There’s been a long standing quote “money is the root of all evil”. Little did most of the population know it’s actually a misquoted Bible verse – “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10, KJV), also stated as “For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil” (New American Standard Bible). Money itself isn’t the root cause of injustice, hate, or violence, it’s more the quest and the greed that comes along with it. Money itself is a great motivator, but the evils that follow and envy that ensues is crippling to most.

Money doesn’t change people, but people’s mindsets change with an uptick in available funds. It doesn’t have to be that way, but every day you hear stories of people who’ve had a substantial come-up and lost themselves in the whirlwind that inevitably follows. Maintaining a certain level of self is crucial to pursuing your end goals and the wealth that often comes along with it. Capital may change you to a point, but you can’t lose yourself or alienate those close to you in the quest for money. You’re more of a dickhead with paper than without. It’s not even a question.

The pursuit of happiness is a closely associated phrase that, when coupled with greed, is the number one cause for pushing those you consider as close friends away. We don’t live in a particularly socialist country, where assets are shared “equally” and you can see the difference in the classes more today. When people say “the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor”, it’s a very accurate portrayal of society today. You can hop in your car and drive thru the most poverty-stricken communities, seeing heart-wrenching visuals…and ten minutes up the street are affluent communities, $60k vehicles, monstrous homes, etc. The disparity between the two is just a few miles, but it’s like an entirely different world, but I digress.

Moral of the story: Regardless how much money you may make in the course of your life, you need to stay true to yourself, never alienate the people that stuck with you thru strife and will continue to stand by you into your triumphs and successes. Money can’t buy happiness, although the material goods that you buy may make you happy for short periods of time, love and respect last longer and stay stronger than your bank account and wallet can even hold.