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By Marlon B. Raquel
We are living in this troubled world. Natural disasters left millions of people homeless and starving to death. The Carribean nation of Haiti lost 60% of its total gross domestic product because of the devastation brought about by a 7.0 magnitude of earthquake and thousands of people died. Tsunamis hit Indonesia few years ago and here in the Philippines, typhoons seem to be our 'regular customers' especially during the end of the year. In African countries such as Nigeria, religious violence continues as Christians and Muslims fight against each other. In other parts of the world, separatist groups are struggling to acquire independence from the national governments which only leads to bloodshed. Ships sinking in the seas, fires consuming hundreds of houses, planes crashing, shootouts, kidnappings, vehicular accidents - these are just few of negative news we almost hear everyday in different media outlets. Even among our government officials, there seems to be a chaos. Political bickering is the main ingredient. Corruption eats up the system. Morality is no longer the standard but rather an option. There is an increasing proportion of population who have sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and AIDS. In some societies, killing an unborn child becomes a social norm, same with homosexuality. Sex is no longer a sacred sexual intercourse after and within marriage, but rather a commodity (parang asukal lang na binibili sa tindahan ni Aleng Nina, P60/kilo, hehehe). Families are breaking up. What is right decades ago is considered wrong today and vice versa. All things are relative they say. Where is our world heading to?
Come to think of it. If we focus ourselves to all these problems, we're heading on the wrong direction. Hopelessness, guilt, and shame will only lead us to become more disappointed and discouraged. Looking beyond what our two eyes can see will open new dimensions. We may never know what lies beyond the horizon but becoming positive will not hurt us. If we consider God as the center of our lives, then we are assured of a bright future awaiting us. God has plans for us - plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Be brave and do not be shaken. He is giving us new hope that even in this fallen world, we are meant to be happy, enjoying every bit this life has to offer. His merciful eyes are upon His beautiful creations like you. Would you rather strive for something of eternal value than be temporarily satisfied with this ephemeral world? You be the judge.
*January 30, 2010
2:30 PM MNL
