People love their money. This is not a criticism just a fact. People work 10-12-14 hours a day partly people they need money and often because they love money. Money gives one a sense of security. Money represents limitless possibilities. With money you can buy a car, a house, a boat, tickets to the game, clothing and in our world the amount of things you can buy is limitless. Money is power. When people have a lot of money people listen to them. They are able to pay for things they want done. Money is ego - So and so is "worth" X dollars. Money is a lot of things to a lot of people. People's relationships with money are complex as people are complex.
People don't really love money as much as they love THEMSELVES. They love the way money makes them feel. After the Madoff scandal broke, it was revealed how much money people had [in the past tense]. People had millions put away just gaining interest [or so they thought]. What do people need so much money for? There are people who have less than nothing. The answer is - people love having money. Or more correctly - They love themselves and the way money makes them feel. It is hard for many people to part with their money - especially if they feel they won't get anything out of it for themselves. So are the facts. When I hear the line "he doesn't care about money", I am very wary. There ARE such people but they are rare. People are very secretive about their financial situation, often because they fear what will happen if the fact of their wealth becomes public. The tzedaka vultures will swamp him!! Then his possession of his beloved money will be jeopardized.
Again - not a criticism or mussar [I don't shy away from giving mussar but that is not the point of this post]. Just the facts [as I see them].
If my analysis is correct - How come there are no LOVE SONGS about money??? There are MILLLIONNNSSSSSSS of love songs [and poems] about women by men [and about men by women] but ZERO about money. Why?
Here is my theory: People need love much much much more than they need money. Money is just paper. Money might be enable one to purchase some external items but love nourishes the SOUL. Nobody is writing love songs about money because money doesn't nourish the soul.
So make sure you have the money you need. But remember to nourish your soul. Love others and hopefully others will love you in return.
Another interesting insight is that all of the love songs are always about romantic man-woman love. Even though parents love their children, how often do we hear love songs about one's children? Or about siblings?? It is a deep seated need to be in a loving, intimate relationship. It nourishes body and soul as one.
#לאטובהיותהאדםלבדו
