[emerge]

Blue Sparks,

While it is true that money can and has been used for a wide variety very bad things it also can and has been used for a wide variety of good things as well. People donate money to a wide range of good causes, like bulding new hospitals or adding a specialized wing on a hospital. They donate money to animal shelters and other animal rights organizations. They donate money to womens shelters and food banks and the Red Cross and the list can go on and on.

Money is just a form of energy and as energy can be used for "good" or "bad" depending upon the person who is using it. In that respect money is no different from a computer. A person can use a computer to help others or to cause pain and suffering.

The bad/ evil things that you have stated as being being done for money you are blaming it on the money. While I understand your confusion you must realize that it is the person that is weilding the money or desiring the money that is to blame and not the money itself.

It's the people, it's the organization, it's the individual and it's their own beliefs about money, their desires pertaining to money, and it's these people's willingness to place aquiring money or aquiring the things money can bring as more important than their fellow humans. It's the people not the money.

Originally Posted by Blue Sparks

.....but acts of kindness and helping others can never be used in a bad way.

Kindness can kill, maim, inhibit, and paralyze!

I used to take care of an eldery lady who was originally bedridden and had difficulty chewing after a lengthy hosptal stay. Her children loved her so much they would do anything for her. They showered her with kindness and compassion. They knew she had to keep eating something so they were feeding her jello because it required no chewing. They thought they were being kind to their mother in her last days. They were actually killing her from malnutrition.

A mother whose child has been injured and requires painful physical therapy on a daily basis thinks she is being kind to her child by not doing the physical therapy at home as directed by the Physical Therapist can pervent the child from fully healing and could result in the child being crippled for the rest of their life.

I can go on with examples of how kindness can inhibit or paralyze a person's spiritual growth or independence.

Being kind to someone is not always the right action to take to help them.

Originally Posted by Blue Sparks

Your comparing trivial acts like singing, cleaning a house and walking a dog to serving somebody mentally and emotionally.

You obviously have no idea just how these acts effect some people. Just because you view them as trivial doesn't mean everybody does.

Originally Posted by Blue Sparks

Spiritual development and personal growth isn't something you buy or have someone do for you.

It may suprise you that there are a whole lot of people out there who don't give a rat's behind about spiritual development or personal growth. They are too focused on survival for anything like that. They want answers and they want hope. They are more concerned about keeping a roof over their's and their children's head, can they afford to buy food this week, is their daughter going to be raped while walking to school this morning, is their son going to be beaten or killed by a street gang..... Can they keep all their employees working next week or will they have to lay off one or two people, will they be able to continue doing business with X company that provides them with great products or will they have to switch to products that are cheaper in price and quality.....

And if they had more money just imagine the good they could do with it.