Recognizing God’s Primacy

Waking up on a Saturday morning without the constant pain on my right shoulder is enough reason for me to be thankful.  It’s the first Saturday of the month, a day I chose to pray for the eternal repose of the souls of my late parents, so I went to attend the 8:30 mass at our local church.  The attendees were mostly seniors.  I listen to the pastor’s sermon, but my mind was preoccupied with things I should have done and will still do for the week.  Even inside God’s house, I was still thinking about the world!  So, when I heard the pastor say, “It is time for us to put God first in our life…” I felt like a thunderbolt has struck me.

How many times have I put God my priority?  To be honest, I have not even made any attempt recently to make Him the first.  I always put him in the back burner, and he was lucky if I even remember him in between my waking and sleeping hours this past three weeks!  You see even inside the church, I was still thinking about unfinished paperwork and the virtual trainings I have yet to complete.  I had gotten used to thinking, “I am so busy! I do not have time for anything!”  I have told this lie to myself so many times that I am convinced it is true.  

Don’t I really have time for anything and for God?  If God were to speak to me now, he would probably ask the following questions:  How long do you spent time sipping your coffee every day?  How long do you spend time reading the New York Times and Washington Post full of tragedies?  How long do you spend time Googling business for sale that you will not buy anyway? How long do you spend time finding out if your unwanted callers are scammers?  How long do you spend time buying some stuff from the store that you will return anyway because you do not like it?  How long do you spent time browsing over some media posts that do not have anything to do with you and that could potentially impair your psyche?  There are more questions probably, and I would beg God to stop because I know I am guilty.  

Has my busyness made me really happy?  Has it brought peace in my heart?  I realized that chasing worldly things does not make you happy.  Your job can give you some form of stability. Your friends can give you momentary company. Your family can give you moral and financial support.  Your education can give you some form of pride and achievement.  Your connections can give you some opportunities.   Your travels can give you knowledge of the world.  But all these things do not guarantee your happiness… that happiness that bring you peace.

            When an Act of God happens likes this Covid_19 pandemic, people of all walks of life – the poor and the affluent, the educated and the uneducated, the healthy and the infirm are all affected.  Nobody can spare himself or herself from a tragedy like this one.   The pandemic proved the truth about our predicament as human beings – that we are but a speck in this universe.  As explicitly written by an Asian Asin band,

                 “Kaya wala kang dapat ipagmayabang    (That is why don’t take pride on anything)
                  Na ikaw ar mautak at maraming alam   (That you have brains and so much knowledge)
                  Dahil kung susuriin at ating iisipin          (Because if we think and reflect upon it)
                  Katulad ng lahat ikaw ay tuldok rin."      (You are no different - you too are but a speck)