking" that "thinks" there is nothing to do if I am materialy rich!

    I'm with you Linda.  If we look past conditioned ways of Thinking, many have discovered that there are numerous extremely wealthy people who, yes, do admit they love the lifestyle, but moreso the freedom from mediocrity, but more signifigantly yet, it can be discovered that these people have in some or many ways, enriched the lives of many people, thus the Law of Sowing and Reaping...which extends beyond just the physical.

   I am not the only one who knows of some very wealthy people who have found that they cannot just sit and lounge in their luxury, but are possessed with a desire, a passion, to reach out and help other people to also have a better life.  Many a Rich person will confirm that they are driven by purpose or a Dream and even that a desire for money itself is not and never was a good enough or valuable enough motivator to drive them to the financial success they have. 

  I'm so long-winded, sorry!  My final statement on the subject is my favorite...Material wealth is just a manifestation of interior wealth.  It is a measurement of the amount and value of wealth we have given to others or to the world around us. It may not be money that we've given, but we've given something of worth to enrich others. There may be exceptions to everything, but perhaps not to laws of nature or of God, such as We Reap what we Sow. We might consider if we don't immediately agree, that our motives or spirit might play a part in what we are sowing, so that even if I sowed alot of money into something for a return, and suppose I didn't reap the money I expected, maybe I Would reap the emptiness of heart that I sowed with, if the only motive I had was selfish. If money means Richness to us, it must be Richness that we sow to get it.  Kim

  

Hi!

Do you all agree that our society has largely taught many that Rich people are materialistic, greedy, superficial, etc..., and also that many a poor man, because he is not consumed with the treasures of this world, has a heart or mind or spirit more in tune with God, or more virtuous?

Yes.... and WHY on earth do they think that? It's SO skewed. I SO disagree with that kind of thinking. Earning "just enough" to help myself and no one else does not make me pious or virtuous or closer to God. Earning enough to help others does not make me greedy, materialistic or superficial.

As you pointed out in another post -- it all boils down to our purpose. Those who don't look beyond their own needs are the ones that are selfish - whether they have money or not. It's pretty hard to help anyone else if our own cupboards are bare.

And, while I'm ranting anyway (lol) - might as well add these, too.

-- Money is not the only thing we have to give. Time and money are both commodities.
-- Helping people that do nothing to help themselves is not the same as helping people that are really in need.

That's my rant. Your turn. lol

Linda

Edited to add:  In case I was clear as mud, what I'm saying is that I do agree that society, religions, etc condition people to have the responses that they do, and to think as they do. (ie; rich people are bad, money is evil, etc, etc)  When I was much younger, I used to think that way, too. Then I discovered how good it felt to help others and realized that the more I have, the more I can give.  My point was that I just don't understand where the backward thinking (that is so prevalent among people) came from in the first place.  It makes no sense to me.

hello ..Money is one of those subjects that you can ask 10 people and each with have a different answer. It means different because people deal with either having it or not having it. Worked for it or not. ..Larry

Well...

I've been thinking...

Let's see...

If I had to choose between being miserable and poor VERSUS miserable and rich THEN I would choose the latter.

Got the drift?

Gary

PS: This new format looks rather nice.

Hi, All.

 

Oh, cool formatting tools!!!  No more laborious hand-coding. 

 

Now, what did I come here to say?  Oh, yeah. 

 

I recognized a lot of the thinking I grew up with in Kim's description.  My father's family were dirt-poor, and my mother's barely comfortable.  My dad struggled all his life to finally provide a comfortable though not lavish retirement for himself and my mom.  I recall having the distinct feeling that I would be somehow betraying them if I broke out of that pattern even moderately.

 

It has been a long journey, full of two steps forward and one step back, to reach an intellectual understanding of the wrong-headedness of that attitude.  The emotional understanding of it is another story.  I still feel that the only justification for acquiring wealth is to give it generously to help those who are for some reason incapable of helping themselves.  Lately I've given to causes that provide resources like education and seed money so that they can begin to help themselves, because I agree with Linda. 

 

But I am slowly training myself to believe that it's OK to want nicer things for myself.  I think I've earned them.

 

Cheri