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.
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