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Literally, profit means gaining benefit. In this context, it means gaining financial benefit. The pursuit of profit is not inherently moral or immoral. It is how one pursues profit that determines its moral nature.

Profit itself is not immoral. A wage earner profits from the sweat of her brow or the sweat of her brain. Without gaining profit from our labors or our wit, we could not live in this money driven world.

Some believe, from a religious point of view, that money itself is evil. The New Testament is often misquoted to say: "Money is the root of all evil." In fact it says: "The love of money is the root of all evil." This is a big clue as far as the morality of profit is concerned. Profit gained is not the issue. The issue is how the profit is gained and the motivation for gaining it.

"What shall it profit a man if he gain the world but lose his soul?" When you bring the word "value" into the discussion, things change. It is not the value of the money or the profit that I am speaking of. It is the values of the individual that determine the morality of profiting.

In terms of personal values, do I value profit because it provides my family and me with the necessities of life? Do I value profit because it can provide security for the future? Do I value it because it can allow me to do the things and acquire the things that I believe will enhance my life experience?

If I use my profit to benefit myself and those I love, that is not inherently immoral. If I use my profit to enjoy myself, to do and buy things that make me feel good, that is not inherently immoral.

One need not use their profit to help others. One need not give money to charities or feed the poor. To withhold one's profits from the many in need around the world is not inherently immoral. That is simply a personal choice and it will be made according to an individual's values.

The pursuit of profit does not move into the arena of immorality based on how much one gains nor, in most cases, on how one chooses to use their gain. Being filthy rich and living the good life is not in itself immoral.

The profit motive becomes immoral when your desire for gain comes at the expense of someone else. I'm not talking about someone else losing so you can gain. That's just business as usual. I'm talking about gaining profit through harming other people.

This kind of immorality has become ubiquitous in our time. It has become the new "business-as-usual." We experience this kind of immorality on the local level with

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