Hmmm, heaven? Go to hell!

Writer’s block- I‘ve heard of the term but truthfully, I haven’t experienced it yet. Maybe because I’m not an author or a professional writer and I don’t have to rely on writing in order to live. See, I’ve always had a “madaldal” mind. Give me a pen, a paper and a topic and I’m ready to go. This is one of the reasons why I have an atrocious penmanship because my hand struggles to keep up with my brain. I have a comparatively better penmanship if all I have to do is write and not think, or perhaps just copy a set of words. I also tend to ramble, like what I’m doing right now, that’s why I normally have a title first before my article. The title is there to keep me on point. Most writers think of the title last; I have to have it first or there’ll be no point at all.

That’s why writing about this topic and staring at my yellow pad, not knowing where to start is a novel experience.

Oh, well!

“Hell is a manifestation of God’s love.” These two concepts- Hell and God’s love- are not usually found in the same sentence. Being raised in a nominally Christian country, the idea of the God of love letting people burn in an eternal lake of fire does not sit well with most of us. But think of it this way, will you worship a God who does not get angry with pedophiles, human traffickers, Adolf Hitler (not me!), and satan himself? “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”(Romans 12:19) It is because of God’s love that He reserved a special place for the devil and everything else evil. This truth should never be downplayed. Most churches nowadays either do not discuss hell because they want to present God as a cuddly and fuzzy old man, ready to accept anyone in His kingdom; while some present God as a meticulous accountant, jotting down every sin we make and throwing us in a fiery pit if we commit mistakes. These two extremes tend to polarize us, either into individuals of complacency thinking that God will always love us so we might as well enjoy everything that life has to offer or else into pedantic, nitpicking individuals who are afraid of doing anything lest we sin.

Churches tend to forget that the Lion is also the Lamb. God’s wrath is as real as God’s love. Jesus, the Lamb, came to save us from something, God’s wrath. He would not have allowed Himself to be crucified if that something is not real. Hell is real and he does not want anybody to go there.

Unfortunately, many people want to.

C.S. Lewis said, “The door of hell is locked from the inside.” An analytical reading of Luke 16: 19-31 would reveal that the rich man didn’t want to get out of hell. What did he pray for? He asked that Lazarus, the protagonist of the story, be sent to help him in hell. Talk about stupidity man! If he was already talking to the Lord, couldn’t he have asked for deliverance? I won’t even mention selfishness. “Since I’m in hell, I want Lazarus here too!” See? Hell is a choice and the choice is now. Anybody can get out of it, NOW!

Now about heaven. Honestly, what used to be my idea of heaven was affected by popular culture- angels, harps, white tunics, golden streets, and the ubiquitous pearly gates. I am first to admit that THAT sounds boring! None of it gets me excited, at least not in the level of excitement I got when I first dove underwater. A new world, untouched by human will; where everything felt peaceful, serene, pristine. Or the first time I reached the peak of Mt. Apo; the exhilaration, the sense of accomplishment, the feeling of fulfillment of an otherwise arduous and pointless task.

I have to admit that those “feelings” eventually wore off. I got bored after 15 minutes of diving and I’m still contemplating if I still want to climb Mt. Apo yet again now that the novelty is gone. What I thought was heaven was only for a fleeting moment.

But imagine if those feelings never went away? What if the novelty of the experience, the excitement, the exhilaration, and the peace went on forever? Now THAT would be heaven, well, for me at least.

I honestly don’t know what we’ll do in heaven but I also honestly don’t care. Because if we’re waxing existentialism here, what are we doing in this world anyways as well? We strive for contentment, for fulfillment, for satisfaction, for retirement- for short, we strive for heaven.

I don’t think that Adam, not knowing any other option to existence, got bored in Eden. Remember that he had work there - to subdue all things. His work was God’s plan, it was His purpose, it was His will all along. Most people think that Eden is a piece of heaven and I can’t argue with them. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” With that proposition, heaven is where God’s will is done. Heaven is an existence where nothing is touched by the fallen nature of man. Heaven is where the desire to have something is absent because everything else is present. No need for clothes because there is no shame; no need for gadgets for communication because you can interface with anybody anytime; no need for a plane because you can just call an eagle to fly you anytime, anywhere; no need for scuba gear because there are no seas to explore; no need for TV because there’s so much more exciting things to do; no need to strive for fame or posterity because we’re already forever.

