Love of Money

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” – King James Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10

It should come as no surprise that no one is immune to the temptations of money. Not even the Amish.

My wife and I have long admired the Amish for their family values, self sufficiency, community cooperation, and marketing of back-to-basics goods (like quilts). One of our favorite general stores to visit is Lehman’s in Kidron, Ohio. It stocks everything the Amish and do-it-yourselfers could ever want. Last time we visited we bought wicks for our oil lanterns and root beer flavoring to make our own soda.

But lately I’ve seen several stories of troubles in the Amish community of northern Indiana. The traditional Amish life revolves around farming but when you have large families and new farm land is either very expensive or unavailable, something has to give. Many families have started businesses in furniture, wood crafts, quilting, buggy making, etc. In northern Indian, Amish men found they could earn high wages ($30-50 hour) in factories for the recreational-vehicle and modular-homes industries. The flush of cash created a "keeping-up-with-the-Joneses mentality,” Amish style.

Local bishop began allowing the use of telephones, fax machines and web sites for businesses. [When shopping for a quilt in Pennsylvania at an Amish home business we noted that the room was lit by a gas lantern but they did have a modern credit card reader.] "People wanted bigger weddings, newer carriages." The WSJ states

it became common practice for families to leave their carriages home and take taxis on shopping trips and dinners out. Some Amish families bought second homes on the west coast of Florida and expensive Dutch Harness Horses… Others lined their carriages in dark velvet and illuminated them with battery-powered LED lighting. … Instead of asking neighbors for help, well-to-do Amish began hiring outsiders so they wouldn't have to reciprocate.

But the “good times” came crashing down last fall when the recreational-vehicle industry began layoffs and shutdowns. Traditionally the Amish would help each other, but nearly half the households had become dependent on the manufacturing income, so for the first time ever, local bishops allowed followers to seek unemployment benefits. Fears of an Amish mortgage crisis resulted in a run on an Amish owned bank.

Bottom Line

No one is immune from overspending and unemployment. Everyone needs to live within their means and have an emergency savings. Beware the love of money. No exceptions.

Ironically the AARP has published a guide to managing your money called "50 Ways to Love your Money"

On the lighter side

Something else I've long admired is the work of Weird Al Yankovic. The video for his song "Amish Paradise" is one of his best. See if you can spot the lyrics he borrowed from Gilligan's Island.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=is3t4Ixq_YQ