“… because I am poor.”

There’s this big, beautiful house that we pass by when we take a shortcut through one of the subdivisions here in the south. One time, I was driving and one of my passengers said out loud, “Malamang smuggler o drug lord ang nakatira dyan.” (Probably a smuggler or a drug lord lives there.)

I feel bad for whoever owns that property because I know at least one person who passed judgement on them. What if they are actually honest business people? What if they work really hard for what they have now?

During the second installment of our Feast financial literacy series, Money Pakyaw, Bro Yo Martinez’s talk on Prosperity touched on a negative trait most Filipinos have: “the poverty mindset.”

Because of this character flaw, Pinoys think that it is God’s will for them to be poor. And that to even desire to become rich is wrong. Their favorite bible passage is Matthew 5:3… Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

These people will often use their poverty as an excuse for all sorts of things --- for rude behavior (like judging others), for allowing life’s opportunities to pass them by, for not being a blessing to others, for escaping responsibilities, even for breaking the law.

The truth is that poverty is something to strive to get out of. Think of it like a hurdle or as a challenge that must be overcome.

It’s sad when people give up against poverty. It’s as if they already see it as a way of life. What’s worse is when people who choose to be poor band together to bash those who are well off.

Yes, Jesus came to give relief to the poor, the sick, and the less fortunate. But I’m certain that He didn’t want them begging, being chronically sick, or just settling for crumbs for the rest of their lives, which is what the poverty mindset eventually leads one to.

We are tasked to make our lives better. To use our talents to bless others is one of the best ways to show our appreciation to God.

When Our Lord healed the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda, He told him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” In my mind, that once-disabled man was healed so that he could in turn, start helping others. He was healed so that he could find decent work. He was healed so that he could join Jesus’ ministry.

We should remember that while God’s plan is for us to have abundant lives, our blessings should ultimately be used to bless others.

We Are What He Is

When Bro. J Yogawin gave the second talk of Feast Alabang’s Follow Francis, Follow Jesus series, he said that spiritual maturity is not equivalent to religious maturity. To put it bluntly, religious people are not necessarily good people.

The statement brought me back to a scene that took place some years ago.

I was in the office and it was the first hour of work. My boss had just arrived and as soon as she was settled in her room, she asked her personal assistant to play the CD that she had brought with her.

A few moments later, I was listening to a recording of the Holy Rosary. It was beautiful. The leader’s voice was gentle, and the prayer was set against soft and soothing music. I assumed that my boss was listening to it in the car (and probably praying along), on her way to work.

However, instead of being inspired to pray, I felt very awkward and uneasy. Soon, I began to feel annoyed.

The reason was that it was common knowledge in the office that my boss was in an adulterous relationship. The man she had been claiming as her own had a wife and children. Not only that, their relationship had been going on for more than four decades.

As the audio rosary went on, I felt so disgusted at such outright mockery of prayer that I wanted to just leave and take the rest of the day off.

In my head, the 80s satirical song by Yano was playing:

Banal na aso,

Santong kabayo,

Natatawa ako…

Today, they are no longer together. The man fell sick. It was a turning point for him and he decided to return to his family.

You Are Love

Bro J’s main message to everyone was, “You are love.” He explained that because God is love, and we are His sons and daughters, then we are what He is―love.

At the end of his talk, he gave this assignment: find the least of your brethren and love them the way Jesus loves them. He then instructed everyone to go around in the room and hug as many people as they could, but only for 10 seconds. After the exercise, he asked us, “How many people were you able to hug in that short amount of time―30? 20? 10? 5?”

We are all given just a lifetime to love.

I believe the man’s family understood these things fully. During his most difficult, most vulnerable moments, when his sickness had progressed severely, and he was carrying so much guilt for all the years of heartache he caused, they saw him as the least of their brethren.

His wife and his children did not judge him. For them, the past did not matter anymore because it was enough that he finally came home. Instead, they loved him as best as they could by caring for him, until the Lord finally called him home.

The Better Brother

I was very angry! And every bad thing, every unfortunate incident that came my way, I automatically blamed on him.

The object of my anger was none other than God.

Four years ago, my family and I became servants of Feast Alabang. I was happy because I could use my skills to serve the Lord. That’s why I dove into ministry service with great passion. Unfortunately, I learned that committing to do good works for God does not guarantee a worry-free life.

We had been serving for about two years when I lost my job.

Being the sole breadwinner of my family, that was such a terrible blow, especially to my faith.

But that was only half of it. Aside from my day job, I was also working on some deals as a freelance marketer where I suffered another blow. Clients were suddenly becoming scarce.

I thought it was so unfair because I believed that, at the very least, the basic necessities of someone working for God’s glory would be taken care of. But that wasn’t my reality then.

In Embrace, the first part of the new Feast series, Open Wide – Follow Francis, Follow Jesus, Bro James Nicolas preached about what is probably the bible’s most well-known parable, “The Prodigal Son.” One thing Bro James pointed out is the reaction of the older brother when his father forgave his brother.

He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’

- Luke 15: 28-30

Even though I became unemployed and our income was almost zero, I continued to serve in the same ministry. I stayed because I became good friends with my co-servants, considering them family. In my heart however, I was really angry at God.

When I talked to him, I would often say things like, “Lord, I tripped and fell today. It’s your fault,” or “God, I just ruined my favorite shirt. I blame you for that,” or “Lord, you did it again. That last job interview was a total disaster!”