In Revelation 21:1, the bible talks about a new heaven and a new earth. Imagine that! A new everything forever! Nothing gets old because everything is brand-new, ALWAYS! And everybody else delights that God’s will goes whatever happens because everybody who wanted to have their own wills followed are somewhere else.

But while I’m waiting for that new heaven and earth, mag-praktis sa ko diri. If heaven is where God’s will is done, then I can practice it here, can’t I? I will practice so that God will know my name on a first name basis. Notice that of all the stories told by Jesus, the story of Lazarus and the rich man was the only one where Jesus named a character. It’s no coincidence my brethren. In heaven, Jesus knows everyone because He has already talked to them on earth and He knows that they will follow Him tungod kay naka-atend na man gud ug praktis diri pa lang daan maong kaila ni Lord! For Jesus to know my name- it gives me shivers just thinking about it.

Nowadays, people don’t seem to be scared enough of hell where there is gnashing of teeth, eternal power struggles, bitching, complaints, unquenchable desire for something, and a perpetual search for self-deification- a bit of reality TV, really. Oh, let’s not forget fire, lots of it. Its either this apathy or people are just not excited enough for heaven. Why? Because churches either chose to stay mum about it or tries to scare everybody to love God under the threat of eternal damnation. How will others know if we won’t tell them? How will they love God if they’re threatened by Him? Fear the Father and Love the Son. Only perfect love, Jesus’ love, casts out all fear- the fear of hell. Heaven can only be presented that way.

Ryan, heaven is where nobody’s will is done except God’s.

It’s His way or the highway…to hell.

Faith vs. fear

For the last few weeks, I’ve been listening to the podcasts of Pastor Tim Lucas of Liquid Church, New Jersey. I recommend it- pretty powerful stuff. He has a knack of presenting biblical truths in a pop culture setting. The Exodus Unlocked series and the Rock God series are just a few of my favorites.

What I’m about to reflect on right now is on one of Ptr. Lucas’s stand-alone sermons (at least I think it is).

Faith vs. fear. Before anyone can differentiate one from the other, he must first discover the similarities between the two. Faith is a reaction to things that has not happened yet. It is an admission that a person can only do so much and things are beyond his control. Fear, on the other hand, is a reaction to things that has not happened yet. It is an admission that a person can only do so much and things are beyond his control. See, aside from the obvious difference in the spelling, not much difference exists between the two.

The difference is you!

Free will, that part of your soul that not even God touches, decides. Faith vs. fear. What your reaction is entirely up to you! You can choose faith and hope to God that everything will work together for good or you can choose fear and jump at your own shadow.

I’ve chosen faith. Faith, not on my abilities, but that God will take care of me. The way I see all things is this: I’ll pray and if God gives me what I ask for, His name will be praised; If God does not answer my prayer the way I want Him to, His will be done! With that in mind, how in the world will I lose? For some, it’s just a matter of putting a spin on things so that the glass will always appear to be half-full. For me, it’s a little more than that. For me, the glass is ALWAYS FULL, even overflowing, I just can’t see the other half….

Admittedly, fear just can’t be helped. It’s the default reaction and sadly, even I sometimes react fearfully. What do I do to shake the feeling off? I just tell my self, “Ryan, it’s just a choice! It entirely depends on you!” And then I’ll choose faith again…and again…and again. Hopefully in the future, I’ll program my self to change my default reaction to faith.

Exchange gifts

I think that the reason why people have a hard time accepting Christ as their Saviour is because of the title- exchange gifts. Early on, we were taught that nothing’s free in this world. During Christmas parties, we were supposed to buy another person a gift, expecting something in return. Have you observed that what we usually give is something we want for ourselves and oftentimes, the gift we receive usually exercises our “plastic” muscles? “Thank you kaayo sa gift ha!” but inwardly thinking of re-gifting the thing to others. That’s why the concept of “wish list” got traction lately so that we will actually like the gift given because we asked for it in the first place.

