“Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.” Stated by Thomas Jefferson.

This article isn’t one to contradict the need of money. Money is necessary to live and prosper. However, there is a line that is constantly crossed by people whose need for money is greater than their need to care for others. There has been a study done that shows that just the thought of money can cause people make unethical decisions.

Throughout my life, I've had to deal with many encounters with greedy people. When my friend told me a story about greed, it made me furious to find that some people care so much about money that they would harm their own family — just to gain a little extra change.

When my friend was young, his dad worked for an accounting firm. He was a very hard worker, unlike most of his family members. He had worked for this firm for many years and had devoted a lot of time, that many people recognized and praised. Having done so well, he quickly rose to the top ranks, which many people did not like. He was now earning a significantly high income, which many people grew aware of and became envious of how well he was doing. The jealousy of his close friends and family grew and some of them started to act on it. Eventually, his family became so fed up with his success that they took legal action, claiming he was embezzling money. After a year of investigation, they found no evidence of embezzlement. The main reason for the lawsuit was because his family wanted money from him and were extremely jealous of his wealth. They did not want one of their own family members doing better than the rest. This upset my friend’s dad’s immediate family and eventually separated the two families.

About a year after the lawsuit was over, the two families finally settled things, but the relationships between them did not improve. My friend told me that his family didn’t talk to any other family members because of how poorly they treated his dad.

The need for money is necessary when you are trying to make a living, there is no question about that, but the excessive desire for money can corrupt you. A lot of people suffer at their jobs because they aren’t passionate about what they do, they are too focused on making a lot of money.

The thing I want the reader to learn from this article is this:

The relationships that you make on this Earth are what makes life worth living. Whether it's your family members or your close friends, don’t take any relationships for granted. Don’t let your desire for money lead you down the wrong path because that is one that is very sad and lonely. Remember that money is important, but just know that you when you are ready to leave this Earth, you cannot take money with you.