Bribery

"For the love of money is the root of all evil." - 1 Timothy 6:10

This is a popular verse and often repeated when talking about greed and what humans really worship. The key word in the verse is always the same: Love. The LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Unless you are truly in love with money, you probably won't argue this point much. It is easy to see within Christianity, that loving money means that you aren't loving God. I think within most circles, people would agree that greed does not promote positive values and promotes selfishness instead. I bring this up because it seems like our culture forces us to love money.

Everyone works for money, it is a necessity in some respects, but how far should this go? We are rewarded at our jobs with more money. Colleges try to find jobs that pay well for their graduates. We work in jobs we hate so we can earn more money. We settle disagreements and lawsuits with money. We require money to be entertained. The best jobs pay the most money. Market up = good, market down = bad. The necessity of money has left no room to value anything else. Haven't we all heard that "everything has a price." I realize now that this is a sad state of affairs if everything has a price and nothing is priceless. What about our lives and liberties? How much is it worth to you to pursue a life that makes you happy? AT what cost would you sell your happiness?

I would propose that if money is how we measure success, than we will be sorely disappointed in the end. Would it be unfair to say that the poor sell their pursuit of happiness for whatever they can gain from doing nothing? If you can make more on welfare than you can working in a job, why work? What is the point?

Ask a kid what he/she wants to do when they grow up. What is the answer? Is it janitor, construction worker, or farmer? Does the dream job involve long hours and back-breaking work? Some might, but they are probably the minority. We have forgotten that there is nothing wrong with hard, physical labor. Rather, we pass these jobs off to the un-educated, or the illegals in the country and then complain that there are no jobs available. No, we can't find a job that pays the amount of money we want. But will it ever be enough? I am this way, and I'm assuming that at least one other person in the world is like me, that's why I say 'we'.

I see many people, and leaders, with a liberal agenda arguing that money is not everything and that housing the homeless and feeding the sick is the more worthy goal. I agree. Yet they require taking money from others to accomplish their goal.

The leaders of our cities, counties, states and federal government are elected each year based on how much they can get away with taking from others and giving to those who elect them. Principles don't have political weight. Politicians sell themselves to gain power. They bribe us with promises and claims of our own well-being. We accept that the government is here to take care of us and we vote that way.

Do you like taking bribes?

I'm not talking about democrats or republicans, I'm talking about politicians. We need to evaluate our leaders. Figure out what their agenda is. At what cost will you sell your freedom? Healthcare? Housing? Social Security? Have you weighed all the costs of the entitlements that you receive?