The Price of Gold ⚜️When Money Becomes a Master

 

 a world lit up by ambition and fueled by hustle, one thing speaks louder than dreams money. It builds cities, opens doors, buys comfort, and commands respect. But in the shadows of its brilliance lies something darker  obsession, betrayal, and a hunger that never ends.

Money is good. It feeds families, pays school fees, builds hospitals, and funds dreams. It is a tool  but only when used wisely. For centuries, philosophers, prophets, and writers have warned us: the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself.

But in today’s world, it’s getting harder to separate the two.

From the backstreets of African towns to the towering cities of the West, stories echo of people who have traded their peace, purity, and even humanity for money. Youth today are growing up in a culture where money defines value. Social media glamorizes wealth, not character. A person isn’t judged by how kind they are, but by how expensive their outfit is. Slowly, we are losing the plot.

A Cost Too High

There are boys who have buried their morals in the soil of greed robbing, scamming, and even killing for quick cash. There are girls, intelligent and beautiful, who have traded their bodies for rent and luxury. Not because they are evil, but because money has become a god promising happiness but delivering chains.

Even the old are not safe. Family land is sold in secret. Siblings become enemies. Parents are neglected. Elders are disrespected. All in the name of inheritance and control.

In his book “Your Money or Your Life”, author Joe Dominguez writes, “Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for.” But how many are aware that they are trading their souls?

The pressure to succeed financially is driving many youth into depression. They compare their lives to influencers and fraudsters. They feel they’ve failed at 22 because they don’t own a car. They stop dreaming and start chasing. But what they’re chasing is a lie  an image, not a life.

Money becomes the measure of love, friendship, even marriage. People marry not for love, but for lifestyle. And soon, they find themselves empty rich, but broken.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a generation rising young people who are choosing integrity over shortcuts. Entrepreneurs who want to make money and make impact. Youth who are saying: “Yes, we want wealth, but not at the cost of our character.”

We need to teach our people  from churches to classrooms that money is a servant, not a master. It is powerful, but it must be handled with purpose. We must teach contentment, budgeting, giving, and the value of honest work. Only then can we break the chains of greed and bring back the true meaning of wealth: peace.

Because in the end, what’s the use of having all the money in the world, but no rest, no love, no soul?

Money will always matter. But what matters more is how we earn it, why we want it, and what we do with it. Let us not be a generation that bows to gold and forgets God. Let us rise as people who use money not people who are used by it.