Thinking to Believe

October 28, 2009

3 Responses to “Life Reflections: Money and Happiness”

1. Scott Speight Says:

   
   October 29, 2009 at 2:00 am

   I disagree.

   Money has nothing to do with happiness. Poverty causes misery as well as lack of imagination.

   The problem is not due to finance but comparing yourself to people that have wealth.

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2. jasondulle Says:

   
   October 29, 2009 at 10:17 am

   Scott,

   This is an apohorism, which means it does not hold true in all cases (like the Proverbs in Scripture). It is just a general truth.

   I’ve heard others say what you are saying: that the problem is the desire to have more, and if we didn’t desire more, we would be happy (essentially, that the problem is greed). In fact, there is a great quote encompassing this idea: “It is not he who has little, but he who wants more, who is poor.”

   While that may be true in many cases, it’s not always true. One doesn’t have to want to keep up with the Joneses in order to experience misery caused by finances. There are some families out there who are living paycheck to paycheck, or whose basic expenses exceed their income. They are living on credit cards to keep their heads above the water, realizing that they are spiraling toward financial disaster. Whenever something unexpected comes up like a traffic ticket or the need for new tires, it spells financial ruin for them. Living like that is miserable, and can cause considerable strain on a marriage (which brings more misery).

   I know money doesn’t always make people happy (sometimes, it actually makes them more unhappy). But having a sufficient amount of money can alleviate a lot of problems that a lack of money can bring, and thus can alleviate some sources of personal misery.

   Jason

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3. truthofgod Says:

   
   October 30, 2009 at 5:38 am

   Jason, you are preaching to the chior bro. You really don’t know that you are REALLY preaching to the chior…lol

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