Monopoly Money Is Just Make-Believe
Pretty safe to say that anyone who is reading this post has probably, at some point in your life, played the board game called “Monopoly.” According to Hasbro, the creators of the game, “Players roll two dice to move around the game board, buying and trading properties and developing them with houses and hotels. Players collect rent from their opponents and aim to eventually put the other players out of business.”
Thank goodness the real world doesn’t work like that… Well, maybe it does more than I care to admit.
Fake currency
In the Monopoly game, each player is given $1,500 at the beginning: two each of $500’s, $100’s, and $50’s; six $20’s; five each of $10’s, $5’s, and $1’s. But, at the end of the game it’s all gathered up and put back into the box til next time. The players can’t take their winnings and go purchase groceries or pay their rent or put gas in their vehicle. Of course not. All of the money is just “fake currency.”
Living a make-believe life
Many of us, unfortunately, live life similar to this board game. We feel as though we “owe” people things that are not really ours to give, or at least not to blindly give without clear consideration:
- We give our “love” to others who don’t love us back, or even worse, hurt, take advantage of, or even abuse us.
- We give our hard-earned money to others who would rather take advantage of us rather than earn or save their own.
- We give our dreams to relationships with others who aren’t any more happy with us because we did.
- We give others power over the view we have of ourselves.
- We give up our peace and serenity in order to help relieve others’ pain and struggle.
- We give the best of our attention to solving others’ problems.
- We give ourselves over to protecting others, lying for them, and keeping them safe.
- We give up our interests and hobbies to allowo us to focus on others’ interests.
- We give power over our self-image to how others’ perceive us.
- We give others’ feelings more priority than our own.
- We give up our wants and needs so others’ can have what they want and need.
- We give others power over dreams for the future.
- We give up our freedom to be spontaneous so assure others won’t disapprove of us.
- We give up the freedom to be imperfect to protect ourselves from others’ rejection or anger.
- We give up our hobbies, friends, and activities to be more present and involved with others.
- We give others’ happiness prior over our own happiness.
Is it love, or something less?
There is only one type of relationship that should carry the name “love” — that is relationships built on the foundation of Jesus’ love.
“Checks carry no value when written from a bankrupt account!”
david ralston, phd
Many people in today’s society are dysfunctionally tied to others through “identity dependent” relationships (what formerly was referred to as codependence). This dysfunctional way of relating has become so commonplace that many don’t even realize there is any other form of relating. They come to believe that what is exchanged in an identity dependent relationship is love, when in reality, it is actually fake currency — a form of relating that is not truly from the heart, is not mutual blessing and fulfilling, and does not deepen the relationship but actually makes it more and more imbalanced.
Partnering with a pastor or Christian counselor provides a Biblical, guided journey toward the authentic, undeserved love of Jesus Christ.