What Do We Sell?

Teachers sell their lessons and hope the student buys.  Politicians sell their promises for a better government and hope voters buy.  Lawyers sell their side of the argument and hope the jury buys it. Parents sell their side of the argument and hope their child buys it   Businesses sell their products and services, writers sell their thoughts, painters sell their visions, and pastors sell their interpretations of truth.  Lovers sell their access and hope someone they like buys it, again and again.

The human race is in a constant state of transaction;constantly looking for the thing to buy and the people to sell it to.  But, what do we actually sell?  Do we sell the thing we found in our hearts - passion?  Do we sell the thing we found in our mind - imagination?  Do we seek buyers for the thing we value, or do we seek to sell whatever they would value?  Do we care if it is good for them, or do we just want to make the deal?  Do we sell our sense of community to gain an individual edge?  Do we place ourselves in the position of knowing what they need most and try to convince them to buy - just so we can bank their affirmation?

When we sell the part of ourselves that we can't get back, do we suffer?  Some people sell their integrity and cringe at the thought of what once was, and because of the cringe they deliberately ignore the thought.  Innocents sell their wonder to the jaded cynics and find no path for return.  The lonely sell their physical intimacy to gain a sacred moment when their secrets would have brought more.  The pompous sell their audacity and believe the world is blessed by their giving.  The evil can find no buyers so they must bully and coerce their buyers under durress.  The selfish only seek their own ends with no concern for fairness.  If we sell with no foresight, do we lose more than we thought?

At the end of the day we look at the balance of our transactions.  We look to see what was gained and what was lost.  If we value money more than relationship we will see the gain, but may miss seeing the cost.  If we value time spent instead of time gained we may end up with very little time left.

The transactions of the human race are rooted in our beliefs - beliefs about value.  If we proceed along the path of one strategy and forsake another, do we register the cost on our books?  At the end of the game, when we breathe our last we will find reflection on what was, and what will matter to us most in that final assessment will not be what we sold and gained, but what we have with us then.  God tells us to store up treasures in Heaven.  Is He trying to sell us on a better destination, or is He trying to get us to pack our bags more wisely?

In our entire existence, all of the selling and buying of human wants is the very essence of true capitalism - free trade, free markets, the unhindered exchange of each one's values at ever-changing prices.  We love to trade, but at what eternal cost?

Capitalism without lasting connection draws us toward ruin.  To gain lasting connection increases our eternal wealth - our treasures in Heaven.  Doing a good deed is not a stored gem.  Building a friendship that is kept til the end is a jeweled broach.  Listening to the weeping of the broken-hearted may give us a feeling of goodness, but if we do it for the personal gain then we have not been honest and our conditions will cost us the connection.  Life is about connection, interaction, and mutual acceptance.  The balance sheet of our interpersonal assets and liabilities will reflect the true nature of our lives- the "what" we end up with.

What do we sell?  We buy and sell our eventual connection to others with every interaction, and at the end of it all, when we are alone and looking at the hospital ceiling, will we feel enriched by what awaits us?  Will we feel wealthy in our souls?  If we haven't thought about it - it may be good to consider, because...

That's what we sell.