A Question Still Unanswered

Can money buy happiness?

 Answering this question either way will put you in one of two camps.  Answer “yes” and you become a selfish, soulless money-grabber.  But if you are decent, family-oriented, unselfish, or a churchgoer, you are expected to answer “no”. 

 I don’t think it’s that simple.  And, perhaps unconsciously, neither do most Americans.

 Charles Schwab, the money management and investment firm, just released its second annual Modern Wealth Index, and the results of this national survey point to money being a big contributor to people feeling wealthy.  Oh, not on the face of it.  No, when asked their personal definition of
wealth, the leading answer was “living stress-free” (28%).  Another 17% cited loving relationships with friends and family.

 But I’ve written before regarding the studies that show worrying about financial matters is the leading cause of stress in the United States; so maybe that 28% of respondents is hiding behind the “stress-free” answer—which sounds a lot more high-minded than the 18% who responded flatly “being able to afford all wants” defines “wealth”.  Put these two groups together and you nearly have a majority who implicitly or explicitly believe money is the key to happiness.

 When the survey drilled down to specifics, people listed owning a home, eating out, having the latest tech gadgets, or even subscribing to a streaming service like Netflix as contributors to their feeling wealthy.

 Sounds like money buying happiness to me.  And when the survey asked respondents to put a number to it all, Americans on average said it took $1.4 million to be considered financially comfortable and $2.4 million to be truly wealthy.  Wow.  You have to be a millionaire these days.

 I don’t have $2.4 million; not even close.  But I feel rich on a number of fronts.  Yes, I can afford a
lot of things that I couldn’t when I started out in my twenties.  I have been through some financial  straits, and I can testify that it’s better to have more money than less, at least up to a point that I can’t define here and which probably varies by person anyway. But paradoxically it is not all about the money.  Money can set the table, so to speak, but the real feast is what the money enables me to enjoy around the table: family and friends; leisure; some modest travel.  If this means I answer “yes” to the big question, then so be it.  I still give to others.  I share.  I love.  I pray.  I think I am still a decent person.

 Maybe it’s not about the amount of money but how you got it, whether you’re jealous that someone else might have more, and what you’re doing with it besides making yourself reasonably comfortable.  So is it the attitude toward money that makes us feel wealthy?  Ponder that one.  I’m still not absolutely certain how to answer our question of the day.

 Until next time,

 Roger

 “I am not complaining about having too little.  I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have.  I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions.  I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little.  Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” Philippians 4:11-13 CEV

[This post has been edited from the it’s original version to change the Scriptural reference.]