Squid Game and Money Matters

You don’t have to see the #1 series on Netflix to know that “Squid Game” is already creating headlines and waves of discussions on social media and other platforms. The in-your-face representation of human behaviour leaves the viewer questioning what truly matters in life. The choices and reasons to behave good or bad, right or wrong lead to guilt and regret which is the sad yet strange influence that money has in our life. In short, the show is about giving individuals who are crippled by financial debt the hope of a way out by playing a series of games; the catch is that your life is on the line. 

The Games we all play

The characters on the show face money problems much like us, they are just regular people who are riddled with bad luck, poor choices, or difficult circumstances. Their problems are often their own doing, and every character in the game sees money as a way out of the life they are trapped into. It seems that we can identify with them, and though we are not slaves to money, we are indebted to something or someone. Debt is the ‘grim reaper’ who will follow you and only keep adding to your worries. In the words of Josh Billings, “Debt is like any other trap, easy enough to get into, but hard enough to get out of.”

My father taught me a simple principle, “never spend what you do not have.” He never encouraged or wanted our family to be in a position of debt. I never really understood the gravity of debt until I got my first (and only) credit card. The enticement of credit card deals, the buy one get one free, easy instalment plans, and endless loyalty points makes one spend more than one is capable of repaying. When we stop and think about it, we see how far into capitalism we are. It took a South Korean show about adults playing children’s games to show us that.

Squid game highlights (in a morbid way) the struggle we all face to get more money. Sadly, as much as we like to deny it, we are all slaves to money. One might say, the root of all evil is the love of money but not money itself, and I would agree, but let us analyse that for a minute. Healthcare, education, travelling, marriage, divorce, retirement, food and even water requires money. So, it is perhaps an understatement to say we are all in a money trap. 

Life, however, is short, and as the show implies, the one thing common to both those who have a lot of money and those who don’t have a lot of money is the fact that we as humans get bored, and it is never enough for us. We are so unhappy with where we are that we want more. No matter what you buy, eat or drink, everything gets boring in the end, as true joy seems nowhere to be found.

Money and Eternal Joy

One of the saddest realities to face in life is that if given a choice, human beings will choose suffering and unhappiness dressed up with all the trappings of monetary and momentary gain. We as a race have rarely, if not never, chosen momentary suffering for long term joy. We want ‘instant’ joy, and we almost never realise or understand that to endure a little discomfort now will almost always result in a long-term true joy. 

This brings us to another kind of suffering that was endured for eternal joy. See the world as depicted in the Squid game will hand out a calling card at the chance of a lifetime to clear our debt. Unfortunately, our lives are on the line, and we are all at risk of losing in the end. 

We may not have financial debt or loans that strangle us, but our lives owe a debt to be paid. The cost we pay for life on earth is inevitably death, and no one can escape that debt. The Bible says “the wages of sin is death,” however, there was a payment made a long time ago by someone on a cross. This payment doesn’t require you to play a game, it doesn’t have any conditions, and no amount of money or the lack of it can ever repay this debt. Only a leap of faith. This debt was paid for that true life of joy eternal. As Jim Elliot, a Christian missionary puts it “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

If you would like to express your views on this topic or to know more about the debt that was paid for our eternal joy, please do reach out to us.

Written by: Jonathan Berman