Notwithstanding what Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he owned to give to the poor [1], giving in the Gospels does not mean the relinquishment and transfer of wealth, but the giving of love to one another and to God. It is only when one desires to be perfect does one need to be without possessions to follow Christ which was what Francesco d'Assisi chose to do.
Most people are so obsessed with possessing and possessions that when they read a parable that says, "go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven," [2] they immediately focus on what they own now and what they would expect after they die, which is to have treasure in Heaven, because they have given what they own to the poor.
Another interpretation is to place the focus on the poor who would themselves become rich after receiving everything the rich man had to give them (imagine the rich man is as rich, if not richer than Bill Gates with $76 billion [3] or $76,000 million). If that rich man gave all he had evenly to 76,000 poor people, he would have created 76,000 new millionaires who would then get together and give their aggregate $76 billion, if they all desired to be perfect and follow Christ, to another 76,000 poor people who would then repeat the process because they too, would want to follow Christ and be perfect, and so on, until all the people in the world would have become millionaires once until the last 76,000 would have no more "poor" people to give to, in which case, they would simply decline to accept the money or take it and burn it to stay poor and follow Christ. Presumably, they too would find treasure in Heaven even this last group had no poor people to dump their wealth onto in order that they would have treasure in Heaven.
So what happens to a world of poor people? Do they all wait to die so that they will have treasure in Heaven? Jesus said that the man would have treasure in Heaven if he sold all his possessions and gave to the poor but He did not say when he will have treasure in Heaven. Is he to assume that he will have treasure in Heaven after his death? Can one not enjoy treasure in Heaven as soon as one forgoes all one owns and follows Christ during one's life? Of course one can, just look at the life of Francesco d'Assisi after he no longer lived the life of the son of a wealthy merchant.
Will a world of poor people who follow Christ turn earth into Heaven? I imagine that can be possible if none of them falls into sin, but how realistic is that? People may not have riches, but they will still have jealousy, arguments, complaints and so on because following Christ is not easy. Loving unconditionally is not easy. Being San Francesco d'Assisi is not easy.
Short of wishing to be perfect, short of having heavenly treasure on earth, the rich man decided not to sell his possessions to give to the poor and follow Christ. He wanted to hold onto his billions. Holding onto one's billions does not disqualify one from entering Heaven, but having one's billions makes it difficult for one to experience Heaven on earth. Only by detachment from wealth can one truly be free and experience Heaven on earth, and only by having faith can one be a follower of Christ and find in Him the treasure He spoke of in His parable of the rich young man.
To follow Christ means to love unconditionally like Christ had loved His Father, His disciples and all of us by dying on the cross. To love unconditionally means to give of oneself to others, not just by throwing money at the poor, even though the poor would benefit by having money in this material world that is contaminated by envy and greed, obsessed with social justice, is hypocritical with respect to fate's inequalities and opportunities, takes for granted God's gift of life and even disrespects it.
In this day and age, money alone, without the love of God, seems to satisfy a great number of people, poor and rich alike. That, to them, seems to be enough. They are not unlike the rich man who went home with his wealth, without following Christ.
[1] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19%3A21-22&version=NIV
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2014/03/03/forbes-billionaires-full-list-of-the-worlds-500-richest-people/
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Parable Of Woman With Two Coins
"As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'Truly I tell you,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'" [1]Quoted above is the parable of a widow with two small coins. She gave all that she had to live on. In other words, she had no more means to continue living, to pay for shelter, to purchase food and to pay for medication when she needs some [2]. In short, she had given up everything she had in order to sustain her life and it would not be long before she would die.
This is a parable that no Catholic priest would dare to touch because it undercuts the Church's most fundamental teaching which is to give to the poor. This widow was poor. That is clear. She had no husband to take care of her (she was a widow) and she did not have a job (I do not believe in those days women had jobs that pay, those women who were not engaged in the world's oldest profession). And what did Jesus do? He observed. He did not intervene by showering her with gold nuggets, or by asking His disciples to feed her, to wash her clothes, to give her a place to bathe and to give her shelter for as long as she lived.