Exchange gifts taught us to be wary of actual gifts. If we receive something freely, we can’t help but look for strings attached. I once went to a restaurant with friends who just wanted to use the restroom. Uncomfortably sitting alone in a booth, I ordered bottled water even though I didn’t really need one. As my friends already finished using the rest room, we started to leave. The waiter ran after us, handing me the bottled water and the change. I told him to keep both and he looked at me as if I’m crazy- I mean, like head-to-toe assessment if I’m actually for real.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And it is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” Imagine that! Salvation through faith- nothing else required.

But being human, we can’t help but wonder if that’s all there is to it. We have a very difficult time accepting that salvation does not require anything else except faith. So we do good works. We have set standards, rules, and expectations that we think will make us worthy to be saved. We uphold meritocracy, not thinking that we are worthy of the gift unless we earn it. But this paradigm cheapens the sacrifice of Jesus and it lessens the impact of the gift. If you have to work for it, it’s not a gift but a compensation. That’s why some people choose not to receive the gift at all, thinking that since they did not receive the gift, they won’t have to work for it.

But the truth is, unless we receive the gift, nothing else counts. Unless we receive the gift, it will all be an uphill battle and hard-work. This is Psychology 101; external motivation vs. internal motivation. If a person is externally motivated, like when he is working for salvation, he will push hard, work harder, strive hardest thinking that the more he works, the greater his reward will be. Well, that’s not how salvation is. If you’re already saved, you can’t be any more saved. It’s not a scoreboard. Dili ka malapas sa langit! In contrast, an internally motivated person works regardless of the outcome. He comes to work early not because his boss tells him to; he gives not because he expects something; he loves without expecting to be loved in return; and he shares just because. That’s grace! A person does good works not because he expects to be saved but because he was saved that he does the good works. Instead of pushing, working, striving, all he does is being- being grateful that he has the opportunity to pay forward the kindness that has been done to him. For people who get this, reward is immaterial. They do what they do because they know that “Faith without works is nothing”. Notice that it is not “Works without faith” because faith has to come first.

Think of it this way, a good father never expects any of his children to pay him back but he does expect his children to lead a good life. Paying the father cent per cent for everything he has given is an insult, even if the child’s intention is to show his appreciation. The father did what he did because he is the father and not because of anything the children did. If a child leads a good life, the good father beams with pride because that was his reason all along- so that his children will be good as well.

If a person does not receive the gift- of grace, salvation, faith, the message of Jesus on the cross- he will continue to work for it as a wage. Remember in Genesis? God cursed man’s work because of The Fall, when the Nature of Sin crept up on humanity. Any work of man’s hands is cursed unless he receives the gift. It is because of the work curse that the concept of wages first came in to being. “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Work hard, then eat bread. But Jesus also said, “Man shall not live by bread alone….” See, the product of man’s work is never enough. God Himself will not accept Man’s works because He Himself cursed it. The concept continues into Exodus 20:25 during the giving of the Ten Commandments, “And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.” Man’s tool, man’s work, is a profanity to God. Because of the curse, man’s work can only produce wages- “and the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)

It’s real easy you know. The one who works for the wage says, “I serve in order to be saved.” The one who received the gift says, “I was saved to serve.”

(Aside: Funny enough, our neighbor is playing “The Gift” by Jim Brickman as I finish encoding this reflection. “Kaw gyud Lord!)

Comment

Comment on this. Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”

First of all, I really don’t want to answer these questions because it engages a fallen mindset. There is simply no way to discuss this without sounding argumentative or defensive. And it will only give rise to more questions. Believe me! I know because before I believed, I had the same questions. After I believed, I found out that the answers don’t really matter.

So, here’s my two cents.

Define God. The “questioner”, as it is, seems to have his definition of God in a box. He defines God by his perception of how a god is supposed to be. If that is one’s mindset, any truth, logic, or even a Divine miracle will not answer his question.

God is sovereign. He started it all. He created even you and me. His perception of right and wrong is His alone. A person might think that what’s happening is malevolent but in the eyes of the Sovereign, “It is mine so I can do as I please.” Any political scientist will tell you that a sovereign cannot go wrong because everything, your rights, your breath, your life, liberty and property came from the Sovereign. If it wants to, the Sovereign can wipe us all out and it still would be right. Why? Again, because the sovereign can never go wrong. If the sovereign can go wrong, it is not sovereign at all.

