Money Listens

My daughter read the 1932 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Good Earth for her world history class. I decided to read it also, since it was one of those books I had always wanted to read. The engaging story is set in rural China in the 1800s. Although there are many cultural differences between East and West, wealth’s influence on human nature transcends time and culture.

Pearl S. Buck paints a vivid picture of two generations. The father is a hard-working farmer who accumulates wealth by his sacrifices and his respect for the land. He attains a high status in his village and uses his wealth to provide for others. He also indulges his sons with material possessions and the education he never had. He doesn’t want them to be farmers, like him, but to have a “better life.” In his old age the farmer sees how his sons have none of the qualities that enabled him to become wealthy, such as a strong work ethic, an ability to delay gratification, and frugality. His sons plot to sell the farmland to keep up their standard of living, unaware they are selling the source of their wealth. The father realizes, too late, that his sons would be better off had they been farmers.

Where do you fit in this generational picture? Are you the father, indulging your children? Or, are you more like the sons? Your parents provided you with material possessions and wanted you to have more than they had as children. You were never taught to delay gratification or how to manage your money.

How are you raising your children? Will they have a strong work ethic and value frugality? Will they be content with what they have? Will they be thankful for what they have?

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under A to Z, Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.