They say that the love of money is the root of all evil and I can truly attest to that. I have just come out of a business partnership and have just realized what money can do to a person. I have seen friends turn into something else just for the desire to seek more wealth at any cost.

It is surprising what happens to most people and especially Kenyans when they receive 1 million shillings. It is amazing the metamorphosis that take place as the person suddenly becomes proud and arrogant. It is impossible to relate to such a person since at the time, they believe they are on top of the world that thus are untouchables. What is even more curious is the lengths they are even willing to go to in order to gain that wealth.

Some have stolen, impersonated and even killed to get the wealth they have. Others believe that by denying others the opportunity to succeed, they are likely to succeed. They deny you the chance to move forward and thereafter copy the same idea that you have. Their greed at times becomes so much that even the little that you are left with they desire to take. The story is given in the bible of the rich man that called for a party and then when to a poor man's house to take his only goat to feed his guests. Such is the greed that money creates.

A more current example I like giving is of a man that started a computer company that provided software to operate the basic systems of the computer. He did everything in his power to ensure that only his software would be used in every computer even by using uncanny means in order to achieve his goals. So much is this man's greed that he was taken to court more than twice under the antitrust law. After some years, he was able to gain so much wealth that he realized that no matter what he did, he could not finish it. He then decided to give out half of it and not more than a year later, the same wealth had accumulated.

I constantly ask, of what sense does it make to deny the chance of others to prosper through their products and software just to give out half your wealth once you have prospered? Wouldn't it have been easier to start giving away your wealth when you had just a little extra? Wouldn't you have reached a point like when you have accumulated 1 billion dollars to decide to remain with only 5% of the company and eat slowly into your retirement years? It just beats logic.

However, the money system is driven by greed to want more and more even if it does not make sense to get more. I imagine what I would do with a 1billion without wastage. I would have to spend 2.7 million everyday without earning interest to finish it in a year and 39, 138 everyday if I was to spend that money for seventy years. And remember I can only leave in one house at a time, drive one car at a time, eat a maximum amount of food in a day and wear only one pair of clothes in a day. It means, therefore, that if I buy 300 pairs of shoes, I will have to eventually give out 250 pairs of shoes since I will not even remember that I had them in the first place. Why not simply buy the shoes new and give them out?

Such is the greed that money creates. We see people striving to live in gold houses, to own 100 cars and all other vanities. Normally these people die young and sad mostly without any friends to stand by them. I believe life would be more enjoyable if we could overcome our greed and give more to those around us.

by Magu Nguru