But also, God is love. He chose to create us, although He could have chosen not to. He does not need us, especially our questions. He could have chosen to wipe us all out when the first man sinned but He did not. Why? Because God is love.  Man transgressed God’s holiness time and time again, destroyed His creation, even questioned His sovereignty, but He still sent His Son to save mankind. God is love.

To answer the question. God’s sovereignty can wipe out evil but He chooses not to. Why? Because God is love. His power, which encompasses everything, will not control our will. Because God is love. If He eradicated evil, we will not have the opportunity, the choice, to love and if we cannot truly love, we will never know God. Because God is love. A person who has loved never begged for the other person to love him because if it is not given freely, it is not love. God gave us a choice, our freedom, because He loves us but man chose incorrectly but still, God is love. God’s choice not to eradicate evil, to give you a choice, a freedom, did not spring out of any malevolent nature but from His very nature- which is love.

But because of God’s sovereignty, He will never allow anyone to desecrate His creation. So He placed the principles, the laws, of sowing and reaping. The consequences of man’s incorrect choice. He cursed the land, even Man and Woman themselves, because He is sovereign. If He did not do so, Man’s will, choice and freedom will be infinite, and He cannot be sovereign anymore.

Whence cometh evil? From the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man chose to know it and therefore, must live with its consequences.

If God fits into man’s definition, He is not God. He is both the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah and to define Him means to discuss both aspects. He is both able and willing but only if you call Him God. And if you are questioning His nature, clearly, He is not your God.

Birds and fishes

There’s a misconception going around that living a Christian life is boring. I don’t know where it actually came from but I’m pretty sure that it ultimately came from the father of lies himself- satan. (You small letter, you!) I was just discussing this with a friend yesterday as we were on the way to the movies (MI4 rocks! We were just able to see it now because of the MMFF moratorium on Hollywood movies during the yuletide season). We watch movies, we read books, we dance, we sing, we listen to music, we socialize. Boring? NOT!

“Are you bored?” I am honestly asking myself this question even now as I write this reflection. Answer? Definitely not!

I know so many Christian friends who are living the Christian life who are very far from anybody’s definition of boring. I’m very sure of this because I can’t stand boring people let alone be friends with them.

A bird probably thinks that a fish’s life is boring because all that the latter does is swim. But the opposite refractive truth goes as well- a fish thinks that a bird’s life is boring because all it does is fly. Meaning, just because what another person does is different from what you do, it does not mean that it’s boring.

The truth is that biblical Christians have chosen to live a consecrated life. We believe that there’s more to life than what most people think it is. In the same way that a partyphile looks forward to next Friday’s night-out, we also look forward to what God has in store for us for the next day. We just don’t happen to sleep with a hang-over but instead pray and read the bible. Biblical Christians have just realized that we don’t need anything else to enjoy life- God’s grace is sufficient. Other people just prefer to fill a certain void with whatever they think will fill it up for the meantime... and then fill it up again with another thing, and again with another gimmick, and again with retail therapy. Hmmm…who’s manifesting boredom now?

Haters, you may laugh at us because we’re different but we cry for you because you’re going to hell (There, I’ve said it!) Everyone spends eternity somewhere and what biblical Christians are doing right now are the things that we’re going to do in heaven FOREVER. We’re not the least bored about it and in fact, we derive pleasure from it because we think that it’s a dry-run for heaven. No offense, but I think that what you’re doing right now is not what heaven is all about and you just might be doing a dry-run for somewhere else.

God is a gentleman my friend. He not will insist that you enter the pearly gates because, well, you might find it boring in there.

Aiming for significance

Effectivity? In my own little way, in my own little world, I’ve been there and I’ve done that. How did it make me feel?

Empty.

I’m currently in the process of a paradigm shift and I am actually astonished to realize that the shift was not TO THAT but FROM THAT. I do not want to be effective anymore, I want to be significant! The word effective itself presupposes that a certain standard has to be achieved, a group of people have to be impressed and the world has to be pleased.

I don’t buy that anymore.

The bit about pro-activity and seeking to understand before being understood had me though. I’ve reflected on biblical passages concerning those (In “A brother-in-law’s keeper” with always choosing to serve the Lord and in “Ouch again!” with the bit about sympathy and compassion). The rest of the principles? Sounds good, works better, simply the best- if you’re still aiming to please men.

