SPECIAL REFLECTIONS

“MY SPECIAL reflections” refers to your own deep, personal thoughts and feelings about your life, experiences or a particular topic. It is an inward look at what matters most to you.

Simply put, self-reflection—also known as personal reflection—is the practice of taking time to think about, meditate on, evaluate and seriously consider your behavior, thoughts, attitudes, motivations and desires. That is what I am doing now.

Not long ago, I reached a milestone: 65 years since my first article was published in a daily newspaper. I have kept every clipping since then. Believe me, together they could fill a book. As I reread my earliest articles, I was amazed that I had kept writing for so long. Now, however, you could not pay me to stop.

Nowadays, all my published works are stored in my electronic archive.

Back to my clippings. Can you imagine that keeping them has its benefits? Looking back on my life experiences, I see that both progress and failure have been part of my journey. Most of my columns offer a view into a mirror. When I reread what I wrote about how God helped me find solutions to my problems, I am reminded of His grace. I also gain insights from past struggles that help me deal with the challenges I face today. I remember one of my previous columns, entitled “If Failures Get Results.”

Indeed, God has been faithfully at work in my life.

I once read a story by Dennis Fisher, who did not keep clippings of published articles but maintained a spiritual journal. He advised: “Journalism may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life’s journey. To begin a journal, record your struggles, reflect on a verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or write a prayer of thankfulness for God’s faithfulness.”

Reflection means pausing to look inward, evaluate your actions and understand the deeper reasons behind your thoughts and feelings. It connects raw experiences with personal purpose, helping you learn from the past and choose a better path forward.

A reflection has three parts. First, retell the facts by summarizing the main points and describing the significant concepts or details. Next, relate them to your previous experiences by giving examples and making connections. Finally, compare and contrast what you have retold with your prior knowledge and experiences.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com; follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn; or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

 

Shaking my head

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, August 6, 2026

“SHAKING my head,” commonly abbreviated as SMH, is a popular expression in online chats and internet slang. It is often used to convey disappointment, disbelief, disgust, or other similar negative emotions.

To shake your head means moving it from side to side to signal “no,” express disagreement, or convey sadness, frustration, or disbelief. Sometimes, a simple shake of the head says more than words ever could.

There are moments in life when crying or asking endless questions serves no purpose. Instead, we simply feel paralyzed. A good friend told me exactly that a few days ago. Words sometimes seem inadequate, yet as a writer, I always believe there are words capable of capturing even the most difficult emotions.

After long conversations with friends and colleagues, I have come to one conclusion: sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.

Just look around. Endless follow-ups seem to have become part of our national character. Every day, we encounter people whose indifference leaves us frustrated and discouraged. Sadly, indifference appears to have become one of the defining traits of today’s society.

We try to schedule an appointment, but the other party always seems to be “busy” every single day of the week. Naturally, we don’t want to intrude on anyone’s time, so we tell ourselves, “Maybe tomorrow.”

But how do you feel when you encounter employees or offices that are supposed to serve the public yet seem more interested in reading magazines, making personal phone calls, sending endless text messages, or even becoming downright rude after countless follow-ups? Then comes the familiar excuse: “The boss is out of town.” Grabe!

Yes, today’s column may not sit well with some readers, but honestly, what is the difference between someone who is genuinely busy, someone working hard to earn a living, and someone who is simply indifferent — or just not in the mood to deal with people?

I can say this without hesitation: many people feel powerless when they repeatedly encounter indifference, arrogance, and ignorance. These attitudes slowly drain enthusiasm, discourage initiative, and make even the simplest tasks unnecessarily exhausting.

When you promise to help or support someone, keep your word. Don’t hide behind endless excuses or delaying tactics. A “yes” should mean yes, and a “no” should mean no. If you cannot fulfill a promise, be honest about it. A straightforward answer is always more respectful than endless uncertainty.

Personally, I dislike making people wait — whether for a reply or for an appointment. I make every effort to respond promptly and follow through on my commitments. If I learn that someone tried to reach me but missed me, I do my best to return the call or reconnect. What’s so difficult about that? I simply dislike being late — or worse, remaining silent.

How many brilliant ideas, promising partnerships, and valuable business opportunities have been lost simply because of misunderstanding, indifference, or a lack of appreciation between people? Think about it. Can you see the pattern?

