Daily Reflections - October 19,2012

REDEMPTION AS GOD’S POSSESSION

 

The pastoral counselor Merle Jordan writes that the important question to ask clients who want to grow is not so much “Who are you?” as “Who do you belong to?” As a pastoral counselor myself, I have found this to be sound advice that has many and far-ranging repercussions. The one thing or person or idea that captures our waking and sleeping thoughts, that which fills our minds and hearts a great deal of the time, is the one that wields power over us. And whatever fills our hearts is the one that ultimately controls us.

We all are familiar with the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. He started out as a fine, promising young boy who enjoyed the same things other boys did. But he developed into the world’s most notorious miser. On account of the many little choices he made all through the course of his life, with possessions and profit occupying most of his time, Scrooge became the hated miser of an employer that he was. Soon, possessions possessed him. Money became his idol, and idol is defined as some kind of a false god.

We all have our own little false gods. These are the idols that we turn into demi-gods — every idea, object, or material possession or person that ultimately controls us. They define not so much who we are, as who or what we really belong to.

St. Paul today takes care we get this very important point. We belong to God. We are God’s precious and beloved  possessions. He reminds us how we “were chosen,” and that “we exist for the praise of God’s glory.”

One of the applications in the social networking site, Facebook, would allow us to know how many hours one spent, or how many posts one has done, from day one. Many of my “friends” boasted so many thousands of hours and so many postings since they joined. What they missed is the blatant fact that Facebook has literally become their idol. It has effectively controlled their daily lives. They have become Facebook’s possession. This is a good time as any to remind ourselves: we are called to “redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.”Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What possesses you? What is that one thing, idea or person that fills your waking hours?

 

Lord Jesus, I surrender to You my false gods or idols. Instead of spending so much of my time and resources on them, may I learn to use them in building Your Kingdom on earth. Amen.