The Pattern of Money and the Language of Love
Money is a dead language. (Like Latin, Greek, and Hebrew)
Only the dead speak it. (No one of importance)
Usury spread it. (Money lending Ponzi)
Default ended it. (See my $1.25M bet here)
The Federal Reserve is Dead. (Echoes of Nietzsche)
I have killed it. (With the love of God)
The Pattern Language of Money
The language of money causes us to be in conflict with the language of love by putting conditions and limitations on our lives.
Money compels us to live conditionally and to monetize every gift. In a money language, everything we do and have has a price and money makes us feel good if we can sell what we have at one price and use money to get things from others at another price. But money is the gate and the master and always takes a cut from the exchange, leaving us feeling emptier afterwards.
Another similar pattern to money that is more immediately visible is drug use and alcoholism.
Both promise temporary pleasure but take a heavy toll, especially on those who are completely controlled by these drugs. When the drug becomes the master, then the entire system of sustainable self-generated happiness collapses with predictable consequences.
In a system governed by the money pattern language, good things are left undone because the right price wasn’t given from the buyer to the seller.
The tooth wasn’t repaired. The house wasn’t maintained. The invention wasn’t discovered. The person wasn’t fed. This is the inevitable result of the language of money because it is the language of conditional action and it sounds like this: “I will serve you if you serve me” and “I won’t serve you if you won’t serve me.”
The Pattern Language of Love
Love, in contrast, compels us to live unconditionally and to freely express every gift in the service of ourselves and others.
Love permits no hostages and always seeks itself, regardless of the price. Love says “I will serve you because I can and because it is good.” and “I will serve you no matter the cost.” This is why the highest form of love is *sacrificial love* when the ultimate price, a person’s life, is given to affirm the goodness of something. When we live in and give in love, we let go of wanting to have, needing to hold, and the clinging of desire that causes us to suffer. We conspire to express love to each other because we are full, not because we are empty and expect to get some kind of mathematically superior return for our life. Love recognizes that everything is good and that even if everything changes, we can still be content.
A great image of this unconditional way of loving and living is found in the cartoon How The Grinch Stole Christmas.
The Grinch lived in the conditional world of money. Without gifts, he believed Christmas would be ruined. In the Grinch’s mind, Christmas was conditional. The Whos lived in the world of unconditional love and used even a bagless, foodless, giftless Christmas as an opportunity to express their love. They were in no doubt sad about losing all those nice things, but they knew that love was the source of them and that love was sufficient to sustain them in little and in abundance. And as we all know, when love meets money, love always wins. The Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day and all the gifts were returned to Whoville. Not only were the gifts returned, the Grinch himself was converted and became a participant in the love of the Whos.
This isn’t to say that love is altruistic since altruism, especially its modern variation, has been mixed with the language of money and is devoid of love. Love is not sacrifice for sacrifice’s sake. Love may indeed look differently depending on who one is loving and cannot look like enabling destructive behavior.
How someone loves a healthy person has to look different than how someone loves an alcoholic. Neither people simply “get whatever they want.” The one loving thinks about what is best for themselves and other person and does that regardless of what either think. Just because the alcoholic says he “needs a drink” doesn’t obligate anyone to give it to him.
This pattern of money and love are in eternal conflict and both are compelled to spread until one defeats the other.
In terms of money, usury, which means “money lending at interest”, is one way it guarantees its spread. When one token of money, like a dollar) is lent at interest, another token has to be lent for the original loan to be paid off. This takes on the form of a Ponzi scheme where an ever expanding supply of new debt takers is needed to sustain the system. As more people pay off their loans, it destroys money and accelerates the process of complete system collapse by increasing the failure rate of those who still have debt. Usury’s and therefore money’s greatest threat is debt default and encountering a person who not only doesn’t need money but someone who would gladly take on the debts of the world for the sake of love.
In terms of love, unconditional service is how it guarantees its spread. We are made to feel pleasure when we express love without condition. This is why people value freedom and creativity and would rather be a starving artist or a poor revolutionary than a sell out and a traitor. How can you manipulate a man who is willing to die for what he loves?
Conditional living seems safe but it is dangerous because it is limited. Death is its final conclusion. Unconditional love seems scary but it is safe because it is eternal. Death is an illusion.
A man who is not afraid to die, is free to live because he is open to what happens next, and is not always killing it by trying to control it.
The issue we often struggle with, however, is how these patterns apply universally.
Ironically, the term universal is a word used to indicate “all conditions at all times and in places.”