Yes, I, too, feel disappointed whenever I witness opportunities slipping away. We all know that nothing worthwhile comes without effort. But before we can expect progress, we must first learn to keep our promises, help one another, practice honesty, and become responsible contributors to our nation’s stability, unity, and development.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or X (formerly Twitter). Visit: www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com/PN

HOW DOES MUSIC BRING US TOGETHER?

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Monday, August 3, 2026

MUSIC brings us together by releasing feel-good chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins. It synchronizes our heart rates and brainwaves through rhythm and creates shared emotional experiences during cultural and social events.

Within the home, music creates a deeper emotional connection. Whether through the first instances of musical bonding between a mother and her infant or through listening to music together as a family, it fosters family identity and social closeness—bonds that can last throughout a child’s life.

Is music important in your life? If you ask me, the answer is yes! Music can improve your health and well-being.
A Harvard study has shown that relaxing music may lower blood pressure and heart rate after physical exertion. It can also improve one’s mood and reduce anxiety. By bringing people together, music can also serve as an antidote to loneliness and social isolation.

Music is also a creative outlet. It gives people from all social and cultural backgrounds an opportunity to express themselves.
Whether they seek to convey a political message or a particular emotion—or simply create for the sheer joy of it—musicians have used sound and music since the dawn of humankind to express themselves and make their voices heard.

Then there is another side of music in family life: the heckling. “Is that music, or can it be deleted?”
I remember the irritation on my parents’ faces—as if they were looking into a broken mirror! Once upon a time, we, too, went crazy listening to the sounds of our idols. In my case, that was sometime during the 1960s and 1970s.
I felt “satisfaction” while listening to the Rolling Stones or dancing to the Beatles. I had feverish dreams with Pink Floyd and could not contain myself when listening to “Da Da Da,” part of the German New Wave that later swept across the world—yes, even reaching the Philippines.
Today, we have become the parents of another younger generation. Is there room for a diplomatic discussion? What music is popular nowadays?
Rap or house? Or something like that? Is it noise, din, racket and fuss—or simply damage to my own musical sensibilities?
I remember harmonious chords played on flutes and my accordion. Later, I found myself at the piano….

How important is music to our existence? Our underfunded music curricula cannot answer that question adequately. Even some recent efforts to validate music have backfired. Consider the famous “Mozart effect” study. Using faulty science, the study sought to demonstrate music’s usefulness by proving that it improved students’ performance in “more important” subjects! “Think how absurd this would sound if we turned it inside out,” Daniel Levitin pointed out in his book This Is Your Brain on Music. “If I claimed that studying mathematics helped musical ability, would policy makers start pumping money into math for that reason? Music has often been the poor stepchild of public schools, the first program to get cut when there are funding problems, and people frequently try to justify it in terms of its collateral benefits, rather than letting music exist for its own rewards.”

What type of music connects people? The fusion of genres such as hip-hop and reggae has created new subcultures and communities of fans. Throughout history, music has also been used to advance social change and political movements. It has the power to inspire and mobilize people to take action and make a difference.
Two generations—perhaps even three by now—can come together through music. Let us strike the right chord, no matter which generation we belong to.

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter), or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

ALL GOOD INTENTIONS

 

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

WHEN someone says they have “good intentions”, it typically means they mean well or have positive motives behind their actions or words. It suggests that they aim to do something beneficial or kind, even if the outcome does not always align with what they intended.

When working with people, assume good intentions. When listening to them, interpret their words generously. You will occasionally get burned or mistreated by always assuming the best in others, but it is still a far better way to live than assuming the worst.

Many of us begin a new year with resolutions: to get fit, learn a new skill or eat differently. But if we truly want to do these things, why wait for an arbitrary date that marks nothing more significant than a timekeeping convention?

British psychologist Tom Stafford has asked this question, and he is not alone. The answer reveals something important about the psychology of motivation and what popular theories of self-control overlook.

At bedtime, you may intend to get up early and go for a run, but when the alarm sounds, you discover that what you really want is to sleep longer.

As exam day approaches, you may wish you were the kind of person who had spent every afternoon studying, yet on each of those afternoons, you preferred to spend time with friends on social media.

We could view these contradictions as failures of self-control: impulses for immediate pleasure somehow override our long-term interests.

One well-known theory of self-control, proposed by Roy Baumeister of Florida State University, is the “ego-depletion” account. It holds that self-control is like a muscle that can be exhausted in the short term. Thus, every temptation you resist supposedly makes you more likely to yield to the next one, even if that temptation involves something entirely different.