But we’re here not to please men aren’t we? (Galatians 1:10) We’re actually here to let our light shine (Matthew 5:11). Our light should never be affected by how much light the darkness expects but by how much light we can give. If our light hurts the eyes of other people, should we therefore dim it and think win-win? NEVER! What happened with never giving the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27)? The world tells us to compromise but a true Christian knows that a little bit of compromise with the world is all it takes to go downhill. We are the salt of the earth- the same salt that gives food its flavor is the same salt that causes rust in shiny metals. Yes, we are to live in peace but only if it entirely depends on us (Romans 12:18) but in a compromising situation, it doesn’t entirely depend on us, does it? That’s why it became compromising in the first place! In Matthew 10:34 Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The sword is the word of God and if the “win-win” situation goes against the sword itself, why did I have the sword in the first place? I know that the bible tells us to live in peace with our brothers and sisters who long for the same noble things that we do but never with the world. The Prince of Peace will reign on earth but will it be through compromise? Chapter and verse please. Shouldn’t we rather lose in the sight of the world than lose a battle in the spiritual realm? Shouldn’t we rather be hated by the world yet have peace beyond all understanding than be peaceful with the world and lose our own souls? (Do not misread. I do not advocate winning by violence but by surrender.)

Put first things first. But how in the world will you know what is “first”? Isn’t that the point? To some “work” comes first, to others “family” comes first, and to a few “self” comes first. Aren’t we told to seek “first” the kingdom of God? If God told me to put the little things first, what happens to the presented paradigm? He is a jealous God you know. We can put all our rocks in a glass bowl perfectly but if He wants to break the bowl- and believe me He will if He sees a hint of perfection in our life- then broken it will be. What’s “first” now when you have no bowl to put it in anymore? The presented paradigm doesn’t allow any room for God’s intervention and emphasized doing things on our own strength. My God is not like that- when I am weak, then He is strong! I believe that He can enlarge the bowl to accommodate all my rocks if He wants to if I just realize that He is the cornerstone out of which every thing I have is founded upon.

Synergize! Great word. I wonder if Jesus Himself “synergized” with the Pharisees and Sadducees of His time- they had the same goal you know- to bring everyone into God’s authority. But as I remember, He did not cooperate in any way, that’s why He got nailed to a cross! Jesus synergized with the Holy Spirit and it was enough to change the history of the world, even dividing time itself into before Him (B.C) and After Him (A.D). Synergy. Should we therefore be equally yoked with unbelievers? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

I do understand about the vision stuff though but it wasn’t discussed on a biblical perspective. The paradigm suggests being result-oriented as a philosophy. How about the means to reach that result? Should we disregard it? What vision are we talking about? Solomon, the wisest person ever to walk on earth, thought about the end result and what did he discover? Death! Vanity! (Entire Book of Ecclesiastes) Thinking of the end will just make us morbidly obsessive and desperately hopeless. Shouldn’t we have been addressing God’s purpose and God’s vision instead of our vision? What happens if God doesn’t want the same thing as we do? What happened to prayer, to asking the Creator about the purpose of the Creation? The bible tells us in Habakkuk 2 to wait on the Lord’s revelation first before going through anything else. “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me xxx [T]hen the LORD replied xxxx”

If Moses ever sat down on one of THESE seminars, the Ancient Israelites would have reached the promised land in two weeks. There would have been no manna, no Shekinah, no parting of the Red Sea and no Book of Exodus at all. Thank God that Moses didn’t.

Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone. I will hold every so-called paradigm against the Bible alone for it is God-inspired and is profitable for correction, even rebuke (2 Timothy 4:16). As Christians, we are called to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:10).

I do not consider it as heresy to NOT accept everything that the Church says. On the contrary, I would like to believe that I am like the Bereans of Acts 17:11 in that, “They receive the word with all readiness and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” I cannot, in good conscience just nod and not ask questions. Not when the very root of my faith was born out of Jesus who questioned the Scriptural scholars of His time and argued with their seemingly flawless and popular arguments. Not when my faith is also historically anchored on Martin Luther who nailed his 95 theses as a protest against the prominent church authority of his generation, measuring its doctrines against the truths of the Scripture.

There are many effective people who never led a significant life. I pray that we all aim for the latter instead of the former. Significance through obedience- and the world just has to conform to what God wills for my life.

