It’s a tragedy.

In our society, if someone decides they want to be rich, their peers probably won’t respond too well.

There are a lot of people who don’t think wanting to be rich is very admirable.

We’re raised constantly hearing things like “money is the root of all evil” or “money doesn’t buy happiness”.

Does being poor make you happy?

If you break your leg and can’t afford to go to the hospital, does that make you happy?

People also say “I don’t want money because it will change me.”

The only person who can change you, is YOU.

Your personality doesn’t change with the amount of money you have, it simply makes you more of what you already are.

A person that is poor and selfish or prideful will be even more like that if they’re rich.

A person that is poor and generous will be an even more generous rich person.

It’s true that money won’t buy happiness.

Am I contradicting myself?

No. Happiness is a state of mind.

If you’re poor and unhappy, you’ll probably be just as unhappy when you’re rich unless you change your attitude.

But it’s certainly easier to be happy when you have money, because you aren’t faced with the difficult struggles that come with being poor. Such as a fear of being evicted and having nowhere to live, fear of your car breaking down, suffering from health problems because you can’t afford nutritious food, not being able to afford healthcare, the stress and worry of money troubles, etc.

Outside circumstances don’t determine your happiness. That’s something you have to change inside.

What makes even less sense is the saying “money is the root of all evil”.

Without money, we would have no roads to drive on, no parks for our kids to go to, no libraries, schools or churches.

Next time you hear a teacher or minister say that money is evil, recommend that they try to build their next church or school with just “love”.