In sitting down with my dad’s group the other night, we took a brief foray into the topic of money. Considering we breach the conversation of religion and politics frequently, the third cardinal sin of conversation didn’t seem taboo.

Questions arose regarding our relationship to it, mainly centering around when ambition for it is going too far.

Given our collective experiences with money (which has a wide range), we came to the following agreement:

Money can ease stress, but it can’t bring happiness.

Currently, money is necessary and given enough of it, can alleviate worries for the future (children’s education, secure place to live, “rainy days,” etc.). It can also provide luxuries that can ease the burden of daily life, such as hiring a cleaner or chef to cook and deliver meals (this was gifted to my spouse and I for a week when we had our first child and it was amazing).

For a person with no other ambition than merely acquiring more, it can wreak devastating results. I look to Adolf Merckle’s suicide as one example.

Ultimately, money (and fame) amplifies the kind of person you are. Developing a healthy relationship with money is a matter of developing a healthy relationship with life.

It’s best to be rooted in something with depth.