“Don’t marry for money, marry for love but move with the rich”. This quote came from a friend of mine during a discussion; we didn’t know the person who originally made the quote but it started an interesting conversation.
The premise of the discussion was about human relationships and interactions. If you move with “the Rich”, at some point you will genuinely fall in love with one of them; it doesn’t make you a gold digger, it just buttresses the fact that people develop more interest in the people around their circle of influence. Likewise, if you surround yourself with only poor people, you will equally fall in love with someone within the midst.
Naturally, humans tend to love the people they have gotten to know. There are exceptions to this philosophy but most times, genuine love comes with affectionate interactions. As you get to know a person better, “sparks can begin to fly” in a way that can lead to something special.
During the conversation with my friend, I asked him to explain the quote to a “lay-man”. “Some poor people are gold diggers” he said. “They want the easy way out in life. They actively seek out rich folks, pretend to love their daughters or sons, marry them for the money and life goes on from there. In my experience, most of those relationships don’t turn out good. Once the deceptive party begins to enjoy the wealth of the Rich, they quickly fall out of love and the marriage is headed for a crash”.
“That is what it means to marry for money” he continued. “What if there is a guy or lady who decides to move to a very small apartment in a rich neighbourhood. Don’t confuse the matter, Allen; the fellow can decide to use the same cash he or she would have used to rent a 3-bedroom flat in a middle-class neighbourhood to rent a 1-bedroom or studio apartment in the affluent neighbourhood.
Let’s assume that this individual is a good person, not a person who will do others harm; he or she then settles into the neighbourhood and begins to mingle. He attends neighbourhood meetings, makes friends, gets active in the church, works hard, shows respect to others, volunteers in neighbourhood activities etc. I bet you that he will make a lot of friends with the Rich”.
“From the friendship which is borne out of mutual respect, a relationship that is full of genuine love can develop. If that relationship leads to marriage, that fellow has successfully married “the rich” for love. The marriage may not suffer the fate of deceptive marriages because the premise of the relationship is mutual respect and genuine friendship”. That was the explanation from my friend.
Do I agree with the principles laid out by my friend; not totally sure but I can’t say I am against it either. There is a proverb: “Walk with the wise and you shall be wise”. When you mingle with the Rich and you keep an open mind to learn good things, there are lots of great things you will learn. A caveat though, a person can also easily lose his way by following the mentality of some rich people.
My friend believes in this strategy and he shares it gleefully. Each of us will have to make up our minds on the paths we take in life. Whether you marry for money or love, my hope is that you find happiness in life and your marriage survives.
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