Failure was not something the Devil was used to. He went into a pout for a week. This affected everything. The river flowed the wrong way again. The wind blew day and night and the Royal Eagle stayed in her nest. The village hens refused to lay eggs. Abbé Capdevielle got the worst case of indigestion he had ever experienced. Madame Labayle’s bread refused to rise for the first time in forty years and Gilles Moutel’s best boots were found in the pig’s pen. Everyone knew it was the work of the Devil. They stared down at the stones and did not dare whisper his name.
There is one thing even stronger in people than religion and churches, the Devil thought – Money! That precious commodity which men and women longed for, fought over, neglected each other to get, often killed to obtain. The desire for money gave everyone a desire for more of it. No one ever got enough. The poor wanted it. The rich wanted to be richer. The big stepped on the small. The world was made of money. Everyone knew that money was the root of all evil, but nobody cared. They just wanted more of it. “Money!” the Devil sang in a delighted voice: “Money! Oh! Money! Oh, Cash makes the world go round”!
He decided greed was what was needed in Banios. Greed could ruin anything and everything. It destroyed every virtue. It didn’t even need to be just money. It could be food or possessions or sex. But the best greed of all was for just plain, old-fashioned cash. No one ever got enough of it. So greed was what he would stir into his Banios broth. “Money! Money! Money!” he sang over and over. A sudden treasure was what was needed in Banios. He just knew it.
Yes, cash does make the world go around. How else can one live honestly….and yes, some want more than others, but, that is life. If it is honestly gained, then so be it. If not, who really knows?
One could live without cash, and mooch; is that honest? I think not. Handouts from others is a burden on the basic goodness to give of most people.
Sorry to be so slow in responding to your comment which I thought really interesting. Everyone seems to agree that money makes the world go round, but stronger than that is love which not only makes the world go around but also makes no difference between rich or poor, the ambitious or the lazy, the struggling or those who lean too much on others. Many forget that to give to anyone in need, regardless of why they need, is to show love. When someone might ask for help, does one ask them how they qualify for it? Can one qualify how one loves? Isn’t the most important thing that at that moment they are in need for whatever reason? I believe that when we consider money and its place in our lives, we need to ask ourselves a few questions first. Like these: When was the last time I visited a foodbank and talked to the volunteers and to some of the people coming to get food? When was the last time that I was truly hungry? Have I ever been without food or shelter or a bed for the night?Do I ever give to the poor things I treasure and that are costly or is it always what I don’t want anymore? There are lots more questions to ask ourselves before we start asking the reasons behind someone’s poverty or need. Love doesn’t need to ask any of these questions in any case- it just acts out of love. Asking ourselves if someone is “Deserving of our charity” is the kind of thinking that defeats hope and makes love very sad.
Stafford