Contentedness, homelessness and hobbits

[Varda]

I have a theory that the true meaning in Tolkien's classics is a message about homelessness, greed and the various types of wanderers.

Tolkien was Catholic, probably converted by his wife. Gandalf -- The wandering wizard... made a name for himself as a bearer of bad news. He went from place to place helping out where he could. Sauron was an agent of evil. Hobbits lived in holes in the ground. They were fat and characteristically cared more for the comforts of life than adventures. They were not noble in character but humble in stature, enjoying the peace and quiet of the simple shire. When Bilbo left the peace of his little hobbit hole and returned with many riches, these deeds introduced greed into the hearts of the other hobbits, who saw the gold and jewels that he returned with from his adventures. I believe that these hobbits were not so much rich in money and jewels beforehand but that tehy were rich in the finer things in life: love, wisdom, charity, devotion... they resembled people of good morals who were simple quiet and at peace with the world. No one needs to get into heaven with these sorts of ideas. "Adventures make one late for dinner."

These emotions resemble many characteristic temptations of old: the apple in the garden of eden, pushign the "red button" despite all good advice saying "do not push the red button"...

In light of all this: Let's pretend that Bilbo had never set out on that faitful day... that Gandalf (aka Mithrandir, aka The Wandering Wizard) had left the poor hobbit in peace... would Sauron have destroyed the rest of the world? Or was Sauron's power perhaps not the ring itself but the lust for power that the ring inevitably brought to those who bore it? Could this be more of a "Dumbo and the Magic Feather" thing... where there's nothing special about the ring itself but that knowing about the ring at all stirs up trouble.

To sum up: What if Gollum had retained the ring and used it to capture the occasional orc for food? Would the world have been a worse place for all their trouble? Can we learn anything from this?

And I know I sound like a spoil-sport... it just seems like an interesting little life lesson... why go on adventures at all?? Couldnt we stay in our hobbit holes and live our lives in peace without feeling the need to be great heroes? Wouldnt we all be happier as hobbits in our holes than as Wizards fighting balrogs down holes?

Would we?