Where once we worked and prayed, now we finance. I can't help but question which way is better. I'm thinking the old way was a better life. But that life was regulated and taxed by those that didn't want to work or pray. How did we allow that to happen? Just how did we allow ourselves to be regulated into debt, financially and morally? It is a question I sometimes lie awake at night contemplating.
In the beginning we worked for the things we needed, the basic necessities of life. Food, clothing, shelter and yes, community. Man has always been a communal creature, requiring the company of others. In the animal kingdom we call that the pack, or a den, or a flock, but the meaning is the same. Birds of a feather flock together. Man has been no different. Man has also protected the things he believed to be his. That is central to understanding how we got on this path to dependence. We realize there is strength in numbers. Someone has to lead the pack however, someone has to make the choices. The leaders began to make demands upon the people. For my protection! It was the protection we used to pray for, now being supplied, for a price. At first it was simply physical force. The enemy would be overwhelmed by force of numbers. The spoils equally divided among the victors, well except for the leaders that is, they always received a larger share. Soon it became evident, legislation would be required to control the population, to restrain the pack. That legislation began with the Gods! The Gods controlled the universe did they not? Good weather, bad weather, good fortune or catastrophe hinged upon the whim of the Gods. The people had to appease them first, through sacrifice and offerings. Leaders began to show themselves as Gods, controlling the fortunes of men. That was the beginning.
As communities grew, as cultures progressed, more things were required to satisfy man. No longer content with working for the basic necessities of life, man wanted more. Praying wasn't getting the job done, at least not fast enough, another method was needed. Money was the answer. The abstract idea of trading one item for another, by proxy. I no longer had to have an actual product to barter with, I could just give you something that represents whatever product you want. You can then use that abstract idea to " purchase " whatever it is you want. Somehow, for reasons I can't explain, Gold and other precious medals and stones became those proxies. I want an essential item, you have it. I give you a non-essential item, say a chunk of gold and the deal is made. But what value does that gold actually hold? Whatever value man attaches to it is the answer. Then man began fighting man for those substances. When I gained an excess of gold or precious stones I used them to buy the stuff of luxury. I no longer needed to work or pray! I could simply barter.
And now I'm thinking we have reached the point were we just finance our dreams. We work to gain the means to finance. We no longer work for ourselves, for the necessities of life, we work to gain the things we can't afford. We have been convinced that is what we should do. Who did the convincing? The ones that don't work is the short answer. The ones that hold the money and the power. It is those " leaders " that have legislated us all into dependence. No longer can we just work and pray, now we must Pay! If you want it, you have to buy it in one fashion or another. Whether it is as simple as a fee to be paid, a permit to be issued, or one of a thousand taxes to be paid, you will pay. And just who are you paying? The ones with the money.
In the beginning we worked and prayed. We prayed for favor from the Gods, that we may be spared. At some point man decided to pay the Gods for their favor, believing that may work. That we could somehow purchase eternal life. We called it sacrifice, offerings, and a host of other names. I submit that the Gods didn't care at all. After all, if they are Gods can't they just get whatever they want without my help? In most cases, just who benefitted from those offerings? Was it the Gods? Unlikely in my thinking. What is it that God wants? Obedience would be my answer. You can't finance Obedience, you have to live it.
In the beginning we worked for the things we needed, the basic necessities of life. Food, clothing, shelter and yes, community. Man has always been a communal creature, requiring the company of others. In the animal kingdom we call that the pack, or a den, or a flock, but the meaning is the same. Birds of a feather flock together. Man has been no different. Man has also protected the things he believed to be his. That is central to understanding how we got on this path to dependence. We realize there is strength in numbers. Someone has to lead the pack however, someone has to make the choices. The leaders began to make demands upon the people. For my protection! It was the protection we used to pray for, now being supplied, for a price. At first it was simply physical force. The enemy would be overwhelmed by force of numbers. The spoils equally divided among the victors, well except for the leaders that is, they always received a larger share. Soon it became evident, legislation would be required to control the population, to restrain the pack. That legislation began with the Gods! The Gods controlled the universe did they not? Good weather, bad weather, good fortune or catastrophe hinged upon the whim of the Gods. The people had to appease them first, through sacrifice and offerings. Leaders began to show themselves as Gods, controlling the fortunes of men. That was the beginning.
As communities grew, as cultures progressed, more things were required to satisfy man. No longer content with working for the basic necessities of life, man wanted more. Praying wasn't getting the job done, at least not fast enough, another method was needed. Money was the answer. The abstract idea of trading one item for another, by proxy. I no longer had to have an actual product to barter with, I could just give you something that represents whatever product you want. You can then use that abstract idea to " purchase " whatever it is you want. Somehow, for reasons I can't explain, Gold and other precious medals and stones became those proxies. I want an essential item, you have it. I give you a non-essential item, say a chunk of gold and the deal is made. But what value does that gold actually hold? Whatever value man attaches to it is the answer. Then man began fighting man for those substances. When I gained an excess of gold or precious stones I used them to buy the stuff of luxury. I no longer needed to work or pray! I could simply barter.
And now I'm thinking we have reached the point were we just finance our dreams. We work to gain the means to finance. We no longer work for ourselves, for the necessities of life, we work to gain the things we can't afford. We have been convinced that is what we should do. Who did the convincing? The ones that don't work is the short answer. The ones that hold the money and the power. It is those " leaders " that have legislated us all into dependence. No longer can we just work and pray, now we must Pay! If you want it, you have to buy it in one fashion or another. Whether it is as simple as a fee to be paid, a permit to be issued, or one of a thousand taxes to be paid, you will pay. And just who are you paying? The ones with the money.
In the beginning we worked and prayed. We prayed for favor from the Gods, that we may be spared. At some point man decided to pay the Gods for their favor, believing that may work. That we could somehow purchase eternal life. We called it sacrifice, offerings, and a host of other names. I submit that the Gods didn't care at all. After all, if they are Gods can't they just get whatever they want without my help? In most cases, just who benefitted from those offerings? Was it the Gods? Unlikely in my thinking. What is it that God wants? Obedience would be my answer. You can't finance Obedience, you have to live it.
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