Who Owns You? (Updated from 5/12/2014)

“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.”

-- Dave Ramsey

You are either free, or you are a slave. Ask yourself, "Who owns me?" Nobody? You are your own person, correct? For most of us, the answer is so much bullshit. So, you owe nothing on your car or your house, and you have no outstanding debt on those credit cards, right? Again, for most of you, the answer is a resounding disappointment. Almost everyone in this country and, for that matter, the world, has debts of some kind. If you do, then you are owned. You are probably owned by a bank or other lending institution, like a mortgage company, a lending institution, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or any number of credit cards you carry a debt on.

"There is a sucker born every minute."

-- Artemus Ward (1888)

Not to put too fine a point on it, and please excuse the language, but almost all of you are someone else's bitch.  Who's fault is that?  Well, more than likely, it is your own damned fault.  You fell for every trick in the book entitled, "How to Hook a Sucker".  Oh, there are a lot of you out there, so don't feel like the Lone Ranger.  There really is a sucker born every minute.

“A good name is still to be preferred over great riches. Especially it is to be preferred to the appearance of riches, acquired with nothing down and nothing to pay for 2 months.”

-- Ezra Taft Benson

Okay, now, what to do about it.  Well, I recommend "Tony's Three Step Process."  The first thing you have to do is admit you're a dumbass for having debt.  The second thing you need to do, and this is the hardest, is stop spending money you do not have!  The only people that spend more than the common Joe Bag O'Donuts is the federal government, and look where that's gotten us.  The third thing you have to do is get the hell out of debt!  This step of the process is actually pretty easy... after you conquered the second step.

So, how do you get out from under a mountain of debt?  Get rid of everything you owe money on.  Pay it off or sell it for what you owe.

I can hear the doors of your spoiled rotten brains slamming shut at the prospect of selling the new car, downsizing the apartment or the house, and cutting up credit cards.  Your mind is reeling with, "What?  Yeah, right!  Be real, dude!"  The problem is you aren't saying all this to me, you're really saying it to yourself, as you, once again, easily convince yourself there is no way your sorry ass is ever going to be able to exercise any self-control.  This really means that you have no self-respect that you haven't been able to purchase on account, on account you think you can't live without the purchased self-respect.

But, you see, in reality, you don't even own your self-respect - the bank does!  Truth be told, if we were to remove everything around you that you really don't own you'd be...well, we would finally see you; the real you.  Take away the toys you really don't own, take away the big house you really don't own, the fancy clothes you really don't own, the jewelry, computer, television, stereo, and your precious cell phone, all that you really don't own, and what are you left with?   Whatever it is, you own it.  You own it.  And, if you own it, the bank doesn't.  Now that is something to be really proud of.  Now you have the self-respect of someone living without debt.  Now you are truly free.

“Jimmy put in a word and told them that if I made it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself without paying them back. That I'd sooner die than owe anyone money for helping me.

Apparently, Jimmy knew more about me at that point than I knew about myself.”

-- Craig Ferguson

The next time a commercial asks you, "What's in your wallet?" ask yourself, who's bitch you are.  Better yet, tomorrow when you get up and look in that mirror (which you probably don't own) ask yourself, "Who owns me today?"  When you decide you don't like the answer; when you decide you don't want to work for someone just to get out from under working for someone; when you decide you really want to get off of the revolving charge account you humorlessly refer to as life, maybe you will find what true happiness is really all about.  Oh, and, until you make this decision, stop praying to God for assistance.  God helps those that help themselves.  If you aren't, then there really is no free lunch.

How good does it feel to be debt free?  How good does it feel not to be someone's slave; an indentured servant for life?  I can answer that.  It feels pretty damned good.  It feels good because it is actually easier to get rid of all the debt than it is to accrue it.  You just have to want freedom.  You have to want freedom more than servitude.  There are plenty of financial advisers out there to help, and many of those are free.  

The question isn't what is in your wallet, it's who?  Who owns you?  Who's your daddy today?  How much do you pay, each month, to keep the well-to-do "image" alive, that facade of freedom?   That big lie everyone tells everyone else?

When you finally pay off your debt, you'll find it's much easier to work on your eternal soul.  After you rid yourself of monetary debt, you still have the debt you owe yourself - salvation.  

Now, salvation is where the work really begins!  Are you up for it, or do you like having "self-respect" that really doesn't belong to you?  Hey, if it doesn't bother you, it sure won't bother all the rest of your friends.  After all, they don't own their self-respect either.  And, if you have to wallow in debt, best to do it with friends who are also in debt, right?  Birds of a feather and all that.  Debt really is the best-kept secret that everybody knows.

Who's in your wallet?

“What’s in your wallet?” is a clever way of planting doubt in our minds about whether or not we have the right stuff to get all the satisfaction we are looking for in life. It prompts us to wonder if we are getting all that we think we deserve. Is there more out there that we don’t yet have? Do we have what it takes to be successful? Of course, the intent of the ad campaign is to make us think that only this particular card will make us satisfied, secure, and significant. And if we don’t feel secure about having the right things in our wallet, perhaps we need to reevaluate its contents.

This ad was so successful that Capital One got its own Facebook page in 2011."

-- quizzclub.com

 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either view any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and, finally, a senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Western Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com