A lot of things in our lives are important, obviously, few of us "worship" any of them, while also endeavoring to retain a useful supply. Money is simply one means of accounting for what one may have done in life to aid others, at least in principle. Bartering was complicated back in the day. I don't think Americans in general "love" money any more than Scandanavians or the French even though they may have a somewhat different perspective on what matters in life to them.
I've been poor before, it's ... "interesting", and motivated me to do something so as not to be poor. That did comprise considerable effort over years, otherwise I could still be poor and useless and have done nothing.
