“When loveless money seeks to buy love by spreading out on the counter in the matrimonial market its stocks and bonds, houses and lots, bank accounts, automobiles, fine dress, position in society, travel abroad and the others, and the woman looks languidly over the outfit where she has to take the owner too, and finally consents, he has not bought love. He has some understudy to love, an imitation, a combination of policy and pretense. There is never a sweet spontaneity, a word, a look, a tone that splashes like water from an overfull fountain, but only the pettiness of cool, counterfeit emotion. He has closed an option on a partner in matrimony as he might on a block of stock. He has bought not Cupid, but cupidity. If wealth wants love it must give love. It must be an exchange not a purchase. The rich man must win love as the poorest man wins it—because of what he is, not for what he has.” ~ William George Jordan
As harsh as these words may sound, they are the truth of the matter. You cannot sell yourself short and expect any long term income on your investment. There are simply no shortcuts to fulfillment.
Man for too long has satisfied himself with the appearance of fulfillment, rather than its actuality. Fulfillment is a state wherein there is movement from glory unto glory. If you have already decided that such a state is impossible, then it will be to you. If, however, you are free of such prejudice, your heart becomes a fertile ground in which the seed of fulfillment can take root.
“True glory takes root, and even spreads; all false pretences, like flowers, fall to the ground; nor can any counterfeit last long.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Gregory Hake 
Jordan deftly described the difference between purchased “love” and the love that grows when you give of yourself boundlessly. This is something that every child should be able to see in their parents when they are growing up. Its lack is seen in the purchased “love” that we see in Jordan’s example, or when we see people pairing up so they don’t have to feel alone. The reason that we have love is not either of these, it’s so that our fulfillments and glories can be expanded.
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Prejudice certainly destroys any opportunity for glory. With a mind and heart turned toward negativity, cynicism, and a know-it-all approach, how can there every be fulfillment that lasts.
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Great quote by Marcus Tullius Cicero!
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Yeah, it’s sad to think through all the ramifications of trying to buy love. All the sorrow and frustration that comes as a result of trying to get what one wants at all costs. People will sell out sure enough, and then wonder why they are still frustrated and unhappy. As the glitz and glamour wears off in due time, you are left with whatever central concern there was from the beginning, in full relief – and if that concern is not centered on a commitment to the finest of what you are capable of giving, day in and day out, then there’s really not much left to hold things together. I can see relationships of all kinds – personal, fmailial, economical, political – beholden to this truism.
If this is so, and it makes sense to you, then genuine relatedness based on a sense of giving can be the only way to bring lasting fulfillment in your life and to the lives of others. Makes sense to me. Life need to be characterized by constant internal ups and downs.
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This also applies to our careers and jobs. If it is just a means to an end or we believe it is the only one available it becomes like a loveless marriage or an “arrangement” that suits our economic needs.
“…imitation, a combination of policy and pretense. There is never a sweet spontaneity, a word, a look, a tone that splashes like water from an overfull fountain, but only the pettiness of cool, counterfeit emotion.” An apt description of many from 9 to 5. Great post, purpose and passion change everything.
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