Hate – hurt – humility

Early this week I was requested to “preach” to a small group of now jobless Christians at ABS-CBN. The Christian apologist and itinerant preacher Ravi Zacharias often suggests that before you get into the “Text” make sure you have the context. Needless to say, any attempt to motivate or encourage my former colleagues who’ve just lost their careers and half their lifetime’s work would be like cheering up the orphans and widow at a funeral.

My friend said: “The first thing you need to address is the hatred that so many people are nursing against the members of Congress and the Executive department.” I was told that even among the apolitical and religious individuals in ABS-CBN, this hatred has roosted and if it is not addressed will quickly take root and bear fruit. “Then there is the feeling that not only have they lost jobs but that Congress is pulling their ‘Family’ apart.” Beyond the moniker “Kapamilya” many employees have spent half a lifetime and most of their daily waking time with their office workers who’ve become family. Then there is the financial fear: “Most of the employees don’t have a lot, maybe one to two months of savings only.” For the more senior among them the greatest challenge and question is “What else can I do? This is all I have done for the last 28 years and I am not young.” The most important question that a lot of people won’t openly ask is “Where is God in all this? and why did he allow it to happen?

We need to immediately address the “hate” factor because “hate” is like a stain, a poison, or a very sad and boring ending to a story. People say that hate is like drinking poison and waiting for your enemy to die. It’s like a stain that is seen by everyone, a stain that ruins or undervalues what was or could have been a beautiful dress or masterpiece. Remember what they say in “Pawn Stars”: Stains drastically bring down the market value. The worst thing is that hate makes you weak and is so weak a weapon that your enemies, even those in Congress are not even aware of it.  From personal experience I have been in situations where hate was the accepted default mode. Did nothing for me. But when I prayed for my enemies, when I asked God “Let Thy will be done” things happened. Enemies became friends, God used them as instruments of blessings and the best of it all is that several of them surrendered their lives to Christ because of the example they saw when I chose to be humble rather than hate. The best revenge people say is to get people to do things your way and have them thanking you for it. Consider this: If God operated on the principle of hate, we would all be wiped out! None of us would have had second chances or comeback stories.

As far as relations go, life teaches us that at some point we will lose the people we love the most. Whether it’s a colleague at work, your parents or children, we all kick the bucket. The idea of being broken up is nothing more than emotion and sentiments. We don’t have to say goodbye, just say “Good day Mate” like the Aussies do. To this day which is about 15 or 16 years later, I am still in touch and used to break bread with my “Straight Talk” family before COVID. In some cases, the break up can be a good thing because like the rest of us, COVID-19 has forced us to be with family and many have discovered what they were missing and are now enjoying the company of their real families and not created relations. Rebuild relationships that need repair, don’t weep for what is not lost.

If anything, I would probably worry more about the financials. I too have found myself in a place where I only had half a month’s salary left in the bank, bills and people to pay. When you reach that point the first thing many of us do is pray to God and then worry. At 2 a.m., I prayed a short and earnest prayer and went back to sleep. One Bible verse I really like comes from the book of Isaiah 59:1 “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ears too dull to hear.” You may have limited finances, but if you have invested in relationships and community, chances are others will be more than willing to help you out, even bail you out. Just remember God hears, but uses people. A Pastor who reads our prayer request once told me, “stop asking God for financial blessings while dictating your terms.” It does not work that way. Be open about your need to both God and man, believe in God’s promises, visualize it, be grateful in advance and pay back in tithes and charity. These are all part of my IOS for prayer. Be grateful when all is good and save like the ant.

Finally, if all you’ve done is your job for 28 years – Get a life! This always happens; people make a life of what was suppose to be meant for making a living. I’ve heard this many times over, people devoting decades to the job or company and then coming up empty at the end. LIVE LIFE. Check your bucket list and drop the “Bakit” list. And where is God in all this, He’s there. He’s always been there, but you might just have been too busy to chat, to listen, to fellowship. Now that you have the time, like Jose Mari Chan’s song suggests… “Can we just stop and talk awhile.”