Whoever invented money could have only thought of the convenience it can do to people. It was, I believe, intended for the good of mankind. Unfortunately, like medicine, it produced many side effects or negative impacts. It has been found out that it has the capacity to ruin many lives through the years. I didn’t think the inventor was able to foresee that. Money eventually became so influential that almost all the evil committed in this world are caused by money. When we hear the phrase, “money talks” it is usually interpreted in the negative way.
Let me get this straight however. Money is in itself not at all evil. Money is as neutral as a gun which doesn’t hurt anyone if it just lying in the ground. It depends on who is holding that gun. If it falls on the wrong hands, then the gun becomes lethal. So is money.
Contrary to popular belief, money is not the root of all evil. Thank God, not all people who have money are evil persons. I have known a lot of rich people who are miles away from being evil, they are almost like saints even. This is because they are responsible with the wealth they have in their possession. They share their riches. They donate. They help the needy.
Meanwhile, the February is known as the love month. Coincidentally, it is also the month where most co-ops hold their general assembly meetings. The members will be looking forward to receiving interests on their share capital contribution or popularly known as dividends and patronage refund if they are patronizing the services of their co-op which they should be. They ought to patronize their co-op’s services and products. It is both their duty and obligation. This is the main reason they joined the co-op in the first place.
Somehow love and money get intertwined. You will get a lot of love when you have money. Sometimes you also have to have money to get the love you want. And then there is the love of money. This is where life gets interesting and a little bit controversial. The moment you love money, you become greedy. You will only think of what you can get. You will never be satisfied of just having money. You want more. Then you will look for ways to get it even to the extent of risking your life, future, family and integrity.
This popular saying about the love of money being the root of all evil is actually found in the Bible (I Timothy 6:10). As I have stated earlier, money is not evil. In fact, you can do good things with money. But if you crave for it like an addiction to a certain drug, that’s where you can go the wrong way and plunge yourself into ruin and destruction as the Bible says.
To our fellow co-operators, cooperativism is not all about money. It is also about service and helping our fellowmen. Do not love money to the extent of being obsessed with it. Money is a good servant but a bad master. Use money to do good instead of being used by it.