PAYING OUR DUES May 28, 2020
Today’s devotional on Romans 13 is an interesting
read. It talks about giving to each person--of whatever status--the respect,
honor, tribute or deference due them; then ends with an admonition for all of
us to stay “mentally” awake, because the Great Day will be upon us soon.
While written by the apostle Paul a couple of a
thousand years ago, it still holds true today.
Many people it seems, always have two cents’ worth for everything, are
quite vocal about it, and when somebody calls them out for being out of line,
go on the defensive and lash out. Even
if the one who gives the fact or order is a long-time expert in the field or as
high as the President of the land, still, there are interesting groups of
people who think that they know better, and are entitled not to obey. Does being too smart put us in a position to
talk down on others, or does it open us up to a greater exposure of our own
bias and ignorance?
The apostle also talked about another angle of paying
our dues—the obvious financial side of paying debts—but in the same breath, one
debt that should always be outstanding is our love (and care and concern) for
others. Emergency rules call for
leniency on lessors, and it is obviously humanitarian, but it doesn’t really
absolve the tenant or debtor of his obligation, and the apostle was quick to imply
that too.
Understandably, because of the new normal, job losses
and the future of work demand that people invest more in information technology
equipment and communication devices, and be more established and settled in
their remote and online presence, but the apostle saw until our time today in
reiterating the ten commandments, including the much maligned #10, “Thou Shall
Not Covet”—or what several generations of GOD’s messengers have said as “the
root of all evil—envy”. Human experience
through the ages have proven this so: once one covets something that he/she
cannot yet afford or is not yet meant to, pride induces the person to resort to
the most attractive way to get it—incurring debt—which leads to more serious
financial and legal problems at the outset, then mental, emotional and
relationship problems later.
It’s a good thing that economies have opened up, but
one habit that psychologists have foreseen will be difficult to break that has
been exacerbated by life on lockdown is engagement in social media. And they said social media is one of the
greatest promoters of envy.
As we go back to a new kind of normal, a different way
of living, let us be careful not to mindlessly spend useless hours in front of
our screens stalking and browsing through other people’s feeds, but to use this
time and every time we can in the future, to learn more things of value, to be
more aware, to be more conscious of what is happening around us, and to get
ourselves ready with the thought that the pandemic and even greater challenges
will be coming our way.
Comments
Post a Comment