I also told God, “Look! I try very hard to be a good Christian and this is what I get???”

God and I are okay now. But my anger didn’t go away just like that. It felt as if my Heavenly Father, who knew how hurt and frustrated I was, ever so gently coaxed me, and drew me back to Himself.

When I step back and look at that episode in my faith journey, I realize now that the job I lost, as well as my failed sideline business, had been causing me a lot of unnecessary stress.

Blessings sometimes do come in disguise.

Fast forward to the present… I have a much better job today. And my small sideline business will soon be replaced by something really big … but that sharing will be for some other time.

The Wonder Years: Then and Now

I know a young boy who, when he was around eight, seemed to have already lost his sense of wonder.

One summer night, his mother was in the front yard, to get some fresh air, when she noticed that the sky was so gloriously speckled with stars. She called out to her son so he could also enjoy that awesome sight.

The boy came out, dragging his feet. His mom excitedly grabbed his hand and pulled him close to her. And then, she pointed upward and said, “Look! Isn’t that amazing?!”

The boy took one look, turned to his mom, shrugged uninterestedly, and went back inside—back to the video game that he had been playing all afternoon.

I witnessed that scene a few years ago. It saddened me that something, which literally took the mother’s breath away, solicited nothing but a bored expression from her son.

The boy spent most of his time in front of the TV, either playing video games or watching—believe it or not—reality shows about disasters caught on camera. I wasn’t surprised that he often refused to leave the house because he always thought an accident would happen to him. I found this a bit funny but, in reality, this child had serious issues.

It made me realize how things were very different when I was his age. There was no cable TV and no internet when I was a kid. Video games could only be found in noisy arcades, back then.

When we were kids, my cousin and I spent our summer breaks in the province. There, we ran around as energetic young boys our age did. We learned to catch and play with salagubang (June beetles) that we found in mango trees. Then, in the evenings, we would sit and listen as our grandfather narrated his adventures as a second lieutenant during World War II. Sometimes, we would lie on the grassy lawn of our ancestral home to gaze at the night sky.

Back then, we were always in awe of things.

In contrast, the boy I know has lost his sense of awe at an early age. Sadly, his parents thought that love meant giving their son the latest toys and gadgets.

During the first talk of the new Feast series, “#BLESSED,” Bro James shared that, if a person sees the extraordinary in the ordinary, simple things will make him happy. He talked about the two types of eyeglasses we all wear: “Wow eyeglasses” and “Whatever eyeglasses.”

Wow eyeglasses afford us an extraordinary view of apparently ordinary things.

Whatever eyeglasses are the opposite because they act like filters that remove beauty, color, light, magic, and blessings. They make everything look bland and boring.

The boy in my story was like that. Even with his roomful of toys, I would hear him say, “I’m bored,” every day.

Thankfully, his parents realized their mistake. They gradually decreased his gadget time and they started going out of town as a family. Slowly, the boy changed. He’s still a work in progress; he still plays video games like kids his age but now, he also plays outside, enjoys road trips, and especially likes going to the beach. Slowly but surely, he’s regaining his sense of wonder.

By God’s grace, may we always look at the world with wonder.

The Biggest Lie

“If you eat of this fruit, you shall become like God.”

This statement has to be the biggest lie ever told in history, the priest said. He was giving the congregation a background of the First Reading during the mass in honor of Mama Mary’s Immaculate Conception. It’s a key moment in the story found in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:1-24), which recounts how the devil tempted Eve and sadly brings about the fall of man.

But why did the priest say that it has to be the biggest lie ever told in history?

When I was small, my parents urged me to eat fruits which, they said, would help build up my resistance against sickness. And I’m sure you’ve come across articles claiming that some fruits show great potential in fighting certain diseases.

I’m also positive that, if ever fruit from the tree of life were placed side by side with every other fruit (and vegetable) on earth, it would easily trump the others in terms of health benefits.

It’s not so much the reference to the fruit, but what the devil says the benefit of eating the fruit is: make one become like God.

Think about this: Didn’t God make Adam in His own likeness? That means we already bear a resemblance to God. Does that mean physical resemblance? Maybe.

Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. – Genesis 1:26

Now, if I were to shoot back at the father of all lies, I would tell him (straight to his disgusting face), “So, explain to me how a person can become someone that he already is?” I imagine Satan’s jaw dropping; then he would probably just scream in frustration because he wouldn’t know what to say. Finally, he’d turn around and crawl back to hell, mumbling, grumbling, and cursing all the way because he knows that he really had no power over me in the first place.

But wait, there’s more! …

Being the recipients of grace by Jesus’ death on the cross, we have also been given His Holy Spirit to dwell in us.

… the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. – Romans 5:5

Even before He fulfilled His mission on Calvary, Jesus already taught us to call God Our Father! (Matthew 6:8-10)  And so, this confirms that we are indeed His sons and daughters, citizens of Heaven, made worthy by His grace.

So the devil telling Eve that, “If you eat of this fruit, you shall become like God” may indeed be the greatest lie ever told.

Finally, let me complete the circle by going back to the start when, out of love, God created man and gave him life.

… then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. – Genesis 2:7

From the beginning, we are already God’s own, His forever. All praise to Our Father because nothing will ever change that!!!

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