Have does one change the thought patterns that are deeply embedded in a person from early childhood and on that money is the most important thing in life? Not just enough money to survive - for food, clothing and shelter. But to have a LOT more than we need. And THAT is called a success. When people say about someone "he does well for himself", it never means that he davens 3 times a day with a minyan or that he finished Shas three times. It means that he made a lot of money.
Someone once defined anti-semitism as hating Jews more than necessary. The attitude toward money is the same construct. The idea of money in our society is not just as a 讻诇讬 to serve Hashem but as an end in and of itself. People feel like they have to have MORE than they need. Why? Nobody asks that question. [I do but I am a nobody馃槉馃槉]. That is the poison that is in all of our minds. I know loads of people, good, kind, generous, G-d fearing people who are obsessed with money and that it the main focus of heir lives. Not just money so that they and their families can eat but money for moneys sake. And it is never enough. They never get to a point where they say - "I have enough to live. I will stop thinking about it and pursing it." Why?
It is a poison. It is a poison that is so insidious because we don't realize that it is poison. And that is step one. Step one toward uprooting this perversion of thought, attitude and belief is to realize and be conscious of the fact that it is a Western fiction that has brainwashed our minds and contaminated our souls.
I wish there were mental health professionals who specialized in "money therapy". Analyzing, researching and treating the issue of man's complex relationship with his [or her] money.
