“Are riches, I pray thee, precious either through thy nature or in their own? What are they but mere gold and heaps of Money. Yet these fine things show their quality better in the spending than in the hoarding. … But that which is transferred to another cannot remain in one’s own possession; and if that is so, than money is only precious when it is given away. … Again, if all the money in the world were heaped up in one man’s possession, all other would be made poor. …
“Does the beauty of the fields delight you? Surely, yes; it is a beautiful part of a right beautiful whole. Fitly indeed do we at times enjoy the serene calm of the sea, admire the sky, the stars, the moon, the sun. Yet is any of these thy concern? Never will fortune make thine that which the nature of things has excluded from thy ownership.” ~Boethius
The Hoarder and The Value of Money and Wealth
Some people just don’t get that the value of money is in spending it. The hoarder of money don’t get this. They seem to think that money has value all on its own.
It is like a person who decides to collect hammers. After years of collecting, he has thousands of them. Big hammer, small hammer, metal hammers, wooden hammers. Even a small one made of gold. Yet if he never actually uses those hammers to build something, they are simply wasted.
Paper money, especially today, has no real value at all except in using it to buy something. Some use much of their money to invest and make even more money. There is nothing wrong with that. But they must also spend money, not hoard it. In hoarding money, you defeat its purpose, which is to simplify the process of exchanging goods.
Possession
Boethius says that what is transferred to another cannot remain out own, and that may be the problem for some. They get so greedy that, even though they want that shiny new car, they don’t want to part with their money to get it. Only when the desire for the car exceeds the desire for the money do they spend it. Even then, many don’t get that the value of money comes in using it, not hoarding it.
Boethius correctly points out that if the ultimate money hoarder managed to hoard all the money in the world, everyone else would be poor. This should be obvious to anyone, yet it seems it isn’t. There is only so much money to go around, and when a few hoard it, other must go without.
Natural Beauty
Boethius asks if we find the fields, flowers, stars, and so on beautiful. Nearly all of us will say “Yes!”. Yet those who hoard money or goods fail to recognize this. The thing of nature are more beautiful that an imitation of them. A real field of flowers is better than an assortment of artificial ones. Laying outside on a warm summer night and observing the real stars is much better than laying on a bed and watching an electronic display of artificial stars on the ceiling. Yet many foolish people choose the artificial over the real, and therefore value wealth more than nature and relationships.
Nature, Spirit and Money
While money isn’t by itself a deterrent to spiritual development, it is if you are a hoarder of it. Jesus told the wealthy man he would have to give his wealth to the poor if he wish to join their community. This wasn’t just for that one man, but for all who joined His followers. Like all Essene communities, the money of all who joined was kept by a treasurer to be used for the good of the community, not any one individual. An idea which has been lost in many of today’s churches.
The important thing, when it comes to money and spiritual growth, is that the person must not value money and goods more than the development of his spirit and soul. If he does, such development will be nearly impossible until he overcomes that belief.
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