Why did Jesus not help her when He could easily have with a miracle? He did not because He did not want to denigrate Her love for God that she expressed by her putting her two coins into the temple treasury. By giving up her last coins, she had expressed an irrevocable willingness to sacrifice her life for the love of God. Why did putting coins into the temple treasury represent such a sacrifice? Metaphorically speaking, the temple's treasury has only one treasure: God, and it was to God that she had given her last two coins, the last hours of her life.
No Catholic church today, and certainly not the Vatican, wants a donation from this woman, not because she was poor and would take pity on her, but because she was not rich enough to give them enough support to their lifestyles. Her two lousy coins are diddly squat to them and they could care less about her sacrifice. But not Jesus. Jesus saw immediately her love for God, a love so great that she would give her life for, a love that foreshadowed Christ's love for His Father that ultimately led Jesus to His own death on the Cross.
Hypocrites from the pope down ought to face the fact that they have no right to tell anyone to give to the poor until they themselves have become poor, and are willing to give up their lives (not lifestyles) for the love of God as did the widow who gave up her two coins, her means to life, in essence her life, for her love of God.
[1] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21:1-4
[2] http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/daily-life-and-practice/medicine-in-the-ancient-world/
General Financial Planning, Tax Planning, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning -- What Else?
The common denominator underlying an overall financial plan, a tax plan, a retirement plan and an estate plan is money. These plans are important for they allow one to maximize for oneself and one's family funds that are necessary to meet daily living expenses, educational expenses, health care expenses, insurance expenses, entertainment expenses and so on. Volumes of materials have been written by all kinds of experts on these topics, brokerage, hedging and advisory business have been built around them, and people have dedicated their entire careers to them.
As helpful as these plans can be in one's life and in the lives of one's beneficiaries, they are worthless after death. The majority of people do not spend time working on a plan to take with them beyond the grave even though beyond the grave is an eternity for every soul.
If one is willing to spend so much effort to plan for one life that ends, and the lives of one's descendants (subject to the rule against perpetuities [1]) that will end [2], why does one not plan for one's soul after death that does not end? That plan, if properly planned and executed during one's life, will inure to benefit to one's soul in perpetuity. Conversely, if it is not, then one's soul will not be fulfilled for an eternity. That certainly does not sound good and ought to serve as an urgent reminder for everyone to consider a plan for the soul [3] in this life so that it would bear fruit in the next.
[1] http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/estate-elder/b/estate-elder-blog/archive/2012/07/24/the-often-misunderstood-rule-against-perpetuities.aspx
[2] Technically the life of a charity, an educational or religious institution with enough money is an on-going concern that does not end, but for the purposes of this entry, it does, for it will end when the world ends and the world, according to the Bible, will end. According to science the world will also end when the sun (a star) dies [see http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/ ]or when the earth (a planet) dies [see http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/signs-of-life-on-dying-planets/.]
[3] How shall one call this sort of plan? An Eternal Soul Plan? A Resurrection Plan? Toward The Living Christ Plan? Hell Avoidance Plan? Anti-Satan Plan? Incidentally, I do not recommend making a livelihood by selling one's expertise in crafting any such plan, whatever it is called, for Heaven is not for sale, and is never on sale, and neither is Hell on sale or for sale because Hell's door is always open and its one-way single entry is free!
As helpful as these plans can be in one's life and in the lives of one's beneficiaries, they are worthless after death. The majority of people do not spend time working on a plan to take with them beyond the grave even though beyond the grave is an eternity for every soul.