(Nota Bene: I would never have reacted as much if the paradigm was presented as it should have been presented; as a BUSINESS model and not as a spiritual one. I would have read the book if it’s what I really wanted to learn.)

Jury's still out

"Truth is so sacred that it has to be protected by a bodyguard of lies."

Its the things like this that make me think twice if i can do this thingie...

A sad story

A couple of years ago, I had a friend who was engaged to marry a Baptist. My friend was still a person of a different belief then. Although my friend wanted to know Jesus more already, she was reluctant to do so because of, well, circumstances. Her fiancé, upon seeing a procession of religious faithfuls after a certain popular idol commented, “Tsk-tsk, kani gyud mga Pinoy lagi ba. Kaklaro na gibutang sa biblia na dili lagi, mosamba gyud!” My friend also overheard her prospective mother-in-law tell her son, “Nak, kadaghan sa simbahan, nganong kana man gyud siya?” The worst? Her fiancé telling her, “Tuo na lagi kay malason gyud ang atong negosyo ba!” My friend, knowing I’m a Protestant, asked, “Why would I change my belief if I would just become judgmental?” I was stumped.

Rick Joyner in his book “The Quest” tells us that the most common trap Christians usually fall for is self-righteousness. Because we read our bibles, consistently attend bible studies and Sunday Services, and host prayer meetings, we think that we are more righteous than other persons who don’t do all those things. Yes, we even think that we are better than our own churchmates. Sad. Very, very sad.

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they’re doing.” If you think that the phrase Jesus uttered only applies to others, you are self-righteous brethren.

Truth and grace. That’s what Jesus was, is, talking about. The truth is all have sinned and fell short of the Glory of God. That includes YOU! No matter how spotless you think your life is, its not. Simply because you are human- tainted with the sin of Adam. There is nothing you can do about it.

But grace is the message of the cross itself. It is given not because you worked for it but because you needed it. Jesus spread His arms on the cross not only for you brethren but for that same person you are judging.

Ryan, do not ever forget that if not for His mercy, if not for His grace, you would be on a fast-track to hell. Because you did not work for grace, you don’t have any right to withhold it from others.

“Let him who has no sin cast the first stone.” Ryan, the moment you picked the stone is the exact moment you forfeited your right to throw it. The other person may be a sinner but you are judgmental and in the eyes of the Lord, both are the same. The other person may even be better off because if he asks for forgiveness from Jesus, he will be given grace. You on the other hand will get a rebuke. “[Y]ou wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33)

Ryan, always remember- TRUTH and GRACE. The truth is all have sinned and should be stoned like the woman of Matthew 8. But grace is, “…neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Capsule: Do not judge because you will also be judged.

A mouthful

“[T] he tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.”

Watching the movie “Every Child is Special”, I learned that in the Solomon Islands, if the natives wanted a tree to die, all they did was surround and hurl curses at it. True enough, the tree withers a couple of days later.

This reflection stemmed from my observation of status updates in social media. Unfortunately, put-downs and bullying have become commonplace as we enter the e-world era. We’ve heard of suicides committed by teenagers because of social labeling- slut, loser, weird, nutcase- yet the proliferation of cuss words and verbal discouragement continues.

Ryan, remember that death and life is in the power of the tongue. The world was created by words, “Let there be light”, “Let there be animals”, etc. Words are that powerful!

James 3:6 tells us that the tongue is a fire, setting a whole course of life. Ryan, now that you know that, you have to be very careful with what comes out of your mouth. Remember how a fish is caught? You will know a person’s heart by what his mouth speaks.

Weigh every word that comes out of your mouth (or in this case, your fingers). Is it the truth? Without blemish of a lie. Is it kind? Because more often than not, the “how-you-said-it” is more important than the words itself. True and kind. It should always be both.

The next filter is necessity. Judge the necessity of words not by your need to say it by the need of a person to hear it. “Eating pakbet for lunch.” Hmmm…who needs to hear that?

Also, be very careful about using the excuse, “Joke lang gani!” Ephesians 5:4 admonishes, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking which are out of place xxx.” Cruel jokes are not kind, not true, and definitely not necessary.

