The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON Tribune Features Writer "FOR the love of money is the root to all evil" is a popular proverb which suggests making the pursuit of money a priority in one's life can be a recipe for disaster. Written in the Book of Proverbs are many insightful sayings that contain wisdom and knowledge for everyday life. Not all proverbs are easy to understand, so as part of a new series, Tribune Religion selected a few to further investigate their meaning. There are many adages in the Bible that speak about matters of money and how it should be acquired by Christians. Here is one that admonishes against getting money in unlawful ways. Proverbs 13:11 - "Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow." Pastor Matthew Allen told Tribune Religion that he agrees with this; wealth gained by illegal means will not last forever. However, money gained honestly will last. "Any money gained by the hook or the crook, you become very careless with it. When you become careless with it, it will go from you very quickly and you are back to square one," he said. As this type of money is easy to obtain, Pastor Allen said some become careless and will end up engaging in the more dishonest activities for money. "You will find yourself doing the same unlawful things you did to get the money the first time. But when you have to sweat for the money that you have, you can appreciate it much more," said Pastor Allen. Adrian Culmer, an Advent Baptist Church member, said because many people are still suffering from the economic depression it has lead them do what they have to do, to get what it is they want. "People are out of work and do not have any jobs or anything to do. Especially young men, they turn to robbing people to get some money in their pockets. But that is not the way to do it. The Bible does not lie and some of these young men who go out stealing wonder why they cannot get out of that lifestyle. It's because the money and things are easy to get. They know they can get it easy so they are less careful with it," he said. "That's the same way with drug dealers. The money is good, it is sweet and as fast it comes is as fast it will go. If you are a drug dealer and you get thousands and thousands of dollars, why is it that you cannot deposit that same money in the bank? It's because that money is illegal. So what those dealers have to do is spend all of that money as fast as they can so they do not get caught. To me all of that is useless," said Christian Reece Miller. "A person who does honest work and works hard, will appreciate the little or the big they have," Tatiana Rolle*, another church-goer, said. "When you have to bust your hip for your pay cheque at the end of every week or every month, you can economise better and you will value it much more. That money will last because you spend it wisely instead of spending it on unnecessary things simply because you know how hard money is to come by," *Name has been changed.