Money Makes an Excellent Servant, But a Terrible Master

Put money in right perspective.

A few years ago, more than 280 people were killed and about 53 more injured when a fire swept through a crowded supermarket in Paraguay. Hundreds of customers and employees tried to flee the building but could not because the supermarket kept its doors locked to prevent customers from leaving without making due payments. Since the attitude of the supermarket manager was more devastating than the fire, a news publication reported the tragic incident under the heading, “Oh my God, what people do for money”.

However, the attitude of giving highest priority to money in life, as shown by the manager, is not an exception but a rule. For, most of us think a good life consists of our ability to purchase the best of goods and services that money can buy, though subconsciously. That is why we strive to earn money more than anything else in life.

Unfortunately, although the real purpose of money is merely to serve as a medium of exchange in an economy, we have given it the most central position in our lives. And money, which was meant to serve us as a substitute for the cumbersome barter system, has become our master, our god, and our everything.

Actually speaking, money has no intrinsic worth except for what we give it, whereas, our relationship with God, spouse, children, parents, friends, our moral convictions, and many other things in life are intrinsically worthwhile and cannot be bought with money.

It is true we need money to get even basic necessities in life, but, for that, we don't have to make money our master. For, it is one thing to earn one's bread and butter with hard work and honesty and it is quite another to start living for money.

Let us remember what British philosopher Francis Bacon said, “If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master”. “The covetous man,” he said “cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him.” And let us give heed to the old saying, “Money makes an excellent servant, but a terrible master”.