Easter Reminder: Life is Not About Money

By Gary Silverman, CFP®

Easter: I’ll argue that while not as popular as Christmas, Easter is more significant theologically. It’s when Jesus the Christ took upon Himself the punishment for the sins of those who believe. To me, being given the gift of redemption is a big deal.

Yet as special as this holiday is to Christians, much of the world gives it no thought. To most, including myself as I was growing up, it was more a celebration of spring and another opportunity to stock up on candy now that the Halloween stash is just a memory. Some may believe that this is the celebration of God’s sacrificial love for us. Others will tell you that the Easter story is a bunch of hooey, and those who believe in such things are at best naïve and may even be delusional. They prefer the bunny and her Cadbury eggs.

Regardless of your beliefs, it’s yet another time of year I have an excuse to remind you that life is not about money.

It seems to be a popular thought among some that the rich have it made. They are enjoying the heck out of life, flitting to and fro in their jets and on jet skis while the poor huddled masses are cold, miserable, and used up.

Some have the opposite idea: that the rich are the miserable ones, and the poor have a homespun goodness about them…a purity that transcends their economic condition.

Hogwash.

I know many people who have so much money they will never have to worry about coming up short on their bills. I also know people who have so little money that they can’t imagine not worrying where their next meal will come from.

In both groups there are the miserly and the miserable. In both there are the generous and content.

It’s not that money can’t make a difference. It certainly can. But it is not always a good difference. And to my cynical brethren out there: it is not always a bad difference.

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to better your economic condition. It just means you shouldn’t make that your primary priority. God, family, health, friends, neighbors… aren’t they supposed to be priceless? Yet it is so easy for all of us, myself included, to trade the priceless for a few more digits on the bank statement.

So find a quiet moment this week and ask yourself if the way you seek, save, and spend your money fits the rest of your life. Is it controlling you? Or is it a tool being used to the best of your ability?

Happy Easter