TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES FROM FAITH
Paul’s
experience of salvation through faith in Christ comes out very strongly
in his writings. He personally knows the power of faith in Christ to
literally help him make a 180-degree turn. Here, Paul tries to go back
to the origins of the Scriptural understanding of faith beginning with
Abraham. If he can earn God’s blessing through his works, then faith is
useless. If we are capable of saving ourselves, why would we bother to
have faith in God? We are saved by faith and our works come as a result
of our faith, not as the cause of our salvation.
The world teaches a very different message. At best, it tells us that
the only reliable person is ourselves. At worst, the world encourages us
to use others — what we can get out of them — and to pay the minimal
legal price for what we get.
A truly righteous person will always do what is right, not just for
himself but also for all those who are involved in the enterprise.
Multinational companies have a lot to think about, as the wages they pay
for the production of their products often bear no relationship to the
profit they make. This is a question of justice and righteousness, and
not just a matter of what is legally permissible. Should the consumer
boycott multinational companies that do not pay just wages? That is a
difficult question. Technically you have paid for the cost of the
product you have bought; how the company passes on the profit is not up
to you — it is the
company’s responsibility. However, if you believe that, given enough
pressure, companies may change their practices such that they are more
equitable, then maybe a boycott is morally desirable until the desired
objective happens. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you just in the way you treat those around you — your employers, employees, family and friends?
Holy Spirit, teach me to do what is the moral thing to do in a situation and not just what I think I can get away with.
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