A corollary of the “self-control as a muscle” theory is that willpower can be strengthened through practice over time. Baumeister, for example, found that people instructed to keep their backs straight whenever possible for two weeks demonstrated improved willpower when they returned to the laboratory.

More importantly, however, the theory does not explain why we wait until New Year’s Day to begin exercising self-control. If willpower is a muscle, we should start strengthening it as soon as possible rather than wait for an arbitrary date.

Another explanation may answer this question, although it is not as fashionable as ego depletion. In his book “Breakdown of Will”, George Ainslie presents a theory of the self and self-control that uses game theory to explain why we struggle with our impulses and why our attempts to control them take the forms they do. The blank page of a new calendar creates a clean break between the old and new versions of ourselves — a psychological boundary that may help us keep our resolutions.

To borrow Stafford’s phrasing once more, Ainslie offers an answer to why our resolutions so often begin on January 1. The date is entirely arbitrary, but it draws a clear line between our old and new selves. The theory’s practical lesson is that a resolution should be framed so that, at any moment, it is absolutely clear whether we are keeping it. Such lines may be arbitrary, but they help preserve the truce among our competing interests.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is a familiar proverb. An alternative version says, “Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works.”

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

ALL GOOD INTENTIONS

 Sharing valuable information and public service from the No. 1 regional newspaper in Western Visayas. https://lnk.bio/panaynews

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

WHEN someone says they have “good intentions”, it typically means they mean well or have positive motives behind their actions or words. It suggests that they aim to do something beneficial or kind, even if the outcome does not always align with what they intended.

When working with people, assume good intentions. When listening to them, interpret their words generously. You will occasionally get burned or mistreated by always assuming the best in others, but it is still a far better way to live than assuming the worst.

Many of us begin a new year with resolutions: to get fit, learn a new skill or eat differently. But if we truly want to do these things, why wait for an arbitrary date that marks nothing more significant than a timekeeping convention?

British psychologist Tom Stafford has asked this question, and he is not alone. The answer reveals something important about the psychology of motivation and what popular theories of self-control overlook.

At bedtime, you may intend to get up early and go for a run, but when the alarm sounds, you discover that what you really want is to sleep longer.

As exam day approaches, you may wish you were the kind of person who had spent every afternoon studying, yet on each of those afternoons, you preferred to spend time with friends on social media.

We could view these contradictions as failures of self-control: impulses for immediate pleasure somehow override our long-term interests.

One well-known theory of self-control, proposed by Roy Baumeister of Florida State University, is the “ego-depletion” account. It holds that self-control is like a muscle that can be exhausted in the short term. Thus, every temptation you resist supposedly makes you more likely to yield to the next one, even if that temptation involves something entirely different.

A corollary of the “self-control as a muscle” theory is that willpower can be strengthened through practice over time. Baumeister, for example, found that people instructed to keep their backs straight whenever possible for two weeks demonstrated improved willpower when they returned to the laboratory.

More importantly, however, the theory does not explain why we wait until New Year’s Day to begin exercising self-control. If willpower is a muscle, we should start strengthening it as soon as possible rather than wait for an arbitrary date.

Another explanation may answer this question, although it is not as fashionable as ego depletion. In his book “Breakdown of Will”, George Ainslie presents a theory of the self and self-control that uses game theory to explain why we struggle with our impulses and why our attempts to control them take the forms they do. The blank page of a new calendar creates a clean break between the old and new versions of ourselves — a psychological boundary that may help us keep our resolutions.

To borrow Stafford’s phrasing once more, Ainslie offers an answer to why our resolutions so often begin on January 1. The date is entirely arbitrary, but it draws a clear line between our old and new selves. The theory’s practical lesson is that a resolution should be framed so that, at any moment, it is absolutely clear whether we are keeping it. Such lines may be arbitrary, but they help preserve the truce among our competing interests.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is a familiar proverb. An alternative version says, “Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works.”

***

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com, follow me on Facebook or LinkedIn, or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

NOBLE HEARTS AND MINDS

 

Having noble hearts and minds is about pairing deep compassion with intellectual integrity. It means acting selflessly, seeking truth bravely, and leading with empathy rather than ego. Cultivating this balance allows individuals to face challenges with resilience and serve their communities.

