Doing good
attracts more customers
By Fr.
ROY CIMAGALA,
roycimagala@gmail.com
February 6, 2023
THIS is, of course, a
common phenomenon. When we do good, we will attract more customers
and favor-seekers. When we give some favors to some people, there is
always a tendency that more people will come begging for the same
favors. We need to be prepared to complicate our life.
This was classically
illustrated in that gospel episode where Christ went to Gennesaret,
and once the people recognized him, they immediately brought their
sick, begging Christ to heal them. (cfr. Mk 6,53-56) The people must
already have heard of the many miracles Christ performed, and so
they pursued him wherever he went.
It’s always good to do
good as much as we can. We just have to make sure that we also do it
with a certain prudence, otherwise we might be spoiling people and
end ourselves bankrupt, reduced to a miserable state that would need
help from others.
Doing good with prudence
is compatible with giving ourselves to others wholeheartedly. True
prudence does not undermine charity. It would make sure that charity
will go all the way. It helps sustain charity to the end.
We can only persevere in
doing good with prudence when everything that we do in charity is
done always with Christ in mind and in our heart. We should follow
his example. Yes, he was compassionate with everyone, but he also
saw to it that he had time to separate himself from the crowd in
order to pray and to have some intimate time with the apostles and
disciples, teaching them things and clarifying certain issues. He
also refused to stay too long in a place in order to go to other
places.
Let’s make sure that our
prudence is not a mask for getting attached to the things of this
world. Christ wants us to be detached completely from the things of
this world, but such detachment is not so much a matter of how much
we have or do not have in possession as of a spiritual detachment
from the things of this world.
We can be a millionaire or
a billionaire and still be detached from the things of this world.
We should not be afraid to be rich in material things as long as we
are detached from them, showing such detachment by being completely
generous to the needs of the others and in giving glory to God in
the end.
This will require a
certain discipline, of course, given the obvious fact that we have
the tendency to get attached to the things of this world. In this
regard, we should clearly etch in our mind and heart the words of
Christ who said that if we want to follow him, we should deny
ourselves and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) These are clear signs
of detachment.
Everyday, let us examine
our conscience to see if our charity which should go all the way is
also done with prudence. It’s a tricky combination to make. Thus, we
truly need to study things well and to pray hard, asking for grace
and light from God so we can be properly guided.
There will always be
difficult decisions to make, but as long as we make those decisions
in God’s presence, everything will always work out for the good,
even if in the short run, some mistakes or miscalculations may be
committed.
We should also be ready
for this possibility, and assume the Christian spirit of
sportsmanship, where we can continue to move on, ever hopeful and
cheerful, despite certain mistakes and defeats along the way.