If one is willing to spend so much effort to plan for one life that ends, and the lives of one's descendants (subject to the rule against perpetuities [1]) that will end [2], why does one not plan for one's soul after death that does not end? That plan, if properly planned and executed during one's life, will inure to benefit to one's soul in perpetuity. Conversely, if it is not, then one's soul will not be fulfilled for an eternity. That certainly does not sound good and ought to serve as an urgent reminder for everyone to consider a plan for the soul [3] in this life so that it would bear fruit in the next.
[1] http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/estate-elder/b/estate-elder-blog/archive/2012/07/24/the-often-misunderstood-rule-against-perpetuities.aspx
[2] Technically the life of a charity, an educational or religious institution with enough money is an on-going concern that does not end, but for the purposes of this entry, it does, for it will end when the world ends and the world, according to the Bible, will end. According to science the world will also end when the sun (a star) dies [see http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve/ ]or when the earth (a planet) dies [see http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/signs-of-life-on-dying-planets/.]
[3] How shall one call this sort of plan? An Eternal Soul Plan? A Resurrection Plan? Toward The Living Christ Plan? Hell Avoidance Plan? Anti-Satan Plan? Incidentally, I do not recommend making a livelihood by selling one's expertise in crafting any such plan, whatever it is called, for Heaven is not for sale, and is never on sale, and neither is Hell on sale or for sale because Hell's door is always open and its one-way single entry is free!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
The Changing Definition Of Good
In the secular world, good means different things to different people at different times.
In the field of technology, something is good only when it is changed every so often -- it does not matter if the change, commonly known as upgrade, is for the better or for the worse. Technological change is always good because change allows the providers to gather more data and to make more money, to market the newness to make more money, and to make obsolete the past to make more money. It does not matter if in the process, time is wasted and resources are consumed, mistakes are made and the environment is ruined, change is always welcomed as a good thing.
In the spiritual realm, good is constant. The actions of Christ arose from good. The good from Christ has remained good and will continue to be good. The good as defined by the actions of Christ does not change.
The good that Christ had defined, by His humility, forgiveness and love, not by Satan's pride, thirst for justice and violent vengeance, is the constant good all must strive to achieve, not by changing the definition of good but by changing ourselves to be good like Christ.
In the field of technology, something is good only when it is changed every so often -- it does not matter if the change, commonly known as upgrade, is for the better or for the worse. Technological change is always good because change allows the providers to gather more data and to make more money, to market the newness to make more money, and to make obsolete the past to make more money. It does not matter if in the process, time is wasted and resources are consumed, mistakes are made and the environment is ruined, change is always welcomed as a good thing.
In the spiritual realm, good is constant. The actions of Christ arose from good. The good from Christ has remained good and will continue to be good. The good as defined by the actions of Christ does not change.
The good that Christ had defined, by His humility, forgiveness and love, not by Satan's pride, thirst for justice and violent vengeance, is the constant good all must strive to achieve, not by changing the definition of good but by changing ourselves to be good like Christ.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Different Cultures, Same Language
This entry is inspired by the same cousin who inspired my last entry. This was the cousin whose "husband" (technically boyfriend) said they were having communication problems that compelled them to seek therapy. My cousin explained that they were having communication issues because they come from different cultures.
To be sure, both are Americans, born and grew up in the United States of America, although my cousin has Asian parents and her "husband" has blond hair and I think, blue eyes. I agree with my cousin that upbringing can impact how a person thinks and behaves because mine is a bifurcated life, having been brought up in Asia and having my formative years being molded by Caucasian monks in Illinois.
My bifurcated life is a plus for me because I see things from both sides. In the beginning, I saw differences which I attributed to differences in culture that were difficult to bridge. I was wrong.
As time went by, what difficulties I had with differences, the mature me realized, had nothing to do with culture at all -- not one iota. All the differences and the difficulties have everything to do with one's Free Will in making choices in life, choosing between good and evil, between following Christ and falling for Satan.
When everybody chooses to be like Christ, there will be no differences or difficulties, but because Satan is always present with Its temptations to imprison us, to detract all from following Christ, conflicts have thus become inescapable and integrated into our lives.