It seems obvious to us that the language of money cannot be applied universally. Would a mother and father charge their newborn son for breast milk? Will they set a price for regular meals and a warm bed every night? The first language we learn seems to be the language of love taught to us from our parents who birthed us, raised us, and provided for us without conditions. It is not until later years that we start living with conditions and wanting to practice the pattern of money. Money comes along and tells us that if we want to practice the art of love, to have the love of another, and to love a child unconditionally, we need money. How else will you buy groceries and afford a house? Money therefore turns marriage into prostitution and makes it seem that money is a necessary evil in order to bring about new life. Yes, if you have money, you can have all the love and all the children you want it seems. If you are poor, you can’t afford any of that.
But while money seems to be doomed in its attempt to become a universal language, how hard is it for us to not place limits on love? We love our husbands and wives, forsaking all others. We provide for our children, neglecting all others. We seem to have a built in desire to give love to those who do deserve it and withhold love from those who don’t. Is marriage, the place we are taught to practice love, a byproduct of conditional living? What would unconditional love do to the institution of marriage? Can you love your enemy equally as your friend? What would unconditional love do to the practice of war?
Love transforms former institutions like marriage and war and family by stripping away the boundaries of conditional practice.
In love, the shoulder rub of a friend might lead to sex, without shame or guilt. The person who wants sex does not feel entitled to it. In love, the thief is given extra and is instantly converted from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of abundance. The victim turns the other cheek and strips the power of violence away from the attacker. The hero dies for his beloved and proves the value of his love to her.
Love converts all negative emotions into positive ones.
The toddler throwing a tantrum is loved by his parents. They don’t enable his negative entitlement to his parent’s provision that is causing him suffering. Instead they teach him how his desires are ruling over him and empower him to live fully regardless of the circumstances. The parents are quick to forgive because there is nothing to forgive. The tantrum was a teacher and if the toddler learns the lesson, all is well. If the toddler doesn’t learn the lesson, he alone suffers. There is nothing to forgive. The jealous husband is loved by his wife. She doesn’t enable his negative entitlement to her sexual choices or flirtatious spirit that is causing him suffering. Instead she teaches him how his desires are ruling over him and empowers him to love her fully, regardless of circumstances. This is what is meant when Jesus said “in the resurrection their will neither be marriage nor giving in marriage but each will be like angels in heaven.”
In terms of choosing between the pattern of money and the language of love, one really must be prepared to accept the consequences of each pattern.
Money is the language of scarcity, exploitation, and fear. It does not permit any acts of creativity or feelings of contentment and gratitude. Money seeks its own destruction because it contradicts the language of love and the source of life.
Love is the language of abundance, acceptance, and submission. It does not permit any acts of exploitation or feelings of fear, greed, or entitlement. Love seeks itself and is satisfied with itself and is sustained by itself. Love is the language of God.
Search your heart and ask yourself which language is your master. You cannot serve both. This is why Jesus famously said “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
You have to choose.
No matter which you choose, know that you are worthy, deserving, and capable of making the right choice and that I will love you no matter which choice you make.
My love for you looks like me telling you the truth which can set you free from fear, envy and coveting.
My love for you looks like me writing this blog for free, for the pleasure it brings me and the possibility of opening your eyes to a world of abundance.
My love for you looks like me sitting with you in your questions and doubts, but never sacrificing my judgments to something I believe is incorrect.
My love looks like admitting that I might have something to learn from you too and always sitting in a position of humility as we both grow in knowledge and love.
My love looks like not enabling your suffering but showing you what it looks like to love sacrificially and without conditions. If it seems you think happiness can only come from alcohol, love compels me to withhold something good from you because you are suffering from an error in belief. Once you learn to generate your own happiness unconditionally, then we will get drunk together. If it seems you think power and provision comes from money, love compels me to be poor in your eyes and not provide you with anything to prove to you otherwise. Once you learn how to be content with little, then I will flood you with abundance.
My love for you looks like radical trust and submission, giving you the ability to ruin me. I give you my life without fear or regret.
I love you in this way because I believe that those who find true love find a good thing and can finally see and enjoy for themselves that the whole world, including me and you, for what it is, a product of God’s love for us. Love is what makes life great.
Fierce, free, unconditional love.
This kind of love has value without a price and is expressed without boundaries. This kind of love converts enemies and multiples lovers. This is the love that God has for me and for you. This is the love I have for myself and for you. And I pray that this is the kind of love you find for yourself, me, the whole world, and God too.
