This quote (or something close to it) was displayed at a customer’s site today. The display went on to discuss their companies goals and ends, which apparently went beyond making money. Our (small) company motto is simple and direct:
- Make Money.
- Stay out of Jail.
- Have Fun.
Not necessarily in that order.
The US and everyone in the Western world is has a plentitude of money, even most of those who think they have little. What might we think of … money. But do we obsess about it? Is money our Pearl of Great Price?
Making money is a thing we all have to do to survive. Some people, quite erroneously, point to it as a source of happiness against the advice of St. Paul (to 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV))
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
or as Evagrius might say (Ad Monachos
Maxim 16: Just as Love rejoices in poverty
so Hate is pleased by wealthMaxim 18: He who loves money will not see knowledge
and he who amasses it will become dark in himselfMaxim 26: Better poverty with knowledge
than wealth with ignorance
Evagrius, before the seven deadly sins, taught the 8 evil thoughts:
- Gluttony
- fornication
- love of money
- sadness
- anger
- listlessness
- vainglory
- pride
So there is danger here. Love of money, collection of it, obsession over it and love of it is an evil. But having some amount of money is required. If you want to give your children “every advantage” … you’ll also be wanting some of the green as well. Warren Meyer at Coyote Blog makes some interesting points about money. Economics in the world is not zero sum. As productivity of the the working people of the world goes up, so does the available wealth.
And this leads to the following thought, which ties back into the title motto which started this off. We might best practice global (non-localized) charity (that is to affect those around us indirectly as opposed to being personally charitable to those with which we have personal contact) is to increase global productivity. Get more efficient. Automate. Innovate. These actions are globally charitable. Encourage policies which free up people in other lands from beaurocracy, evil rulers, excessive regulation and corruption. The point of your business might be to encourage the generation of new wealth. Creating new sources of stuff so that for those in need there is more available. And if we don’t obsess over it, and encourage such practice, at the same time the amassing of great quantities in small segments of the population might at the same time be less common.
It also seems to me in the grand scheme of things, there are vocations which are more constructive than others. When choosing your avocation, it might be wise to select one which a positive influence on the world as well as fitting with your particular gifts.
One Response
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
Continuing the Discussion