Despite Satan's sweeping influence, there is one thing Satan is unable to take away from any of us, and that is love.
Everybody in the world needs love, even those who have been hardened by life's circumstances. When there is love between any two people from any two diverse cultures, religions, ethnicities and upbringings, the kind of love that emanates from deep down in the heart where God resides [1], they speak the same language and are in unity.
Those who believe in God have hope that unity between any two persons and among all peoples are possible, and know that the ultimate unity is with God and the path for anyone to be eternally united to God is through Jesus Christ.
[1] Satan battles continuously to evict God from deep down in a person's heart. It succeeds only when the irrevocable choice to reject God forever is made.
To be sure, both are Americans, born and grew up in the United States of America, although my cousin has Asian parents and her "husband" has blond hair and I think, blue eyes. I agree with my cousin that upbringing can impact how a person thinks and behaves because mine is a bifurcated life, having been brought up in Asia and having my formative years being molded by Caucasian monks in Illinois.
My bifurcated life is a plus for me because I see things from both sides. In the beginning, I saw differences which I attributed to differences in culture that were difficult to bridge. I was wrong.
As time went by, what difficulties I had with differences, the mature me realized, had nothing to do with culture at all -- not one iota. All the differences and the difficulties have everything to do with one's Free Will in making choices in life, choosing between good and evil, between following Christ and falling for Satan.
When everybody chooses to be like Christ, there will be no differences or difficulties, but because Satan is always present with Its temptations to imprison us, to detract all from following Christ, conflicts have thus become inescapable and integrated into our lives.
Despite Satan's sweeping influence, there is one thing Satan is unable to take away from any of us, and that is love.
Everybody in the world needs love, even those who have been hardened by life's circumstances. When there is love between any two people from any two diverse cultures, religions, ethnicities and upbringings, the kind of love that emanates from deep down in the heart where God resides [1], they speak the same language and are in unity.
Those who believe in God have hope that unity between any two persons and among all peoples are possible, and know that the ultimate unity is with God and the path for anyone to be eternally united to God is through Jesus Christ.
[1] Satan battles continuously to evict God from deep down in a person's heart. It succeeds only when the irrevocable choice to reject God forever is made.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Spousal Communication
I met a cousin over the weekend. She told me that she and her husband [1] were seeing a therapist. I asked her and her husband what was the one main reason, the first that came to their minds, that necessitated therapy.
Before I continue, let me disclose that I am biased against the need for therapy. [2] Why does anyone need therapy when the Lord is always there to help, and when Our Mother, Mary, is always listening to our prayers and interceding for us, and when Jesus will always answer Her intercessions because of His love for Her.
My cousin seemed to be at a loss for words when I asked the question, but her husband answered that they were having a problem with communication. My cousin agreed by saying that each person would make assumptions and those assumptions are not communicated. In the course of the few minutes we were sharing, I asked if I could suggest something. They agreed to hear me out. I told them that they did not have an issue with communication. I cannot imagine two educated and intelligent individuals, neither of whom was hard of hearing, would have a problem communicating with each other. So I told them that there are three things that they have to have to resolve their issues: humility, charity and love.
I explained that humility comes from within, and must begin with the individual. Then comes charity. That is when one person gives to another. After that comes love which is a union of two persons. I said that was the most important of all, except for the love for God.
She admitted that she did have pride and said that I was good, and that I should be a shaman as we were walking into the room where the wedding guests were dancing. As the music grew louder and louder and our speaking voices became more and more inaudible, I left her by saying that until you become Catholic (I actually meant that until she believed in God), then we can talk more.
[1] Technically, he was not her husband but her boyfriend even they have been together for years. In this entry, I have taken the liberty to reclassify their legal status and therefore this entry is fiction.
