Our laws should lead us to God

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          WHEN Christ cured on a Sabbath a woman who had been crippled

by an evil spirit for eighteen years, he was corrected by the

synagogue leader for violating the law on the Sabbath. (cfr. Lk

13,10-17) That was when Christ made the following clarification:

          “Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his

ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of

Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to

have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”

          I imagine that a simple exercise of common sense could

easily see the point of Christ. But many times, we fall into the same

predicament when we would just blindly follow the letter of the law

without discerning the true spirit behind it.

          Ideally, both the letter and the spirit of our laws should

be in perfect harmony. But that is hardly the case in real life. The

problem, of course, is that the articulation of our laws is

conditioned and limited by our human powers that cannot fully capture

the richness of human life, considering its spiritual and supernatural

character that will always involve the intangibles and mysteries and

the like.

          That is the reason why we can go beyond, but not against, a

particular law, when such law cannot fully express the concrete

conditions of a particular case. This is when we can apply the

principle of “epikeia.”

          But first, we have to understand that our human laws are

meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be

with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their

immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little

to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the

end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That

should always be the constant purpose of our laws.

          All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their

technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive

for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would

empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all

kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may

enjoy some power at a given moment.

          We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives

the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse

ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our

common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil

according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our

traditions and culture, etc.

          While these things have their legitimate role to play in our

legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be

the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways

that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply

and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the

one who establishes what is truly good and evil.

          With the way today’s legal and juridical systems worldwide

are drifting toward extreme positivism that simply bases itself on our

perceptual experiences and people’s consensus and systematically

shutting out any input from faith and divine revelation, we need to

remind ourselves that God’s law is in fact the foundation, the

inspiration and the perfection of our human laws.

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

The Foremost Horse in a Team

Are you a guide, a commander or a conductor? Are you a leader, who knows how to play the first card in the team? Do you know how to direct, to persuade or to precede?

The classic succession “horse race” pits two or three senior executives against each other in a battle over performance — the winner becoming the next chief executive officer.

Some executives and governance observers are uncomfortable with the horse race approach — which we define as an overt competition for the CEO role among several recognized candidates within an established time frame — out of concern about the potential impact that such a high stakes contest may have on an organization. Nevertheless, the horse race undeniably has been successful in helping many admired companies choose their next leader.

I found a very nice quotation shared by Dr. John C. Maxwell, the leading authority on leadership, who says, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way!" "Nearly all men can withstand adversity. If you truly want to test a man's character, give him power", already stressed Abraham Lincoln. Character is what you are doing in the dark. By the way, nowadays, I wouldn't only mention "men"  alone when it comes to leadership. There are innumerable women holding their own. 

Remember and look around: in the past and at present one can observe someone at any corner offering us to lead our way. Politicians compete for our vote of confidence. Athletes and entertainers show us their pictures of success. A lot of different religious leaders pledge, promise and bind in flock gatherings.

Well, what are some of the traits that a great leader must have or develop character? Is character really enough? How about integrity? Are you, my dear reader, a leader? Is what you are saying AND  DOING, the same? Are your followers wholeheartedly convinced of your integrity?

Albert Einstein, one of my favorite idols, had said, "Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with the important matters!"

Leaders in politics, leaders in clergy, leaders in business - many have been lacking this specific trait in the past, because, after all, what they said is not what they did.  A leader is someone with character, integrity, discipline, and the ability to influence others in a positive way.  A leader must be able to motivate his or her people around, rather than manipulate them or run away in times of difficult decisions... !

Albert Einstein claimed that he had no special abilities, only persistence. But that was enough to develop the General Relativity Theory. I learned from my Philippine mentor and book author (German-Philippine Relations), the late Monsignor Professor Dr. Hermogenes E. Bacareza already during the 1980's: "It's important to become your own best friend. Be your own coach. Take to your inner self  as if you were talking to another person you care deeply about. And, pray!"

Why do Filipinos like to make indirect potshots ("patama") ...

... instead of directly saying their issues to the person they're saying the remarks to?

Holly Benedicto

Bisaya. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked extensively with Americans.

Filipinos are non-confrontational.

We prefer passive aggression to actually getting into an altercation with someone.

There is a stigma against people who are too assertive, too “strong”, too vocal, especially when it’s a woman. But because we are non-confrontational, we just avoid these people or keep quiet until we reach a boiling point. Same approach with any problems. Many Filipinos strive for “peace” and love the quote, “be positive! “. To a point, it becomes toxic positivity.

That boiling point differs. For some, it never comes. For others, it might fizzle out. Some might never forget and it gets passed down from one generation to the next. But it never gets addressed.

What can one do to help enrich, contribute, and improve the Philippines and the Filipino culture?

By Holly Benedicto

Bisaya. Has travelled all over the Philippines, some Asian countries and the United States. Scientific background. Has worked extensively with Americans.

Don’t leave it and migrate to other countries. You can work abroad but don’t get a foreign citizenship. Brain drain is a HUGE problem here.

Buy Philippine-made products/support local. Market them on social media and in any international event.

Exercise your right to vote. When you allow the under-educated/uneducated masses whose votes were bought by a pack of groceries to vote but you as a well-educated and disenfranchised individual refuse to vote, you doom the country.

Speak up about cultural issues and problems. The reason why so many issues persist is because many choose to silent in the interest of “pakikisama”. Filipinos are conflict avoidant and pacifist. Have some self-respect. Fight for the future you want and deserve.