‘G & O’

Truth be told, I’m running seriously late writing this column as I got so immersed in doing my New Year clean out. This is as good a time as any to be brutally honest with yourself regarding your clutter, your junk, even some of the good, valuable and memorable “junk” you’ve held on to for years. It’s junk if it serves no purpose and the only real reason you’ve kept it is for its perceived or appointed value which is not really commercial but personal. A good way of testing for real value is to ask yourself or the people around you: If I died tomorrow would any of you want this or have a use for it? If you, your spouse, children or employees say “No,” then chuck it out or sell it or give it away.

A walk through your house, flat, office or place of business with a stick to poke around with, a rag or basahan to wipe with, and something to take notes with will be the equivalent of a hunt or a quest. Just walking around the roof deck revealed several stunted fruit trees that were forgotten, rusted broken planting tables, pots and pans full of soil but no plants, an empty aquarium rescued from relatives only to be forgotten in the pile of too many things to do.

Throwing out all that stuff with extreme prejudice and brutality is the only way to clear up the clutter and exorcise your self of the demons of materialism, pointless sentimentalism, and dust collectors. If it helps to make it easier then give it away to someone who can actually put it to good use or whose quality of life would marginally improve from your “token” of generosity. Just cleaning out my working table took half a day’s work until my back gave in and my mental alarm went off to warn me that I still have a column to write. The best I can do for now is to declare: “I Shall return” and do my duty

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What’s the plan?

I always find myself asking this question entering into a New Year. It’s something I learned as a member of Victory Christian Fellowship (Every Nation) where we have been taught to prepare for the New Year by way of having a Family Meeting much like a Board meeting, to write up our faith goals for the year, “punctuate” these with a week-long church-wide “prayer and fasting” and follow this through as couples and family in our daily quiet time. The fact that I’m still doing it after 10 years is a testimony to the fact that it is a very effective way to be aligned with God’s will, and “I always like it when a plan works.”

This year the plan is code-named: G&O

“G&O” meaning God & Others or devoting more time to ministry work, time to know God and giving our time to help, to be with others is the inspiration I gained entering into the New Year. It’s not some saintly aspiration but rather dedicating more time and resources to God’s work and the people in ministry.

Before the year ended, my wife and I were invited to a thank you dinner hosted by the Real Life Foundation which is dedicated to raising up and educating disadvantaged young people who won’t have a chance in life due to poverty or some other handicap. What made this dinner very different for me was the testimony of a young man from the slums who met people from Victory, joined the church and got a scholarship. Real Life Foundation doesn’t just give scholarships, they have a complete support system for mind, body, and soul. The young man graduated, got a job and what hit me was that he became the “force multiplier” who now sends his siblings to school. As supporters or donors, we often think of singular scholars but never realize that when the scholar becomes an income earner, he multiplies the benefit from one donor.

Last year, Karen and I made a commitment to support a campus missionary for 3,000 a month or the equivalent of giving up two dinner dates in one of the many restaurants in Barrio Kapitolyo. A campus missionary is no longer your traditional evangelist but often an “Ate” or “Kuya” to many confused students struggling with finances, sexuality, or academics. They are often the “run to person” when the teachers are too busy or swamped with work or when the Mama or Papa are OFWs abroad.

Once again, we realized that our one “missionary” was caring for dozens of young men and women who otherwise could be lost in the battle against teen pregnancy, prostitution, drugs or dropout rates. At a ratio of 1:25 the little allowance we set aside gets an extremely high rate of return in human lives and futures far more valuable than the stock market.

Far too often, we complicate our spiritual journeys by thinking in terms of “I need to do it myself” or sacrifice involving pain. But making time for God and Others or G & O can be as simple as allocating funds for a jeepney to fetch people in a barrio so they can go to church every Sunday. It’s income generation for the driver and bringing worshippers to church. One jeepney driver multiplies himself by 20 when they get to church.

If you’re a teacher, teach. If you’re a talker, talk. If you’re a doctor, heal. Whatever your talents are, use them, share them and if you can’t, spend on someone who can. God is an Equal Opportunity Employer.