And the greatest of these is love.
It is week 9 of the MKMMA and Haanel’s Master Key Part Nine tells us there are only three things which we, as humans, desire in the world: Health, Wealth and Love.
“All will admit that Health is absolutely essential; no one can be happy if the physical body is in pain.” (Haanel)
- Ask anyone who has just had surgery, and they will tell you the value of health.
- Ask someone who’s parent has just been diagnosed with cancer, and they will tell you the value of health.
- Ask someone who’s husband has just had open heart surgery to have a stent put in to the widow-maker artery, and they will tell you the value of health.
- Ask someone who has just been told they are HIV+, and they will tell you the value of health.
- Ask anyone who has a child suffering in pain, and they will tell you the value of health.
While these are extremes, even the slightest dis-ease in our body can cause us to feel less than good in our body and about our health. Whether it be hormonal, digestive, muscular, joint, sleeplessness, allergies, hives, arthritis, MS, adrenal fatigue, or some other form of pain or discomfort, we know the value of health.
Wealth is a little bit more subjective, and some will tell you that money is the root of all evil, or they don’t need money.
“All will not so readily admit that Wealth is necessary, but all must admit that a sufficient supply at least is necessary…” (Haanel)
- Ask anyone who has had to declare bankruptcy, and they will tell you the value of wealth.
- Ask anyone who doesn’t know how they are going to pay the mortgage, or the heat bill, and they will tell you the value of wealth.
- Ask anyone who has had creditors come to the door to repo their car, at 3:00 in the morning, and they will tell you the value of wealth.
- Ask a single parent struggling to feed their kids, and they will tell you the value of wealth.
And, we can choose to think of wealth in another way:
- You sponsor a child every month in Sierra Leone, giving special gifts on birthdays and holidays. Ask that family the value of wealth.
- You and your co-workers sponsor a local Teen MOPS (Mothers of Pre-schoolers) at Christmas, providing gifts for the children and moms, clothing, food, diapers, and a holiday party with Santa and elves. Ask those young mothers the value of wealth.
- You support a local domestic violence shelter with money, gifts, household needs, feminine products, along with your donated time. Ask those survivors the value of wealth.
- Ask the homeless and those alone, who come into the food bank on Thanksgiving for a free meal; knowing they otherwise might not have eaten that day. Ask them the value of wealth.
- You donate to Make-a-Wish, helping to grant wishes that transform the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions, forever. Ask the child who just received their wish what the value of wealth (and health) is.
I believe that money in the right hands only enhances what is already there. If there is love in your heart, then you will use wealth for good.
Which brings us to love. Some may say love is third, while others say 1st.
Something I’ve been pondering this year is the question “Am I happy because everything is going well OR is everything going well because I’m happy?” I could just as easily ask “do I have love in my life because I am healthy and wealthy OR do I enjoy health and wealth because I focus on love?”
If we look to the Bible, we can find support that love should be the focus:
Now these three remain:
faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest of these is love.
(1 Corinthians 13:13)
If we look to the scrolls from The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino, we find the main theme of Scroll II to be “I greet this day with love in my heart.” And it’s not just the day we greet, but everyone:
And how will I confront each whom I meet? In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You. Though spoken in silence these words will shine in my eyes, unwrinkle my brow, bring a smile to my lips, and echo in my voice; and his heart will be opened. (Mandino)
I’m currently reading “A Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson. “A Return to Love is about the practice of love, as a strength and not a weakness, as a daily answer to the problems that confront us… whether our… pain… is in the area of relationships, health, career, or elsewhere, love is a potent force, the cure, the Answer.”
Don’t you love how so many things overlap and come together? Everywhere I look and read this week, the lessons are about LOVE! And again, It’s All About Love!
Here’s some more good stuff from Williamson:
- “Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we have learned here.”
- “Love is the essential existential fact. It is our ultimate reality and our purpose on earth.”
- “We came here to co-create with God by extending love.”
- “Love isn’t material. It’s energy. It’s the feeling in a room, a situation, a person…. we experience it as kindness, giving, mercy, compassion, peace, joy, acceptance, non-judgment, joining, and intimacy.”
- “Love is within us. It cannot be destroyed, but can only be hidden.“ (WOW!!!!)
This week we added to our studies the affirmation “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.” (Haanel) We combine that with the reminder to “greet this day with love in my heart” (Mandino) and then round it out with the third lesson in how we confront everyone we meet: “In only one way. In silence and to myself I will address him and say I Love You.” (Mandino)
As we give love we get more love and We Become Magnetic. But remember to not just ask for yourself:
Whatever you desire for yourself, affirm it for others, and it will help you both. We reap what we sow. If we send out thoughts of love and health, they return to us like bread cast upon the waters; but if we send out thoughts of fear, worry, jealousy, anger, hate, etc., we will reap the results in our own lives. (Haanel)
This Thanksgiving day and season, let us be grateful and let us also focus on love in our thoughts, in our hearts, and in our words. For ourselves, our family, friends, and neighbors. For our country, and for our world.
Health, Wealth, and Love. And the greatest of these is Love.
