“….let your light shine… that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16
I recently found a website that contained a vast information of pastors and priests who figured in high-profile scandals – – – mostly sexual and financial in nature. It was disheartening. I was overtaken by a deep sense of frustration, shock and helplessness. How does one even begin to process such information? Last Thursday I also heard a powerful message shared by veteran journalist Ed Lingao who is the Multimedia Director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and a distinguished Marshall McLuhan awardee. He gave an excellent presentation of the Philippine media situation, particularly the moral and ethical controversies that have stained the integrity and honorability of media practice in this nation. But more importantly, Mr. Lingao also discussed the increasing culture of greed, shamelessness and self-indulgence in our time. Again, I was overwhelmed by the realization that for the right price, some people will really sell their soul to the devil. I found myself crying out to the Lord – – – not with tears, but with a deep, gripping and painful groan in my spirit. What have we done to ourselves? What have we done to our children? O God, have mercy!
There are no shortcuts to genuine transformation, I realized. There are no quick fixes, nippy incantations or fast-acting solutions that can solve our pitiful state. Change is and will always be a slow, painful and agonizing process – – – the very reasons why many would no longer even want to engage in such an endeavor. But then, why not? As American author, columnist and speaker Dennis Prager puts it, “Just because you cannot fight every evil does not mean you should fight no evils.”
But it is more than fighting evil. It is about coming to terms with truth – – – the truth that can usher a deeper understanding of the kind of evil we are fighting and the realm on which we are waging our war. First, we need to grapple with the reality that humanity’s wickedness is powerful and unstoppable. No amount of behavior modification will ever be enough to put a stop to our natural and instinctive craving to gratify ourselves. Second, we need to recognize that only God’s relentless, tenacious and redemptive righteousness is greater than all of humanity’s transgressions and impiety combined. God demonstrated this righteousness when he, in the fullness of time, ushered his son, Jesus, into earthly existence despite imaginable human impossibility. This righteousness was again demonstrated when God, defying the very laws of logic and reason, called forth the tortured, mangled and lifeless body of Jesus from the dead. By his Spirit, he sent a power no word can ever describe, redeeming a body that was on its way to sure decay, and declaring it victorious over death by his glorious might. Third, we are called to make a conscious and deliberate choice to align ourselves with Christ, the very embodiment of God’s redemptive love and righteousness – — not only intellectually as a matter of mental cognizance but relationally and intimately as Savior and Lord. Such relationship is to be entered into not with emotional intensity but with utmost sincerity, fully believing that when we enter into a genuine and heartfelt relationship with Christ, we die to ourselves and Christ’s very life rises from within us, enabling us to pursue a life of integrity through works that are true, compassionate, merciful and just.
In God’s wisdom, we have all been called to fight evil in the arena of our respective spheres and influences. We cannot all be in government. We cannot all be in institutions. We have been strategically placed by the Lord in homes, communities and various workplaces – – – as parents to our children; as employees and workers; as educators and leaders; as servants of the church; as employers; as advocates for life and creation . The diversity is valuable and the potentials for transformative witness are enormous. Jesus calls us, his precious people, not to be weary but to let our lights shine steadfastly through what is good, pleasing and edifying. We wonder at times how our bleak and austere lights can even make the slightest difference, but it does and it always will. Dark as the world has become, evil as the times have grown, still, we fight it out — earnestly and intently, unto God whom we can never mock and for the sake of others who refuse to give up because of that flicker of light they continue to see in us and through us. It’s a tall order but someone’s got to do it! O God, have mercy! Have mercy indeed! Amen!
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