When we Hellenics think of reciprocity, we immediately think offerings, we immediately think about the Gods. We understand that the Gods uphold the laws of reciprocity, that though the Gods are boundless the law of reciprocity is sacred to them. The reason we offer to the Gods is not to bribe the Gods but to reciprocate with the Gods. As the Gods have given so much to us, so we should offer something back in turn. We know that the Gods inherently benefit not from our offerings or our prayers. We know that our offering of libation, hymns, deeds etc.. is not something that the Gods need or really desire. What we do know is that reciprocity is sacred to the Gods and that is why we offer in our worship and prayer.

Yet could reciprocity be sacred to the Gods because reciprocity is actually something that is beneficial to society and men? Could the reason why the Gods expect this in their worship is because they are trying to establish the mindset of reciprocating amongst their followers?

Human interaction with each other is all about reciprocity. All functional and healthy relationship operates on the basis of reciprocity, on giving and receiving, receiving and giving.

Think of friends that you have and how your relationship work. Note that it works because there is something that you can receive from the other person, and also something else you can give to the other person. It may not be something physical at all. In many relationship it is the time you can spend with someone else in their times of need. You offer your shoulder as something they can cry on, you offer a few dollars and cents along the way so they can get something, you offer advise. You in turn when the time is for you have a shoulder to cry on, you in turn receives some financial help in times of need.

It is usually far more dynamic than that. You offer yourself as a fellow player for a game of basketball and they in turn offer themselves to you as another fellow player. You love cooking, they love bringing you out, you offer them food and companionship in your house, your friend offers you excitement like doing stuff you have never done before.

Ultimately all functional relationships operates on a reciprocal basis.

Think this is limited to friendship. Think of functional relationship amongst two colleageus at work. They are not friends, but they offer and receive as well if their relationship is functional. One may be good at a particular type of work, the other person is good at another type, their relationship works because they offer their help to the other colleague and when the other person requires help help is given.

It operates on business level. Two businesses can have a very good and functional relationship if they offer each other two different things or services. A database management company can have a functional relationship with an office supplier company. The office supplier company gives it a discount in terms of its physical supply while the database management company helps set up this companies database. Some may call this bartering but this is a form of reciprocity.

Dysfunctional relationship occurs however when reciprocity is either totally imbalanced or does not occur at all.

Dysfunctional relationships occur when one side is expected to always give give give while the other side always takes takes takes and never gives back.

A lot of family breakdown occurs because this happens for example. A lovingly doted upon child expects the parents to continuously give give give but they never in turn give. Though the parents love may be great, no relationship can sustain the give give give position. Sooner or later the side that gives cannot give any longer, whereupon the relationship breaks down.

In many socialist systems where there is a beneficiary class that goes from one generation to the next without working but living fully on social benefit and using the free health systems and other free things available in the socialist system the same thing happens. One side ( the taxpayer and society in general ) continues to give give give while the other side continues to take take take. Eventually when the economy either hits the downturn or something happens to limit the available government funds they are the first to go as society rightfully view them as not reciprocating back.

I in my lifetime has seen many people who are so used to only take but never give. For example in my workplace I am ocassionally bombarded by people who comes again and again seeking to what we call “rip the system off”. They try to rip the system to the maximum, they become rude, they shout at you, they believe that you must do something for them when in fact there is nothing else to do. My service to them is essentially free, whether I see ten a day or a hundred a day makes no difference to either the system or to myself in terms of my pay and for them to see either my colleagues or me is free. They want more, they feel they are entitled to more. Sometimes they even call you in your home long after your work ends demanding to “see you now” because they feel like it.

They unsurprisingly get very little from either myself or the system in general because they do not reciprocate. They have taken, taken and taken and when we can no longer give they try to rip more. They in effect destroyed a relationship.

Whereas people who are nice, friendly, understanding, who gives and takes, who are so worried that you are working so late that you suddenly find a little old lady in a frame tottering towards you with a cup of tea because. “You are working too hard. You need to take a cup of tea,” such people you will move mountains for because they in effect created a fully healthy relationship. They reciprocated.

In the modern world many people think that they are “special” or “underclassed” or “rejected by society”. Many of these people think that society has done nothing for them and no one has ever done anything for them. They fail to see how much society has conferred unto them as individuals, to provide them with a safe environment to grow up in, to give them a society of law, to give them a stable environment etc.. They do not recognize that society has given, and their intent is therefore to only take.

Their lack of desire to contribute to society means that they only seek to take from society ( or ignore society ). In many areas in the world such people becomes the gangsters, the mobsters, the people who bash innocent individuals on the street etc..

Of course there are also times when society itself fails to reciprocate. Many geniuses or brilliant individuals in the world who comes from societies with “tall poppy syndrome” finds that despite their stellar performance which makes their societies standing increased in the eyes of the international community society in general slanders them, either as being too rich, too smart etc.. Such is the time when society fails to reciprocate and society in turn loses such individuals. Either such individual refuses to contribute back to society or goes to societes that will reciprocate back.

The Gods though boundless and can definitely give give give obviously do not intend their worshippers to have this kind of clearly destructive mentality. The reason why reciprocity is sacred to the Gods is because it s Good for man. The Gods seek to plant reciprocity in their worshippers so that their worshippers may benefit themselves, benefit others and bring goodness into society.

Some people say, “Oh but unconditionality is the Ultimate Goodness.” Though this is nice in theory and clearly is something something wonderful, it is only nice .. it is not real and cannot be real.

Which relationship is based on the Unconditional? Unconditional love for example basically expects one side to give give give indefinitely. Unconditional love basically means, “I will continue to love you and give to you regardless of whether you beat me, lie to me, hurt me, rob from me, continue to pour your emotional torrent endlessly to me, continue to take $800 from me weekly then I find you sleeping with a prostitute with that $800, continue to infringe on my rights a human, continue to denigrate me daily etc.. ”

No human relationship can sustain that.

The Gods though doubtlessly can do this ( and most of us with gnosis and relationship with deity are deeply aware that a lot of times the relationships we have with the Gods had it been with a human would have been broken long ago even if it was with a human that is totally loving, totally caring, totally optimistic ) clearly wishing Good in humans decided it best that they uphold the laws of reciprocity instead.

Reciprocity of man to the Gods I venture benefits not the God. Such a relationship is too unequal. For everything we offer even assuming that the Gods wanted it They can have it without any effort times an infinite more than what a billion humans can offer.

Reciprocity of man to the Gods benefits man only, and if man learns this lesson in their worship and apply it to their life benefits themselves even more!!

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