Jerry Kramer, in his second book entitled Distant Replay, said that if he wants to accomplish in life, he should at least, accomplish one thing. And what is that one thing? He said: “He should, at least, give his children proper values…that would help them survive in this world and flourish.”
What values that would help us survive in this world? St. Paul in our second reading today even said: “Seek and think what is above, not of what is on earth,” (vv 1-2). My dear friends, most of us are seeking and thinking not of what is above but most of the time of what is on earth. Supposedly, we have to seek the values of the Kingdom of God. These can help us survive in this world.
First, be thoughtful. We know that a thoughtful person is a contagious one. By being thoughtful in your everyday action, you do much to encourage people to follow your example, especially that today we are surrounded with liars. Someone had said: “Liars go to hell!”
Second, have good manners. Persons who have good manners are those who do not offend others, do not easily get angry, do not return evil for evil, do not monopolize conversation, and do not interrupt when someone else is talking. In other words, they are kind, friendly, respectful, courteous, agreeable, patient, civil and generous.
And above all is charity. St. Paul exhorts us to love one another in peace as though we formed one family, bearing one another’s defects. For St. Paul, charity is patient, kind, does not envy, not pretentious, not puffed up, not ambitious, not self-seeking, not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice over wickedness and etc. (1Cor 13:4-7).
I said just a while ago that most of the times; we seek and think what is on earth like the following:
Immorality. We know that adultery is immoral, how many husbands and wives having illicit relationships with other women or men? We know that lying is wrong, how many of us are doing this just to hide what we do is wrong.
I remember somebody who had said that actually there are 12 commandments and not just ten. According to him that the 11th commandment is: Don’t be caught and the 12th is: If you are caught, don’t tell the truth.
Impurity. Our minds are so dirty with maliciousness, envy and even sexual thoughts.
Passion. What kind of passion? Passion for money and wealth. Just like in our gospel today, many of us place a high value on material goods. We think that God blesses us because of the material things we possessed. We do not realize that some of these material things could be acquired through corruption and stealing which in it has a thousand forms. But let us remember that money and wealth are not everything. There are things that money cannot buy: true happiness and Kingdom of God which is our final destiny for this life that we have.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, it says: “Stay away from the love of money, be satisfied with what you have for God has said: ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you,’” (Heb 13:5).
Money is like a vice, just like drugs, we are addicted into it. There are people who have so much money in bank but they still long to become richer to the extent that they neglect their loved ones.
There are people also that even their own families and relatives, they refuse to give. They do not know that in a split of second, all these things would be gone. A money which is given by God, is a test for us if how charitable and merciful we are if given more. Try to reflect on this:
Money can buy bed but not sleep
Money can buy books but not brain
Money can buy food but not appetite
Money can buy a house but not a home
Money can buy medicine but not health
Money can buy companions but not real friends
Money can buy marriage but not love
Money can buy anything but not heaven.
Evil desire. How many of us want to take revenge? Just remember this: a person who pursues revenge should dig two graves; one for him and the other is for his enemy.
Greed. All greedy people have one thing in common; they are pre-occupied with themselves of their own satisfaction without minding anyone else. Notice how the rich fool of the parable employs the first person singular as he schemes what to do with his money and wealth: “What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest? This is what shall I do. I shall tear down my barns and build large ones. There I shall store all my grain… and I shall say to myself…”
It is good to have money and wealth because these can serve and help us also to survive. But if possessed by it is like being possessed by a devil, a worst kind of evil, then, it’s good not yearn for it.
So seek the things that are above and not the things on earth.