Be very careful about gossip parading as truth as well. “It’s not gossip if it’s the truth” is never an excuse. “Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence xxx.” (Proverbs 12: 17). Ryan, you learned this from law school! The truth oftentimes doesn’t matter if there is no evidence to support it. Judge your intentions! If your intention is merely to pass along the information to a person who has no business knowing the same, it’s not your business to share. You have to talk directly to the person concerned. If you really have to bark, bark at the right tree.

Ryan, you know you have been gifted and cursed with sarcasm, irony, wit and a considerable verbal arsenal. God will hold you accountable on how you use it. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29). I repeat, according to their needs!

Tall order Ryan? You’ve already received the “Most Active” ribbon in kindergarten. Maybe it’s time to earn the “Most Behaved.”

STORYAHEEEE!!! (Sorry, can’t help it. Sigh….)

Capsule: Now Ryan! Is it the truth? Is it kind? Is it necessary? ‘Pag sure oi!

A brother-in-law’s keeper

Well, you can’t really blame me if I get hooked on reading the bible can you? Not when Manny Pacquiao himself admitted that he’s a bit addicted to attending Bible studies as well. (ANC interview by Dyan Castillejo. http://www.esportsinfo.com/boxing/manny-pacquia-now-a-born-again-christian-video/). It really is addicting but I guess not many people can relate to it. Even the bible says so! God Himself made the Scripture that way. There is no other book that has been published more than the bible but funny enough, people still refuse to read it. Different versions have been made so people can relate to it but still, not many people can. Isaiah 6:9-10 locked the Bible and the only way to open it is if Jesus Himself gave you the keys of Matthew 16:19.

Anyways, on to my reflection.

I was raised by a mother who valued education. One of my greatest regrets was when I was not able to graduate from college on-time before my mom died. My mom is one of the persons who kinda dismissed the opinions of other people if the said person has no college degree to speak of. Don’t get me wrong, my mom’s a good person and credit goes to her on why we, my brother and my sisters, were led to the Lord. But my mom was not perfect and one of her imperfections was being dismissive of the opinions of “degree-less” persons.

It’s no wonder that I sorta inherited that trait. Before crucifying me, please hear me out. I am NOT dismissive of other people’s opinions, “degree-less” or otherwise, but I must admit that I take the opinions of the former with a bit more salt than the opinions of the latter.

Enter my brother-in-law. He did not have any college degree and I feel ashamed to admit that for years, I did not put much weight on what he knows or what his opinions were. He was just my sister’s husband. It’s not that I looked down on him; I just didn’t look at all. (I’m getting uncomfortable here.)

But as I had little else to look for the last couple of years, I started seeing him for what he is. He’s first and foremost a Christian man, a good father, a respectful husband and a present brother-in-law. Never was I more conscious of this than the last few weeks whenever I hung-around their house, attended their cell group meetings, buried one my dogs in the front yard (Yes, one of my dogs died again…Sigh).

Just recently, I got to the conclusion that he and I have a lot more common than what I previously thought. Like me, my brother-in-law does not immediately accept everything that a pastor says in the pulpit. Whenever we questioned a pastor’s teaching, we immediately run to the word of God during our devotionals and ask God Himself. It’s about the little things primarily. We share same beliefs that would have us labeled as heretics if ever we shared it with others. Figure that one out! He also takes the opinions of others with a bit more salt if what they are saying is not based on the bible. For him, it’s not a matter of having a degree or not, but a matter of being biblical or not.

1 Corinthians 1: 19, echoed from Isaiah 29: 14, said “[I] will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Relate this with what’s happening in the august halls of the Senate nowadays. It is a popular belief that the our politicians, Justices and lawyers are wise and discerning but compared with my brother-in-law, whose opinions are firmly rooted on the word of God, their “fruits” just can’t compare.

With all humility and contrition, I am ashamed to admit that I have held an intellectual bias for so long. It took my “degree-less” brother-in-law for me to realize that what I considered wisdom and discernment of the mind is nothing compared to wisdom and discernment that is applied in life. For my brother-in-law, wisdom is 1 Corinthians 2: 2, “For I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

I am in the process of revising my prayers nowadays. The Old Testament Jews prayed to the God of their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I am now praying to the God of Popoy, my father; Allan, my brother; Ryan, myself…and Wilfred, my brother-in-law.

hmmm....

practice practice gyud dong...hehehe