“Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.” – P.T. Barnum

“The love of money is the root of all evil.” – 1 Timothy 6:10

If we are going to talk about money, firstly we must define what money is. This seems like an easy question, but the answer will change from person to person, as with many questions that ask you to define something. If you answer with a dictionary definition, it becomes a medium of exchange. If you answer with an American Dollar, it becomes a god you should trust. If you answer with a match, it becomes a tool for creating light. And for a Marxist, money is equal to your labor.

Since there are more dollars on earth than matches or dictionaries (or Marxists), I will define money using a dollar bill that says “In God We Trust.” The day the Lydians created money, they also created a powerful belief system. After all, what gives money its power is society’s belief in its value. This belief system is more fundamental and widespread than all Abrahamic religions. Even when ISIS printed their gold and silver currency, it gained value instantly, regardless of the printer’s ideology. You won’t be able to buy bread in Zion with a holy book of yours, but you can buy the bakery with your silver coins, as the Romans said, “Pecunia non olet” (money doesn’t stink). When you think about it, money is the only religion that tempts greed.

But is it right to worship a religion that spits in the face of all ethical values? For most people, I believe, the answer is yes. The brother will kill his own kin for money, the governor will sell his signature for it, and Judas will backstab for it. For its worshippers, money can and will buy anything, even salvation. I can’t forget something a friend of mine once said: “One glass of whiskey will make your conscience go silent at night.” Power corrupts, and money is the ultimate corrupter. Like a drug, it addicts you unless you learn to control yourself and it.

I learned morals and virtue from my family, not from any teachers or friends. The most important virtue for me was and is honesty, with temperance a close second. Even when I was a child, I could control my instincts and, thanks to that, I didn’t get addicted to anything. However, many of my friends and colleagues are addicts. Some are addicted to tobacco, some to alcohol, and there are gamblers too. When your willpower is weak, you are doomed to fail. But when it comes to money, nearly everyone I know is somewhat addicted. They can’t realize that it’s just a tool. Even in their prayers or messages to the universe, they ask for money, not the things they truly crave! You might call them not-so-bright, but no, some of the smartest people I know crave money, not happiness or inner peace, which is the true salvation. Inner peace cannot be bought or silenced by anything, not even with whiskey.

Money can also be a great tool. I know, I know, it’s a cliché, but it’s true. You can use it to move to a country that shares your values, freeing yourself from the corporate grind. I always seem to be the greedy one in the eyes of my friends when I refuse to buy a darn coffee that costs 5 dollars (160TL in monopoly money). I’ve never explained my thinking to anyone because I know many of them can’t understand the way I think. It’s not because I’m a genius; I’m not. They can’t understand because they weren’t raised the way I was, by two bankers. I save my money, not because I’m greedy, but because I can achieve my dreams in the long run, thanks to the devotion of mine and sacrifices my parents made in the past. My family and I have traveled throughout Europe and ventured into the depths of Turkey, but we have never worshipped the false god of money. I believe they developed an immunity to it, much like a gynecologist who is immune to lust. I also realized that people who acquire wealth later in their lives tend to be more open to the corrupting influence of power since they never got the chance to grow an immunity, like in the saying, you can take someone out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of that person…

Final thoughts (also a TL;DR): If you can’t learn how to save money, you will work your whole life making someone else richer. If you can’t learn not to worship it, your morals will depend on it. Find the middle way and save yourself. Greed, sloth and pride… They are all declared cardinal sins for a reason.