This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
Time is our most valuable asset – we do not know how much of it we have and we cannot obtain more.
– A Mentor in Faith
Years ago, in my younger days I was an avid fan of table-top role-playing games. For the most part, my core group and I played one or two games with any regularity, but I specifically recall one game that came as a considerable departure from what we’d typically played in the past. The game was called Shadowrun and I remember it so vividly because I saw certain principles within it which are manifesting presently. It was also the first time I had ever encountered the term “Wage Slave“.
The Mountain of Business
It’s a fundamental truth that in today’s societies, the world of business is all about making money. Some would argue that this has always been the case, but I would protest, citing the age old trope of the “American Dream”. This was a dream, held not only by those who had come here, but by all those who wanted to, and it was not a matter of wanting to be rich, it was a matter of wanting to be free.
Honestly, I don’t begrudge those who succeed financially in their business endeavors. In fact I rejoice for them because success is at the heart of the matter. It isn’t the fact that they’re wealthy that matters, it’s that they are able to what it is they choose to do for a living. They are the masters of their own fates and get to do what far too few of us trapped in a “wage slave” existence get to do; something they love. Within the societal mountain of business, I see the clear workings of the Matrix, twisting our perceptions to a point where many may struggle with the precepts I am putting forth. They may even renounce what I’m saying without fully understanding the point in the first place.
We live in a world where, for the most part, we are given two days per week to experience and remember what actual freedom is like. It’s just enough to breath a heavy sigh and rest a bit before picking up our heavy loads and slogging forward through the next week, only to repeat the cycle ad nauseam. It should come as no surprise to any regular readers of this site when I say, this is not God’s plan or design. You see, there is a fundamental paradigm at the heart of our present systems that is wrong – yet it has been perpetuated through the generations to the point where it is an accepted norm. This paradigm is that we trade time for money. The development of certain skills can certainly increase the amount of money, but it remains a continuing trade of time for money.
Interestingly, of the skills which most greatly increase our value within this system, none of them are what I would consider “directly productive” – that is, they don’t produce an actual thing, but are generally focused on making the real producers more productive in some way, shape or form… I see here the hallmarks of a system which is ancient in origin and is unconcerned with our individual well-being.
The following video aptly illustrates the idea I am trying, somewhat ham-fistedly, to convey. Note that the video seeks to speak directly to government, but the principles it illuminates are no less relevant here:
This is the heart of what the term “wage slave” truly means; the trade of time for money, all in the hopes of attaining some level of financial security. Once attained, for those who actually do, we are then free to pursue those things we actually wanted to pursue in the first place.
Let’s conduct a thought experiment. After years of working and saving, you’ve come the place where you desire to purchase a home – in this case, you’ve elected to build a new how that will uniquely fulfill your needs. As you peruse the bids you’ve received from local contractors, you note that two stand out from the rest. One bid marks the lowest estimated cost in materials and labor, while the other marks a higher overall price, but promises to complete the same job at the same quality in half the time.
Which of these bids appeals to you most? Obviously, the amount of funds you have available is a significant factor, as are the reputations of the builders themselves. Truth is, you’ve likely been too concerned about providing for you family and saving up for this moment to pay attention to such matters and, outside of modern day apps and customer comments on the internet, you really wouldn’t have much to go on regarding the latter.
Speaking to the former, should the contractor estimating the shortest build-cycle reduce his rate due to the shortened length of time it will take him? Should he, in place of trading his efficiency and skill, acquiesce to the established paradigm and reduce his rate to straight-forward trade of time for money? Perhaps on job completion, the second contractor plans to immediately begin another build – or perhaps he plans to take the rest of the week off. Either way, the choice would be his since he has traded his skill, not his time for gainful employment…
The image to the left (oh look – another pyramid!) illustrates the Hierarchy of Needs as proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943. This is a psychological theory regarding the matters which motivate human beings, stratifying them based upon status and/ or accomplishment.
Understand that, while the graphic serves to display them in tiers, the differentiation between one tier and the next is not so strictly clean-cut or abrupt. The point is that while we all aspire to reach the pinnacle, we cannot truly ply our efforts towards one tier without first accomplishing the one in which we find ourselves. Think about it, if your immediate need is food, you can hardly be concerned with loftier matters such as attaining respect within your society.
Maslow contended that very, very few ever reach the pinnacle that is self-actualization, and I concur. I believe that this has as much to do with the “Matrix” and the systems of suppression it employs as it does with individual motivations. In fact, the system seeks to direct our motivations both directly and indirectly. It does so by plying the other Mountains of Societal influence and attracting our attentions to matters not directly beneficial to our awakening, advancement or freedoms.
The real crux of my point here is that if we are kept toward the bottom tiers of this pyramid, we are likely to expend far less effort on higher-minded matters such as God, faith or theology. Given this, ad in the understanding that “the tree is known by its fruit”, I’m going to have to put this in the “not good” category.
To clarify, none of what I am saying is intended to inflame or incite some form of revolt against the status quo – at least not physically. That tends to lead down a philosophical road that ends with socialism and I hope you can see by what I’ve put forth that this would be not only antithetical to my point, but anathema.
For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”
– 2 Thessalonians 3:10
My intention is simply to show you how the system works against us. How it seeks to prevent us from not only discovering the true nature of the God who made us, but the reality of our identities in Him. To this end, the Mountain of Business has served as an effective tool for “the Matrix” to propagate itself and keep us in proverbial darkness.
… but God.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
John 10:10
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You