[2] At one point in my life, I was in the depths of depression. I had thought seriously about seeking a therapist. Then I thought, what could the therapist do that God could not? I knew that God could help me. It was a difficult choice seeking help from a health care provider in Heaven, Who was invisible to me (and still is), Who did not speak to me (and still do not), and in Whom I must believe with all the faith that I had, which I determined at the time was only a tiny part of me. The choice was a conscious one and deep down I knew I was right by putting by my entire hope in God that I would be healed, filling that tiny part of my entire being that was my faith. The pain did not disappear instantly, but I felt the courage to go on, as difficult it was, I forged ahead, pains and prayers (and tears) all at the same time, and over time, I felt better and better, until one ordinary day during an uneventful moment, my pains left me silently, without notice, and never came back.
Before I continue, let me disclose that I am biased against the need for therapy. [2] Why does anyone need therapy when the Lord is always there to help, and when Our Mother, Mary, is always listening to our prayers and interceding for us, and when Jesus will always answer Her intercessions because of His love for Her.
My cousin seemed to be at a loss for words when I asked the question, but her husband answered that they were having a problem with communication. My cousin agreed by saying that each person would make assumptions and those assumptions are not communicated. In the course of the few minutes we were sharing, I asked if I could suggest something. They agreed to hear me out. I told them that they did not have an issue with communication. I cannot imagine two educated and intelligent individuals, neither of whom was hard of hearing, would have a problem communicating with each other. So I told them that there are three things that they have to have to resolve their issues: humility, charity and love.
I explained that humility comes from within, and must begin with the individual. Then comes charity. That is when one person gives to another. After that comes love which is a union of two persons. I said that was the most important of all, except for the love for God.
She admitted that she did have pride and said that I was good, and that I should be a shaman as we were walking into the room where the wedding guests were dancing. As the music grew louder and louder and our speaking voices became more and more inaudible, I left her by saying that until you become Catholic (I actually meant that until she believed in God), then we can talk more.
[1] Technically, he was not her husband but her boyfriend even they have been together for years. In this entry, I have taken the liberty to reclassify their legal status and therefore this entry is fiction.
[2] At one point in my life, I was in the depths of depression. I had thought seriously about seeking a therapist. Then I thought, what could the therapist do that God could not? I knew that God could help me. It was a difficult choice seeking help from a health care provider in Heaven, Who was invisible to me (and still is), Who did not speak to me (and still do not), and in Whom I must believe with all the faith that I had, which I determined at the time was only a tiny part of me. The choice was a conscious one and deep down I knew I was right by putting by my entire hope in God that I would be healed, filling that tiny part of my entire being that was my faith. The pain did not disappear instantly, but I felt the courage to go on, as difficult it was, I forged ahead, pains and prayers (and tears) all at the same time, and over time, I felt better and better, until one ordinary day during an uneventful moment, my pains left me silently, without notice, and never came back.
Did Jesus Play Any Sports?
Jesus did not play sports or other games when He was growing up. It was pointless for Him to play since He would win every time. Being the Son of God, He was perfect and could not lose.
On the flip side, no one would want to play against someone who always wins. Could Jesus not at least pretend to lose from time to time so that His companions and opponents would want to continue playing with Him? Of course He could, but letting someone win on purpose is to deceive and Jesus does not deceive.
Jesus did not come into this world to play games, to win and to put us to shame (as if making us feel inferior is a sport that delights Him) but to unmask us and expose the games we play, to mend us and make us whole, to prepare us to join Him for an eternity in Heaven.
On the flip side, no one would want to play against someone who always wins. Could Jesus not at least pretend to lose from time to time so that His companions and opponents would want to continue playing with Him? Of course He could, but letting someone win on purpose is to deceive and Jesus does not deceive.
Jesus did not come into this world to play games, to win and to put us to shame (as if making us feel inferior is a sport that delights Him) but to unmask us and expose the games we play, to mend us and make us whole, to prepare us to join Him for an eternity in Heaven.
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