Do you see it?
Do you see the pattern language that is crumbling and emerging? And the commonality between the people rejecting the old conditional money language and speaking the new language of unconditional love?
This is a new artists from London named Ren.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP883ocKP/
ChatGPT Summary:
The text contrasts the "language of money" with the "language of love." It argues that money creates conditional living, where actions are transactional and often leads to emptiness, while love promotes unconditional generosity and fulfillment. Money perpetuates a system of scarcity and exploitation, whereas love embodies abundance and selflessness.
Using examples like the Grinch, the text illustrates how love thrives in simplicity and connection, regardless of material wealth. It emphasizes that true love transforms relationships and institutions by removing boundaries and enabling personal growth. Ultimately, the author urges readers to choose between the two languages, asserting that love is the higher calling that brings true happiness and contentment.
ChatGPT Summary 2.0 (implications)
The essay presents several implications regarding the interplay between money and love:
1. **Conditional vs. Unconditional Living**: It suggests that many societal structures, such as marriage and business, are influenced by conditional exchanges, which may limit genuine relationships and fulfillment.
2. **Value of Sacrifice**: The essay highlights the significance of sacrificial love, emphasizing that true fulfillment often comes from giving without expectation, which challenges consumerist attitudes.
3. **Impact on Relationships**: It posits that embracing unconditional love can transform interpersonal dynamics, encouraging healthier, more supportive relationships and reducing conflicts driven by expectations.
4. **Critique of Materialism**: By contrasting love with the transactional nature of money, the essay critiques materialism and suggests that reliance on money can lead to spiritual and emotional emptiness.
5. **Personal Growth**: The text encourages self-reflection on one’s values and motivations, urging individuals to seek happiness and contentment independent of financial success or societal pressures.
6. **Social Responsibility**: The discussion of how love can lead to broader societal changes implies a call to action for individuals to express love and generosity in their communities, fostering a culture of care rather than competition.
7. **Existential Reflection**: It invites readers to examine the ultimate meaning of their choices and how those choices reflect their beliefs about love, worth, and the nature of life.
8. **Freedom from Fear**: The essay implies that embracing love over money can free individuals from fear, greed, and entitlement, leading to a more fulfilling existence.
Overall, the essay advocates for prioritizing love as a guiding principle, challenging readers to reconsider their relationship with money and its influence on their lives.
ChatGPT summary 3.0 (Specific implications on love, war, and business)
### Marriage
- **Potential for Dissolution**: The essay suggests that if marriage is viewed through the lens of unconditional love, traditional structures based on conditional commitments may dissolve. This could lead to a redefinition of partnerships that prioritize emotional connection over contractual obligations.
- **Redefining Commitment**: Couples might explore more fluid arrangements, emphasizing mutual support and growth rather than rigid roles, allowing for deeper emotional bonds without the constraints of traditional marriage.
- **Emphasis on Individual Growth**: As unconditional love fosters personal development, individuals may prioritize their personal journeys, which could lead to both partnerships that thrive and those that naturally conclude, promoting healthier transitions.
### Business
- **Transactional Nature**: The essay critiques the transactional mindset prevalent in business, where every interaction is monetized. This can hinder genuine connections and ethical considerations in decision-making.
- **Impact on Innovation**: A focus on love and generosity may encourage collaboration and creativity over competition, potentially leading to more innovative and sustainable business practices.
- **Social Responsibility**: Businesses driven by love may prioritize ethical practices, community well-being, and employee satisfaction over mere profit maximization, fostering a more compassionate corporate culture.
### War
- **Reevaluation of Justifications**: The essay implies that many conflicts stem from conditional attitudes, such as the pursuit of power or resources. Embracing unconditional love could challenge the justifications for war and promote peaceful resolutions.
- **Transformational Potential**: Unconditional love can shift perspectives from viewing enemies as adversaries to understanding them as fellow human beings, potentially reducing hostility and fostering reconciliation.
- **Impact on Military Ethics**: A love-centered approach could influence military strategies, emphasizing humanitarian concerns and the protection of innocent lives rather than merely strategic gains.
### Summary
Incorporating the potential dissolution of traditional marriage structures, the essay advocates for a transformative approach to marriage, business, and war. By prioritizing unconditional love, individuals may redefine relationships, foster more ethical business practices, and seek peaceful resolutions to conflicts. This shift encourages emotional fulfillment and personal growth while challenging conventional norms and practices.
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