When you merge a noble heart with a noble mind, you unlock a specific set of characteristics that elevate both personal and professional life: A noble mind actively seeks the truth, while a noble heart provides the bravery to stand up for justice and do the right thing—even when it is risky.

 Leaders with these traits focus on guiding and supporting others rather than serving their own egos. This approach fosters honor and trust within teams.Resilience and Vulnerability: Operating with a noble heart allows you to be fearless by accepting fear and hardship. It uses vulnerability as a spiritual resource to navigate life’s obstacles.Altruism and Compassion: True nobility means putting others first and recognizing that your actions affect the greater good.

A Leader with a noble heart gives us a noble sense of moral support. Noble leadership is not about the self, but about caring for others, supporting others, guiding others, knowing that the needs of others are met and bringing out their best. A Leader with a noble heart gives us a noble sense of honor.

In times of natural disasters and again quickly dwindling hopes of many people around me (expats AND Filipinos), I still feel inspired to put the cart before the horse.

Maybe at the end of this piece I'll tread the footsteps of other columnists and commentators. So be it!

Pride comes before a fall - but never magnanimity. The dictionary defines magnanimity as in greatness of mind and generosity of heart especially in forgiveness. Filipinos oftentimes are really magnanimous people. Especially nowadays, Filipinos seem to have the quality of being high souled, rising above pettiness or meanness and the generosity in overlooking injury or insult.

The late Harry Emerson Fosdick, a famous Protestant teacher wrote: "No man ever saved anybody, or served any great or left any enduring impression, who was not willing to forget indignities, bear no grudges. The world's saviours have all, in one way and another, loved their enemies and done them good!"

Magnanimity, applied to relations between nations and/or people, transforms hostility into helpfulness. Consider the massive assistance the U.S. provided to its former enemies following World War II, enabling them to rebuild their blasted cities and shattered economies.

No 'West Berlin inhabitant' (and count me in!) will forget the U.S. airlift during the East German-Russian blockade, when the so-called "raisin bomber planes" kept West-Berlin and its people alive. Especially now, because of the 20th anniversary of the Berlin wall falling on November 9, 2009, such remembrances are coming back and let me write this piece.

The Philippine nation again faces a  lot of trials. These trials will prove the strengths of the Filipino people. But, not every tragedy unites a nation.

What quality in human character do you consider the most admirable of all? How about tolerance toward another's viewpoint without smugness? How about refusal to judge another's actions or motives without first knowing what lies behind them?

U.S. writer Clarence W. Hall said: "Magnanimity must be developed and habitual by practice, but it's a virtue that sweetens and glorifies life." Very well said.

People with a noble heart and mind are fond of daydreams. Of course fantasies don't have to be a flight away from reality. In fact, psychologists are discovering more and more that they can play a creative role in  self-development and a better mutual understanding. It's also one of the best things for the well being of a nation.

Hopping or love and care?

 By Klaus Döring -Monday, July 20, 2026

RELATIONSHIP hopping means jumping quickly from one partner to another, while care is the steady, intentional effort to support someone else. Love goes even deeper, building on care, trust, and commitment. Unlike relationship hopping, which often serves as an escape from pain, genuine love requires us to confront loneliness, disappointment, and emotional vulnerability.

Plastic money — better known as credit cards — combined with loneliness and relentless advertising can be a dangerous mix. Increasingly, people are being drawn into shopping frenzies in search of emotional satisfaction.

Recently, the sun was blazing, and despite the sweltering heat, we found ourselves heading to a shopping mall. Shopping centers have an undeniable way of tempting us with endless promotions and irresistible bargains. Credit cards came out one after another, as if money were no object.

Suddenly, we convince ourselves that our clothes are no longer good enough and that our shoes are outdated or even embarrassing. The latest fashion is available for just a few pesos more — or so it seems. Surely, we can afford it… can’t we?

Women especially — or is that merely a stereotype? — often arrange shopping trips with friends. What begins as harmless fun can easily turn into a competition over who finds the trendiest outfit or the biggest bargain. Ironically, many participants can hardly afford these purchases. Despite strained finances, unnecessary spending provides a temporary feeling of happiness, satisfaction, and relaxation.

Could shopping be a substitute for the love, care, and appreciation that many people feel they are missing? Perhaps. For a brief moment, shopping seems to fill the emotional void created by unmet needs for affection, recognition, and human connection.

That brief shopping high is often followed by a sense of euphoria. A new dress feels like a lucky charm, promising happiness and renewed confidence. But before long, the excitement fades — and the addiction quietly takes hold.

