I grew up in a rather poor area, relative to people in the UK. Of course, poverty in the UK is not true poverty- if you depend on the government for housing and for extra money, that’s pretty incredible compared to places in ‘the third world’. I think everybody from the first world would benefit from a trip to the third world. They’d realised how blessed they are even to live in a developed country- people forget that.

I grew up around a general aversion to money- it was never encouraged for me to make any, and it was never ever talked about, as if it is a dirty thing.

Religiously-speaking, money is just another thing that God created- it’s just another thing in the world. In the same way that knives can be used for good and for evil, money can be used for immense good and immense evil.

Money can make people forget God but it can also empower people to know and to share God, after having been freed from their survival concerns.

It should be noted that an abundance of money does not enable the ability for people to organise shared experiences, since one can just as easily organise and enjoy a picnic as much as a fine dinner- and neither one really guarantees more enjoyment. Character and good intention is what enables people to share loving experiences- not an abundance of money. Our financial situation should not be allowed to affect our character: we should not allow brokeness nor richness to make an asshole. Both the rich and the poor should love their neighbour.