I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “Money is the root of all evil.” People commonly think this is a quote from the bible, its actually an inaccurate misquote. The bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil, but I would take it further back than that and say that people are the root of all evil.

Money is just a tool, an amplifier. Money can be used for good, and it can be used for evil. There are wealthy people who use their money to benefit others though philanthropy, donations and grants, and there are also wealthy people who use their money as a means of oppression, extortion, and the like.

Evil has its roots in the hearts of men. It didn’t come from the creation of money. People were doing evil things way before we used money as a way to exchange value. Why did Cain kill Able? It wasn’t to steal Able’s possessions, it was because of jealousy. Sure, people do evil things for money, but it’s not money in itself that is evil.

If you were a good person before money, you will most likely be a good person when you have money. If you were a bad person before money, then that wealth will certainly be used to enable you to amplify those bad qualities.

Anyone can become wealthy and becoming wealthy doesn’t entail that you had to do some shady stuff to get there. It seems to me that some people who are poor like to believe that rich people are evil because that makes them a good person for being poor. Wrong.

They have a bad relationship with money and like to associate their lack of it with being a good person, which is very far from the truth. There are people in poverty who are just as evil, if not more evil, as those who are rich and evil. Being a good person is not an excuse to be poor. Why not be good and rich? Then you could use your wealth for the good of mankind.

Don’t rationalize your poverty by making the excuse that money is evil. Money is nothing to be afraid of, what you should worry about is what kind of person you would be if you had lots of money. That is when your true colors will show.

I know people who are wealthy that are some of the kindest and most generous people you’ll ever meet. I have also known rich people who were stuck-up assholes, who believed that their wealth made them superior to everyone else. These are the type of person who treats servers at restaurants with disrespect because they have never had to wait a table themselves. That’s the rich kid at school who bullied the poor kids at school because they aren’t wearing the newest Nike’s.

Everyone has had a run-in with that kind of rich person, and it leaves a sour taste in your mouth that can leave you associating wealth with stuck-up assholes. Listen, bad people are bad people with or without money, and good people are good people with or without money. You should want to be wealthy. There is nothing bad about being rich.

Money is not the root of all evil, money just amplifies who you are. Evil takes its root in the hearts of men.