The real tragedy is that many of the items purchased are not needed at all. The thrill lies not in owning them but in buying them. Clothes, shoes, jewelry, and cosmetics are worn only occasionally before being hidden away in closets. Then comes the guilt. Depression follows, and an inner emptiness returns — until the next shopping spree promises another temporary escape.

It is a dangerous vicious cycle that can eventually lead to financial ruin. Experts have long warned that the boundaries between ordinary shopping, emotional spending, frustration, and compulsive buying are often blurred. I remember seeing a woman yesterday trying to pay a huge bill with three different credit cards, only to hear the cashier repeatedly say, “Excuse me, Ma’am, there is a problem with your credit card.” As she walked away empty-handed, she simply remarked, “Okay lang, actually I don’t need all this stuff!” What an ironic realization.

Let me make one thing clear: I do not want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of visiting shopping malls. Not everyone who enjoys shopping is addicted. Occasional retail therapy or reward shopping can be perfectly normal. It is only when shopping becomes an uncontrollable and recurring compulsion that it demands serious attention.

By the way, love and care are fundamental human emotions that lie at the heart of every meaningful relationship. Care reflects concern, compassion, and a willingness to help others. Love encompasses all of these qualities while reaching even deeper, creating lasting bonds built on trust, understanding, and selflessness.

YOU HAVE THREE WISHES

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Thursday, July 16, 2026

THE “THREE wishes” is a classic storytelling motif where a magical being (like a genie or a fairy) grants a character three desires. It symbolizes the human desire for limitless power, while the limit of three emphasizes a moral lesson about greed, consequences, and the dangers of poorly thought-out desires.

The Folktale Warning: In traditional stories (such as “The Fisherman and the Jinni” or the Grimm Brothers’ “The Three Wishes”), the three wishes serve as a fable about human folly. Characters often squander their first wishes on foolish, impulsive desires. This usually leads to a negative consequence, requiring them to use their final wish to undo the mess they created.

On a literary level, three wishes align with the traditional three-act structure. The first wish introduces the goal, the second escalates the conflict, and the third provides a resolution or lesson.

Be careful what you wish for — it could reveal who you are, says Laura King of Southern Methodist University.

In a study published in the “Journal of Personality”, King administered a personality test to 405 college students, then asked them a simple question: “If you could have three wishes, what would you ask for?”

Responses ran the gamut, from the obvious (“to be healthy and happy”) to the impossible (“to have sex with Marilyn Monroe”) to the peculiar (“to eat Chinese food at every meal every day for the rest of my life”).

When examining these wishes and the people who made them, King discovered some interesting connections:

The most common wishes were for friends, happiness, health, marriage, money, success, self-improvement, and to help other people.

Although men’s and women’s wishes were generally similar, men were more likely to wish for sex and power, while women were more likely to wish for happiness, a better appearance, and better health.

Extroverted people often wished for happiness and positive feelings, and frequently included other people in their wishes.

Neurotic people wished to be more sociable and more emotionally stable — in other words, to be less neurotic.

“The chances of that wish coming true are practically zero,” says King, noting that personality traits are notoriously hard to change.

Those who were already satisfied with their lives were the most likely to believe that their wishes would come true.

When I was still a young boy, I was taught that there might be fairy creatures offering us those three free wishes. We should always be wise enough to think it over very well and select the best wishes for our very own.

Sure, there will always be classic stupidities regarding fairy-wishes. We are all human beings and don’t belong to the fairy category.

Your wish is my command! And, there is someone who wishes at first a strong health, and – sure, he or she receives it, because good fairies never hesitate. And now and then? Here he is, for example, the healthy man is like a boulder in the surf, but surrounded by a world of war, flames and so-called military conflicts. But this man is still alive and as fit as a fiddler. Why should he wish for a strong health?

Well, maybe we have to formulate our wishes for something more improved. But what? Discretion is the better part of valor. Let’s try it like a fairy-tale and ask for wealth, riches and abundance. These are the one and only things on earth, right?

With money we can travel around the globe, find friends, even in faraway distances, and we can do charities.

Well, and if we might become sick, maybe seriously sick, we must not worry. We can afford and finance the most affordable doctors and most updated hospitals to give us back our good health. And if not?

