Money Amplifies Our Best And Worst Qualities.

Hello. Welcome again.

We often refer to money as a spirit and it's no secret why. It is in the drive - the drive to pursue it and how it in turn drives you. We exist in a constant obsession with survival. Constantly working physically and mentally to sustain ourselves. The entirety of this sustenance, however, is centered on one factor - MONEY.

We require enough of it to have decent lives and; when it is in abundance it drives us to live life in a certain way. We move with affluence, a sense of invulnerability, and certainty. When you lack it, well, you are driven to do about anything to get it. Because literally, your life depends on it.

I remember the days of elementary school, as I listen to my teacher teach in Christian Religious Knowledge, that money is the root of all evil. I heard it in churches, read in books, in songs, etc. I would always wonder - If money is the root of all evil why do we spend so much time trying to make more of it then? Of course, money is the root of all evil. Sure, you can do a lot of good with it, but the goodness and evil of money are not mutually exclusive.

It is said that you don't truly know who you are or the things you are capable of until you are rich enough. Money changes people, for good and for bad. How far are you willing to go to make some money? How much is your soul worth? Everyone's got a price; right?

I have to tell you what inspired me to write this piece. Recently, we were issued new Naira notes and given a deadline to successfully change all old notes to new ones. Of course, Nigeria had to fly her flag for incompetence by not bothering to make the new notes sufficient. Banks were in shortage of said new notes, so the deadline didn't seem feasible. A few days before the deadline, crowds were heaped at every bank trying to swap their old notes.

Now, the point of this discourse is the part played by POS money vendors in all of this. POS services make it easier for folks to lay their hands on some cash. You can be anywhere in town, far away from the bank or an ATM, but you'll certainly see a POS service close by.

The deal is they charge a certain percentage for whatever amount of cash you're seeking. Usually, they charge 100 Naira for withdrawals ranging from 1-5k. 200 Naira for 6-10k; and so on. Now, per the scarcity of the new notes and the hassle to secure them from the bank, they have taken advantage of the situation and heightened the charges to ridiculous extents. Now you have to pay 500 Naira to withdraw 5k Naira.

It makes no sense. The average Nigerian is ever willing to take advantage of a desperate situation to extort the next person. I was so confused when I experienced this from the POS guy on my street. You are not procuring these funds at an extra charge, so what exactly is the point of this hike? I refused to participate in that madness, not when I've got other options for doing transactions.

People forget to be kind, to be considerate of the next person when there is money to be made. It tells poorly of us as a society and reflects negatively on our values. People are desperate, there is a shortage of cash flow; sure, let's exploit the situation and increase the cost of our services. Money reveals us to be our own worst enemies, and our own biggest messiahs too. It is disappointing that a greater majority.

CONCLUSION.

I don't believe money - the abundance or lack of it; changes anyone for good or bad. I think what it does is amplify what you already are. Our true nature will always take charge. A decent or an honest person in a poor society will not necessarily take to ripping someone off because that isn't who they are.

People who are wealthy also want to become even richer, still putting them at the mercy of money drive. Where there are willing to do anything to amass more wealth. To cheat people out of deals, to owe wages, underpay workers etc.

The goal is to use the resources at our disposal to improve our lives and show kindness to the person; not to feed into the negatives by letting it drive us to cruelty.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful week! ❤️

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