Money is a blessing1 when it is used rightly. The same is true of all other good things. They bless if used well; they curse2 when abused3. Many people do not seem to know what money is for. They want it above all things. But they want it to spend chiefly on themselves.
Some boys appear to think that money is to buy good clothes and foods, toys and amusements. Some also seem to think that money is to buy leisure with. They consider that the highest happiness is to live without work. But that is not at all what money is for. We should get nearer the truth than that.
Money is our circulating4 medium in trade. Families need it to buy things they must have. In this way society exists, and the world of traffic prospers5. Money means food, clothing, dwelling6 schools, books, wise recreation, and the means of doing good.
Of course money is not something to hoard7. Its value is in its use. A million gold dollars would have been worth no more than a million stones to Robinson Crusoe8 on his island home. There was nothing to buy, and therefore, no use for money. And so money that is simply hoarded is of no value. It does not purchase the necessaries of life, nor relieve9 those who are in want. That is not what money is for.
The Bible says that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. That is, money sought for its own sake is the cause of all sorts of evil—lying, stealing, cheating, robbery, and even murder. This is the best reason for avoiding the love of money.
假如正当使用，金钱是一种幸福。所有其他好的事物同样如此。使用得当，它们就赐福于人；滥加使用，它们就降祸于人。许多人似乎并不知道金钱是做什么用的。在万物中他们首先要的是钱。但是他们要钱主要又是为了花在自己身上。
一些青年似乎认为，金钱就是用来买好衣服、好食品和好玩具，就是用来买娱乐的。另一些人似乎认为金钱还可以买来悠闲。他们把活着而不用工作看做是最大的幸福。然而，金钱的功用完全不是这样的，我们应当更深入地探求金钱的真谛。
金钱是我们在贸易中的流通手段。家庭需要钱来购买生活必需品。社会就是以这一方式存在的，商品流通世界就是以这一方式繁荣的。有了钱，就意味着有了食物、衣服、住房、寄宿学校、书籍和明智的消遣，也意味着可以用来做好事。
当然，金钱不是用来贮藏的东西。它的价值就在于使用。对身陷孤岛的鲁宾逊·克鲁索来说，一百万枚金币并不比一百万块石子更有价值。在那儿没有东西可买，因此，金钱派不上用场。同样，仅仅为了收藏，金钱便毫无价值可言。金钱不用来购买生活必需品，也不用来救济那些生活匮乏的人，那便没有正当利用。
《圣经》说：“爱钱是一切邪恶的根源。”那是说，追逐金钱本身是一切邪恶——撒谎、偷窃、欺骗、抢劫甚至谋杀——的原因。我们不要嗜爱金钱，根本原因就在于此。
1． blessing n． 赐福，祝福
2． curse v． 诅咒
3． abuse v． 滥用；妄用
4． circulating ] adj． 流通的
5． prosper v． 繁荣，兴隆
6． dwelling n． 居住；寓所
7． hoard v． 储藏，囤积
8． Robinson Crusoe: 鲁宾逊·克鲁索（英国小说家Daniel Defoe所著《鲁宾逊漂流记》一书的主人公）
9． relieve v． 救助，救济