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A monetary system dictates what is "accepted as a standard of value and measure of wealth." I believe that what matters most spiritually is how we love others and ourselves. By "love," I mean to appreciate, hope & strive for what is best for others and ourselves, through trial & error/active faith. Caring for others and ourselves is necessary for any society to function well, but is also the foundation of Christianity.
Christ taught 3 parables in Matthew 25. The first is about 10 unprepared and 10 prepared virgins. The 2nd parable is about talents, by which some try to justify the use of Jesus Christ's name to make money. Yet, when put in context of the subsequent parable about dividing the goats from sheep, it is clear that the servants of the talents were either praised or condemned according to how they made use of their spiritual (not worldly) wealth to love others as themselves. The sheep represent those who cared for those in need & "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ye have done it unto me." The goats represent those who neglected to care for those in need & "Inasmuch as ye have NOT done it unto one of the least of these ye have NOT done it unto me." The talents are not literal but symbolic, as are most things in parables. The talents represent our capacity & choice to love. The 1st man was given 5 talents & with it made 5 more, the 2nd man was given 2 talents & made 2 more, the 3rd man was given 1 talent & hid it.
These 3 men represent us. Some of us have been given more abilities & resources to love, than others. When people are kind and loving to me and others, IMO, it reflects more about them & their capacity & choice to love than those they love. When people are rude to me & others, it reflects that they are "poor" in love &/or deciding to hide their ability to love, as the man hid the talent. How we use what we've been given to love others as ourselves is most valuable spiritually.
I have ponder this for many Moons...I for one believe that the talent was a form of coin....and engraven Coin...and when God gave them this engraven coin, they each went off to make more....except one...now the story seems to reward the two who made more, but it seems God is vexed with the slave who is lazy and burries his talent...
Who is righteous is the lazy one...for he did not use the IDOL of engraven image coin.....although it seems to be opposite or opposing a commandment in this story...I see this story as added in by those wanting money to be used..(pharesees)..as it says nothing in the Genesis about God making banks, or money....God is a God of life...not death...and to break a commandment is death...so...the coin remains and so does death, war, sickness and suffering...all resulting factors of that coin..or IDOL...yes?...the other side of the coin...is poverty, destitution, and desperation to have it when it is not in their or our possession....to which we become the slaves of evil or the supporters of it....
That is the untold story twisted right infront of us....more wars please, more oppression, more forced labour...more taxes..more higher prices...for What God said is Given....wonder why?...and while all that is going on...the planet is being polluted for dollars....Yeah?....what the talent is now doing with mindless junk...not taking care of the Garden...but destroying it and our neighbours with toxins, pesticides, and chemical agents, in being selfish with the crop and the lands..."Do onto others (other life) as you would have done onto you"....this commandment is also being broken....but the ying and yang of it seems to be showing signs...if we pollute them....they pollute us......So some very interesting truths are being shown...as time Goes by...we learn new talents...perhaps?...and move from the detramentals that make profiteering off of sickness and death, and the destruction of the eco system ...so that in some small way we tend to the others...and they tend to the planet the right way...in union...as it was in the beginning....LET US MAKE HUMANKIND>>...we may be HUMAN but the work KIND is lacking merit in most when we turn and see the vomit we have and are /or are doing/ making of the eco systems and that kingdom..we seem to of fallen out of.....to a unnatural state of selfishness and corruption under that Coin....See Solomen's use of that same coin....is being used right now!....we are the demonic...being used to create the ANTI estate to God or of God....no planting certain plants...poisoning others...and insects and such, and in turn poisoning people...So they can make profit off that in pharmacuticals and more hospitals......this is not what God wants or wanted....But there it is all for a price....can't pay...can't live ...and no peace with the kingdom or with eachother....wonder why!...ah the rewards?...The wages for sin is death...the wage is the coin...hold it no longer..or give it back to Caesar....Is what Jesus said to do...and then do what God asked us and made us for...tending and keeping things presteen and clean.....yes?....some people do not seem to think so...and it is a telling sign!
I think we see love in different lights.So, I'll tell you how I see love. Love is a word.(I hear the Duh! already) Love is a word like any other its value is based on the definer. Then how do I define it? Love is a word used to describe an emotion or several brought by pleasing chemical reactions by the brain which in turn are brough on by positive associations made by the brain to something or someone.Just saying you can get that love from any chocolate bar. So,would this love have monetary value? Maybe I don't like the word spritual. I think it's a BS word. Anyway, James wants love,and instead of buying some chocolate he invests his time, energy, possibly money as well to recive love from Amber.Amber evenutal gets those pleasing chemical reactions when she thinks or sees James, She wants more of this awesome feeling, so she invests time, energy, and possibly money to James. James's brain says "Amber is awesome !" so he gets that chemical reaction whenever he think or sees Amber. There's exchange.
