The Hobbit and the Love of Money
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy)
A commonly misquoted Biblical passage is that “money is the root of all evil.” The actual passage is “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10).
When we’re talking about money, that’s an important distinction to make. Many wealthy people give generously and live frugal, moral lives. Having money doesn’t necessarily make us evil.
And money isn’t the root of all evil either. It isn’t always at the root cause of murder, for example.
But loving money can lead to all different kinds of evil. Everything we love competes with everything else we love for the position of priority in our lives. If we love money, we can end up loving it and valuing it more than our family, more than our friends, more than our honor and morality.
That’s what happens in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.
Once Smaug, the dragon under the mountain, is killed, Thorin Oakenshield (the new dwarven king), Bilbo, and the rest of the dwarves take possession of the mountain and the treasure within it.
The treasure goes to Thorin’s head. He refuses to honor the agreement he made with the nearby city of men. They helped him, and thanks to his meddling with the dragon, their city was destroyed. The survivors are facing winter with no home. Thorin refuses to take them into the mountain or to give them the money he promised so that they can get a fresh start.
He won’t return the jewels that rightfully belong to the eleven king either, and he stands by and watches as hundreds of dwarves, elves, and humans are slaughtered by orcs. All he cares about is making sure his treasure is secure.
While I was watching the movie, the friend I was with leaned over and said “what people won’t do for money, eh?”
Her words burrowed inside, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking of them because I know someone who seems to love his money almost more than he loves anything else. To him, having wealth is a sign that someone is a “good man.” He spends hours worrying that someone is going to steal his money from him. He trusts no one. And when he gives his money away, he does it to try to earn God’s favor or to buy respect, loyalty, love, and obedience from the people around him.
It makes my heart hurt for him. You can’t buy those things. At least, when it comes to me, they’re not for sale. And money, or the lack thereof, doesn’t prove that someone is a good person or a bad person.
He reminds me so much of Thorin. Or perhaps I should say that Thorin reminded me so much of him.
At the end of The Hobbit, Thorin was redeemed, but I don’t think it’s as easy in real life. Once the love of money has hold of us, it’s much harder to see it and change.
It served as a good reminder for me of where I want my values to lie.
Has a movie ever reminded you of something important?
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Feb 18, 2015 @ 01:13:24
“But loving money can lead to all different kinds of evil. Everything we love competes with everything else we love for the position of priority in our lives. If we love money, we can end up loving it and valuing it more than our family, more than our friends, more than our honor and morality.”
Interesting theme Marcy. It sure does work to create a lot of conflict. 🙂
Feb 18, 2015 @ 01:41:05
Money creates a lot of conflict, a lot of ulcers, a lot of terrible things. It can also do a lot of good. The hardest part is thinking about it and balancing it correctly.
Feb 18, 2015 @ 01:29:56
I got that same message from Lord of the Rings. Even though it wasn’t about wealth, that gold ring became an obsession. “My precious!!!” I’m not familiar with the Smaug series, but would love to watch sometime!
Feb 18, 2015 @ 01:38:04
Exactly. I think all writers have their favorite themes to explore, and one of Tolkien’s seems to be what we value most and how that makes us act, for better or for worse.
Feb 18, 2015 @ 15:28:27
“Everything we love competes with everything else we love for the position of priority in our lives. If we love money, we can end up loving it and valuing it more than our family, more than our friends, more than our honor and morality.”
Exactly. Thorin illustrates everything you mentioned there in the final Hobbit movie. I remember wondering how Fili and Kili felt when they saw Thorin in Erebor for the first time. He shows no concern over their safety and no joy over their survival. It had to be horrifying for his nephews. And on the flipside, Bilbo represents the things we should value, like home, friends, security, etc.
You asked if other movies have ever reminded us of something important. I saw Into The Woods on New Year’s Day. It’s a “mash-up” musical of different Grimm fairy tales where everyone’s lives intersect, and where characters’ wishes come true with unexpected consequences. So, the message it leaves with the audience is, “Be careful what you wish for” – or, more accurately, “Be careful how you phrase your wishes.” I’d been thinking about that topic before seeing the movie, but had no idea the movie itself would address it. So, Into The Woods ended up having a much bigger impact on me than I’d expected it to.