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Date Posted: 03:13:36 05/20/04 Thu
Author: By BOB GARON
Subject: Of Money and Success

Of money and success
By BOB GARON

Balance in everything is difficult to maintain, yet balance is the key to happiness. Have fun, but be responsible. Develop your career, but don’t neglect yourself or the family. Love God, but love your neighbor too.

We look at those who have lots of money and we call them successful. We dream of being successful and moving into a beautiful subdivision and live among the wealthy. We want to make money and drive a late-model car, eat in fancy restaurants and travel abroad to see the world. We want to earn more to send our kids to the best schools.

And for those who are noble, more money means greater opportunities to do charity, to help the less fortunate.

So money is a good thing. Earning more is desirable. Working like crazy is necessary to make both ends meet, especially in a country where so many live below the poverty line.

But then there are those for whom money is God. The pursuit of money is an obsession which they cannot shake. It is all-consuming. These people will do anything for money, use any devious means to get it.

And once they have it, they find that it is never enough. They work like madmen to acquire more and more. They lose their values, reshuffle their priorities and live for the next deal. They will not hesitate to lie, cheat and steal to gain financial advantage. In short, they worship at the altar of Mammon.


So money is bad. The pursuit of it wicked and evil. But then it’s also good and necessary to live a decent life for ourselves and our children.

So is it good or is it bad? It’s neither. It’s the worship of money that corrupts. It is the pursuit of it at the cost of principles and ethics that is reprehensible. It is stepping on others and their rights in order to acquire it that is wrong. If, however, we can keep our balance and values in perspective; if we don’t sell our souls to the devil to get it, then

it’s surely better to be wealthy than to be poor.

The financial scandals and scams that amount to millions in stolen money by those who already have more than they need to have a good life are strong examples of how money can corrupt the heart and soul of man. When an executive spends an inordinate amount of time trying to earn more than the other millionaires, all the while neglecting himself and his family, then that is when mo­ ney is the corruptor.


Balance in everything is difficult to maintain, yet balance is the key to happiness. Have fun, but be responsible. Develop your career, but don’t neglect yourself or the family. Love God, but love your neighbor too.

Happiness is dependent on the amount of balance we can have in our lives. Too much of anything isn’t good. Too little isn’t, either.

The same is certainly true of money. Too little means poverty and all the ills that it fosters. Too much money can corrupt even the most virtuous man.

What’s needed is balance and sobriety. Not easy. What’s necessary is a great deal of maturity, a healthy view of life and an appreciation of spiritual values.

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