In many fairy tales, we can also find the one with unassuming manners, inconspicuous, poorly dressed-up, a little bit silly, mostly disregarded and easily to be overlooked. This guy has only one wish, such as eternal salvation and bliss with a little stool in heaven besides God. And guys, be sure, that he will get it, and, he is happy and very thankful. So far so good, it seems the simpleton has been the brightest.

It’s all right: three wishes and no one more. A different thing, isn’t it?

If all human beings on this entire globe could be all around happy – which means to say nobody must go hungry any more, nobody must be despairing, nobody must be worried about wars and catastrophes, and everybody could be able to enjoy health and happiness without bearing trials…yes, if…—then we wouldn’t need fairy-wishes.

Real life looks different. Real life is not a fairy tale. We need prayers and should be more respectful and friendly to each other.

Each one of us has his or her own three wishes. Me, too.

***

Comments, suggestions or questions? Email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or X – Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN

 

A Judas and a little bit of hope

By

 Klaus Döring

 -

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

EXPLORING the story of Judas reminds us that human weakness is universal. While he is remembered for his ultimate betrayal, his story also teaches us about grace and forgiveness. Both Judas and Peter committed grave mistakes, but the difference was that Peter accepted God’s grace, while Judas allowed shame and despair to consume him.

It is easy to dismiss Judas as either a villain or a victim, but I am struck by the fact that, in many ways, he was just like me.

Judas was a follower of Jesus and a preacher of the Gospel, yet there was a double-mindedness within him. In the end, he abandoned the faith he had once professed.

The apostle Judas — believed by some traditions to be a brother of James and Jesus — began as a fervent follower of Christ. Then, suddenly, he changed. Christ no longer fulfilled his worldly expectations. Like Christ Himself, the Church is always loved by its faithful followers and hated by those who abandon it. That remains true today, regardless of one’s religious affiliation.

Judas did not leave the apostolic community to become a Pharisee or merely a critic of Christ. He left to become a traitor. Such traitors will always find fault or twist the truth to justify their actions. Judas gathered reasons from what he himself had heard and witnessed to rationalize his betrayal. We all know people like that — people who betray not only friends but sometimes even an entire nation.

A Jewish mob once tried to throw Christ off a cliff, but they failed. Soldiers attempted to arrest Him, yet nothing happened. The Pharisees repeatedly tried to trap Him, but to no avail. In the end, it took a friend to betray Him. He escaped all His enemies, but not the treachery of someone close to Him. That is why Jesus declared, “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born!” No such condemnation was directed even at Pilate or Herod.

The lesson for all of us is clear. A corrupt politician — or even one of our own neighbors — can become among the most destructive people on earth. Corruption is not confined to pagans or unbelievers; it is found wherever people abandon their conscience.

“Do not betray another person’s confidence,” the Bible teaches us. Yet Judases can be found everywhere. Just as fire cannot come from snow, those who seek worldly honor cannot truly seek heavenly glory. After all, have you ever seen snow catch fire?

The maladroit politician named Judas betrays voters with beautiful promises while corrupting an entire nation. The peace negotiator or peacemaker named Judas speaks of justice while applying double standards, allowing his own jackals and accomplices to kill and injure innocent countrymen. Even the neighbor who constantly proclaims love for his family while carelessly destroying the environment bears the mark of Judas.

Judas’ sins are not rare. In one way or another, we commit them every day. Whenever someone abandons the ideals of the Church and publicly renounces them, or leaves a religious community only to ridicule it before the world, “night has fallen upon his soul.”

When Julius Caesar was assassinated, it was not merely the blows of his enemies that wounded him most, but the presence of his trusted friend, Brutus. We may never realize it, but we ourselves could be carrying the kiss of Judas upon our lips.

Many times I have voiced people’s longing for guidance and decisive action from the Church as an institution. There are many examples. Allow me to quote the late Rev. Mariano C. Apilado of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, who took an important step many years ago when he said:

“Christian hope does never shield people, much less Christians, from disappointments, hardships and betrayals, nor does it provide neat and ready answers to the world’s problems. Christian hope empowers Christians to take responsibility in the establishment of a government that respects the law and protection of the people and their rights in the struggle for justice and development… Christian hope is not peanuts for it assures us: there is always a future looking forward to it. Without hope, Christian faithfulness is suspect and without foundation. With this hope, we sing, celebrate and work faithfully and courageously, believing, ‘that we shall overcome’!”

***

Questions, suggestions, comments? Email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter or visit one of my websites www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com./PN