Money is like time, if you do not organize it
well you never have enough of it. Besides it seems the more money: the more
worries. And the less money, also: the more worries!
Once the walls of Ninive were so huge and wide that
three war-chariots could ride it next to each other. Ninive was truly an
unconquerable city. During daytime tens of thousands slaves worked on the wall,
to repair it and to increase it. At night the slaves were chained to the wall.
So, they were quite literally chained to the wall for life! Who were these
slaves? About 50% of them were people that Ninive had captured from its
enemies. The other 50% were people that used to be citizens of the city! As a
citizen of Ninive, if you were in debt and you did not pay your debt in time,
you were forced to become a ‘slave of the wall’. And if that was not enough in
order to pay off your debt, then your entire family had to share your fate. It
gets even worse. Even if you ‘paid off’ your debts after years of hardship, you
could not regain your freedom. Once a slave, you remained a slave for life!
This example, of a time – about 3000 years ago, shows
in a rather harsh way the reality of what debt actually does with people. If
debts piles up, one finds himself chained to the wall of hopelessness.
Thankfully, in the more prosperous countries like the Netherlands and Germany, there
are various possibilities to get support with debt settlement. Nonetheless,
debt remains a true and ugly energy- and resilience-killer for the ones
involved!
Though money in itself is neutral, the way we deal
with it is far from it. Spoiled people constantly feel like others have to take
care that there is plenty of money for them to spend. Greedy people are always
afraid that they have too little, and keep on amassing more and more. Also
money works – in some aspects – the same way that power works. Both can give
you the feeling of being independent, of being in charge (that is, if you have
‘enough’ money and power).
Experiencing that kick – of being able to determine
things for yourself – is not at all a problem. It is one of the basic kicks in
life: the feeling of being independent, of making own decisions, of creating
something new, etc. But, if you get addicted to that kick, you want to
experience it more and more. And you start doing stupid things. The same is
true for money. Especially for the ones with a talent for making money, they
experience that kick of getting more and more. The ‘less talented ones’ in this
aspect face another serious problem. They face the misery of being in debt.
Both suffer from the negative impact of money.
Nonetheless, everybody can learn to deal with it in a
healthy way. To use money as a tool to shape your life in positive way! Usually
you learn to deal with money this way as a young adult. But if you have not
learned it well, money easily becomes a energy- and resilience-killer instead
of a positive structural resource.
In the 18th century there was a lot of
chaos and misery amongst the common civilians. In France it lead to the French
Revolution. In England it lead to a movement of ‘restoration at the base’. One of
the most inspiring people that contributed to everybody’s bettering was John
Wesley. He was a pioneer and a leader of the Methodists movement. This
movement, which originated from the Protestant Church, brought groups of
citizens together to take responsibility for their surroundings, and for the
society as a whole! It realized a constructive ‘bottom-up-revolution’ amidst
the poverty and misery of the 18the century.
John Wesley was aware of the fact that it is rather
important to educate the young and the old how to deal with money in a healthy
way. So, he organized teachings on this subject. You might think now, ‘this was
hundreds of years ago, how is this even relevant!?’ The fact that there still
are tens of thousands that are in serious debt-problems makes it relevant by
itself, I would say. Before we go deeper into the teachings of dealing with
money in a healthy way, we take a quick look at John Wesley’s credo:
1.
What is enough?
2.
Earn as much as you can (within reason)!
3.
Safe as much as you can (within reason)!
4.
Give as much as you can (within reason)!
In the following blogs we will work our way
through these 4 guidelines. For now, ask yourself: in what situation am I at
present? Enough? Too little? Too much?
Paul
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