“But they who desire to be rich fall into
temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown
men in destruction and perdition. For
the Love of Money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the Faith and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
- - I Timothy 4:9-10
The financial crisis.
The job market. The NHL Lockout. The prosperity gospel. These
four phenomena is not only big news, but a reflection of how Western culture
has evolved into the state of where it is right now. Money seems to make the world go round and
round. But to what expense do we allow
money to control our lives? Does it make
us happy? Does the lust for more money
help people as a whole or to the one who has all “the toys”?
My goal in this short expose is to analyze these four key points of contemporary culture to effectively show that greed, whether for power, fame, or money, does not serve the good of the individual or society, but it is a deterrent to the conscious development and harmony of the individual and society. In other words, greed ultimately kills, destroys, and tears apart both the individual and society if the reins are not pulled in time.
THE NHL LOCKOUT
The NHL Lockout is a classic,
contemporary example of illustrating why greed is not good for the whole of
society. In this case, the ones who are
affected the most by this strike are the fans who pay money to go game after game
cheering on their favourite teams and athletes. However, what we see in this lockout is a
tug of war between the millionaires and billionaires who won’t agree to budge
in any direction.
This lack of budging shows their
complete and utter stubbornness and lust for more money and monetary power. This really shows that they do not care
about the fans, the game, or serving one another. All that it is you have a group of
billionaire owners versus a group of millionaire players fighting for a piece
of the pie in terms of gross revenue sharing.
I say that the easiest way to get
this resolved is to go 50/50. It seems
fair, just, and will make everybody in the end. But to cancel a season where both parties
want more of the pie, it just shows sadly it is not about the love of the game
and love of the fans anymore. It is for
the love of money, which is rooted in all kinds of evil.
THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL
One of the most banal examples of
greed portrayed in recent memory is the onslaught of televangelists declaring
that monetary gain is a blessing from the Lord. They would go as far as to say that if you
give enough, pray enough, and decree it enough, you can ask God to give
whatever your hearts desire for without any regard to moral or spiritual
consequences.
I do not think we have learned after
the scandals of the two Jim’s, Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker. I think that televangelism has evolved into
a gospel that is palatable to the trends of the day. NO repentance, no simple living, no giving
until it literally hurts. Basically the
prosperity gospel is a Christianized version of the Las Vegas casinos where the
receiving end has all the benefit, not the giver.
THE JOB MARKET
Layoffs.
Out-sourcing. Early
retirements. Cost Cutting. Work is not what it used to be many moons
ago, where hard work and company loyalty were things to be admired and
rewarded. In the era of greed, work is
not about who works the hardest, but on who screws the hardest.
It is saddening and maddening when
one gives years of employment to a reputable company only to have it snatched
away over the advent of company restructiing.
I say why fix what is not broken?
I feel that the capitalist job market should have its regulations set in
place by the government. The
government should step in to ensure that jobs are protected and not fall onto
the onslaught of company greed. The
main purpose of work is to ensure the well being and survival of the common
man, not for the sake of producing a few dollars more.
THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
Finally, the fourth main cause of
greed not being good, is the whole financial crisis that started in 2008. It all started when predators wanted to bank
on the reality that people cannot pay back their mortages and loans given to
them by the banks. Thanks to this
example of greed, people are losing their livelihood and their futures thanks
to a legally operated casino style operation put on by the banking systems of
the world.
I say this and I will say this
again. It is time for governments to
impose standards and controls over the free market system. Capitalism must be regulated, must be
standardized, and must be reigned in to avoid people’s lives being crushed by
the gambling rich. With such
regulations, we will have a better system, a better market, and a better means
of achieving wealth that is ethical, practical, and doesn’t lead itself into a
state of total collapse.
CONCLUSION
Money has a funny way of defining
ourselves and society as a whole.
What
we fail to realize that money is just a tool in which used the right way, can
do a whole lot of god for society (i.e. charitable giving).
It can also be a tool for evil, as outlined
briefly in the four points that contribute to the moral and spiritual crisis of
our times.
In order to make ourselves
better citizens and a better society, we should rethink money and possessions
and means of accumulation, but as means to benefit, nurture, and build a better
society where we can secure a better future for those that dwell therein.
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