In the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio plays an unforgettable stockbroker named Jordan Belfort who enjoys making a lot of money. The film is highly controversial (and in my opinion should’ve been an Oscar win for him. Some of his performances have been way underrated. He’s an incredible actor…) yet the film opens the door for a great conversation about the correlation between money and happiness and how far some people will go to achieve both. In the film, there were a few lines that struck me as interesting and one, in particular, was about what money can do for people:
“You see money doesn’t just buy you a better life…”
A better life. Is that all money does? Or does it go deeper than that? In The Wolf of Wall Street money does buy Jordan Belfort a better life to an extent, but his excess eventually catches up with him and lands him in jail. It almost seemed as more was never enough. He had everything he wanted and more. Although he did a lot of questionable things, he was still a giver and pitched his sales method to his colleagues, which made them wealthy too, but it still wasn’t enough to satisfy everyone or make them all happy. I know a lot of people who think that money will make them happy. And that more of it will fix all their problems. I dare to say that more money, no matter how much you have or make, only enhances who you already are. It can enhance your life with status and material things but won’t necessarily make you happy or a better person. I’ve met and chilled with very prosperous people who were miserable and lonely. I’ve also met people who had much less and were at peace. Proverbs 23:4 reads, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.” I’ve made jokes about how I’d be a millionaire someday, but probably a low key one since I’m not a big spender. I’m a saver. My family has even made multiple jokes about me being a tightwad. I kid you not. I’m also aware that if I ever became a millionaire it wouldn’t make me completely happy either. Because money is just money. I know how dangerous it’d be to tie my happiness to a certain amount of income because incomes change. Jobs change. Businesses shut down. Companies fold. And economic times are rough these days. As I write this, we’re actually in the midst of a government shutdown. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with having money, enjoying it, and sharing it, but it’s important to know your happiness and peace of mind can’t and shouldn’t be met with the illusion of a better life because of money. Don’t worship money and don’t ever let it define you or who you are. You can decide to be a happy person with a happy life whether you have one dollar or one million in the bank. Happiness is a choice.