Thanks for sharing your perspective on the word, love.
Love is continuously exchanged, but is not limited to just one way, as you implied.
I understand that for some, any "spiritual" references seem to cloud the issue, so you can consider it "emotional" if you want. As you mentioned, words are words... "What's in a name - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Shakespeare).
I'm still learning about love, as we all are.
I don't believe anybody loves unconditionally - we can't - because we're not perfect. We can strive to love no matter what, but we have weaknesses & when the ---- hits the fan, our true colors show through.
Most people love based on what they can get back. Most people believe that the feelings they feel are always based on others, or external phenomena, when in reality, ALL feelings come from within. I think this misperception comes from when we were babies, being 100% dependent upon our mothers/fathers or caregivers. For those first such impressionable years, our survival depended outside ourselves, so many of us continue to look outside ourselves for love. We do need others to thrive best... Depression is considered partly a lack of meaningful social contacts. Yet we are not 100% dependent & we must find within ourselves the love we seek - because most of it is there, not external.
I have ponder this for many Moons...I for one believe that the talent was a form of coin....and engraven Coin...and when God gave them this engraven coin, they each went off to make more....except one...now the story seems to reward the two who made more, but it seems God is vexed with the slave who is lazy and burries his talent...
Who is righteous is the lazy one...for he did not use the IDOL of engraven image coin.....although it seems to be opposite or opposing a commandment in this story...I see this story as added in by those wanting money to be used..(pharesees)..as it says nothing in the Genesis about God making banks, or money....God is a God of life...not death...and to break a commandment is death...so...the coin remains and so does death, war, sickness and suffering...all resulting factors of that coin..or IDOL...yes?...the other side of the coin...is poverty, destitution, and desperation to have it when it is not in their or our possession....to which we become the slaves of evil or the supporters of it....
That is the untold story twisted right infront of us....more wars please, more oppression, more forced labour...more taxes..more higher prices...for What God said is Given....wonder why?...and while all that is going on...the planet is being polluted for dollars....Yeah?....what the talent is now doing with mindless junk...not taking care of the Garden...but destroying it and our neighbours with toxins, pesticides, and chemical agents, in being selfish with the crop and the lands..."Do onto others (other life) as you would have done onto you"....this commandment is also being broken....but the ying and yang of it seems to be showing signs...if we pollute them....they pollute us......So some very interesting truths are being shown...as time Goes by...we learn new talents...perhaps?...and move from the detramentals that make profiteering off of sickness and death, and the destruction of the eco system ...so that in some small way we tend to the others...and they tend to the planet the right way...in union...as it was in the beginning....LET US MAKE HUMANKIND>>...we may be HUMAN but the work KIND is lacking merit in most when we turn and see the vomit we have and are /or are doing/ making of the eco systems and that kingdom..we seem to of fallen out of.....to a unnatural state of selfishness and corruption under that Coin....See Solomen's use of that same coin....is being used right now!....we are the demonic...being used to create the ANTI estate to God or of God....no planting certain plants...poisoning others...and insects and such, and in turn poisoning people...So they can make profit off that in pharmacuticals and more hospitals......this is not what God wants or wanted....But there it is all for a price....can't pay...can't live ...and no peace with the kingdom or with eachother....wonder why!...ah the rewards?...The wages for sin is death...the wage is the coin...hold it no longer..or give it back to Caesar....Is what Jesus said to do...and then do what God asked us and made us for...tending and keeping things presteen and clean.....yes?....some people do not seem to think so...and it is a telling sign!
Thanks, Sir Les.
You made some good points about greed & idol worship and how we (as a human race) need to do better in caring for each other & this world.
We each have gods that we worship - we just don't call them gods.
The great thing about parables is there are many ways to interpret the symoblism in them. Jesus taught in parables so each could relate according to their unique circumstances... "Without a parable spake he not unto them." I used to interpret scriptures literally, but now I try to find spiritual or psychological (study of the soul) meaning.
The parable of the talents is followed by the parable of dividing the sheep from the goats & about how we treat others, we treat God. Jesus taught that the greatest commandments are to love God (& as we love others we love God) & to love others as ourselves. So, considering all of this, I interpret the parable of the talents to be how well we make use of the greatest gift we have: our ability to love.
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