Cut and Paste

I wish I could “cut” all the books in my shelf and “paste” them on my brain so I wouldn’t have to go through the tedious task of book reading. My habit of collecting second hand books from Booksale makes my solitary shelf the Alexandria of our garaged-turned bedroom. My wife is no longer amused by the clutter of “The Great Deluge”, “The Coming Plague”, “Problematic”, I mean “Systematic Theology”, “The Destiny of Man”, “Then Shall Come the End”, etc.

“Why am I being punished like this?” the wife said.

“What?”

“You know what!”

“I don’t know what.”

“Could you please look at your book shelf. What is it telling you?”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes, that”

“That, my dear wife, is the very evidence of our existence. A neat and tidy bedroom means no one is living in it” I lectured while peering through the pages of “My Other Life” by Paul Theroux.

“Are you kidding me? You see the meaning of existence out of this clutter?” the wife beamed.

There’s a certain degree of knowing between husband and wife in marriage. It goes with the number of years being together. I know exactly when not to pursue an argument or else I would have to make my own cup of coffee. Deep within I agree with her. My books are a mess. Which brings me back to my first statement here – I wish I could cut and paste them all in my head.

Why couldn’t I? Of course there’s the barrier between human and non-human, but really, I wish some nerd out there could finally invent the technology for this. That would make my life easy and my wife happy. Imagine I can just Ironman-gaze at these books and “KAZZZUUMMM!” everything is downloaded in my memory. Everything would be there like,

“All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1993 by Jerry Seinfeld

Cover photos copyright © 1993 by Annie Leibovitz.

Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 93-14467

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher”

Or this.

“ISBN 0-553-57313-6

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”

I won't mind if my left eye flutters uncontrollably everytime I scan these data’s, or that my tongue slithers in and out my lips each time I read an item there. I won't mind looking stupid at all just so I could have the luxury of cutting and pasting these books in my head.

I know the whole idea would make me a lazy slob but I won't mind the bargain. Isn’t that what is happening in modern life? I mean look at all things. We use to embark on a long journey to a nearby river just so we could have water to cook our food and wash our clothes. Now, all we have to do is turn the faucet on.

We have fantastic toilet bowls that either flushes or vacuum out the dirt from our asses. And for that, I wish too, they could add an electronic hand that, you know, could slide through the bottom to wipe it clean. And while you’re on the throne, how about two electronic elbows from both sides, popping out, complete with hands and fingers, putting on toothpaste and brushing your teeth?

Yes, I’m asking too much here. Humanity still values physical exertion of some kind. At least you’ll flip your thumb repeatedly when the light switch is broken, and pound it with your fist when the Christmas-light-bulb flips you out completely. Or that toilet bowls require you to actually sit on it, and that the 900 channels in your remote control will surely beat the lame muscles in your forearm.

There’s a pampering effect about modern technology. The easy life it breeds makes us less patient and less forgiving. The Claudine Baretto showdown may be a case in point. She expected the efficient modern airline system to place her baggages on the expected spot. When a glitch occurred, Baretto reacted and Pandora’s Box flipped wide open to the consternation of all involved but to the glee of scoop-hungry media.

Now, about my books. Well, it would do me enormous good to just clean up the mess.

Happiness

The last that I can remember feeling truly happy was when I passed the 2007 Philippine bar exams. I can only describe the feeling as intense, prolonged, and incomparable. I felt so fulfilled, hopeful, and proud. This good feeling lasted longer than the fleeting moments of joy we normally experience. It started the moment I learned I passed the exam, to the taking of the oath as a member of the Integrated Bar, and thereafter when I signed the roll of attorneys in the Philippine Supreme Court. The good feeling lasts even a few months after I embarked on my law practice.

Attorney’s oath taking is an elaborate ceremony in this country. It is usually held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, attended by all the Justices of the Philippine Supreme Court. I remember sitting on the third row of CCP, wearing a clean white long sleeves shirt, neatly tucked in a pinstriped, dark executive pants, with a light blue necktie. All of us wore togas. Sitting there, I was allowing the entire experience sinking in. The signing of the Rolls of Attorneys is also another ceremony that breeds happy feeling. This Roll, a thick and big log book with red hard bound cover, contains the names of the first who passed the bar in the 1900’s. It felt so unreal, writing and signing my name on that thick book.

Now, three years after, I could only recall those events and describe the feeling that goes with them. I cannot reproduce that good feeling no matter how hard I try. That, I believe, is the nature of happiness. Happiness is a passing traveler, stopping only for a cup of water, or a meal, or a night’s stay. It sets on its journey again the next day. Yet we hold on to happiness with a tight embrace. We frantically search for it, work for it, and pay for it with all we got. We make it our life’s goal. Happiness even dictates our major decisions in life. We change career, let go or create new relationships, permanently move to another place on the planet, all in pursuit of happiness.

Jon Joaquin this morning at All Nations Christian Fellowship talked about the concept of the “dark night of the soul”. He said something that got me to write this piece - “God’s purpose for you is not to make you happy but to conform you to His Son, Jesus Christ”. This statement, I think, is daring and in some sense contentious, yet contains a tone of truth in it. I, too often, assume on God’s purpose for me – to make me happy. This is obvious in the contents of my prayers. All too often, I set my eyes on my own personal satisfaction as against that of others. In fact, I am tempted to demand happiness as a right.

With happiness as our life’s aim, we tend to shun hardships, difficulties, and trials as evils. We tend to view them as sign of lack of faith or a failing spirituality. In the bible, there’s Job, the man who lost everything in one day - his children, his wealth and his health. Lying on the ground with filthy sores covering his body, Job could only regret the day of his birth. At this point Job’s wife glared at him saying “why hold on to your integrity? Curse God and die”. To which Job replied “you speak as one of the foolish women. Shall we only accept good things from God and shall we not accept bad things from God?”

We need to temper happiness into its proper place – it is merely a by-product, a result of pursuing something more fundamental. It is a by-product of a life lived in God and for God. It is the result of good and godly relationships such as family, friends, or church community. It is also a by-product of godly artistic endeavors or meaningful and creative works that augments a person’s worth and value. It is a by-product of a live lived for others. Happiness is a follower never the leader.

Dichotomy

Last Sunday’s homily in our church (All Nations Christian Fellowship) was about the need for Christians to be different in the world. Camouflage animals, creatures that have the defensive ability to blend with the texture and color of a forest floor or a trunk of a big tree were shown, to prove a point that Christians have blended so well in the world that unbelievers hardly notice anything different in them. That should not be the case because Christians are called to be salt and light on earth.

Filipinos see spirituality as distinct and separate from practical life. The two are unknowingly regarded as mutually exclusive. An article by a Jesuit priest of the same topic proposed a solution – to find ways to intertwine this dichotomy. The sacred and the secular must be merged to truly reflect faith. I find this rather weak. It does not do away with dichotomy - the purported solution assumes its existence.

Just recently, a survey was conducted about faith in God and the Philippines came out on top gathering around 94% of us saying we believe in God. In this survey, Chile came second with 88% of its citizens saying yes they believe in God, followed by the United States of America with 81%. Writing on this, Conrado de Quiros (http://opinion.inquirer.net/27427/beliefs) laments that despite this notorious percentage, we are still the most corrupt and crime ridden country, not to mention that the Philippines has the most laws on almost everything under the sun.

Describing the Filipino religiosity, De Quiros said “Less facetiously, what we have is a religion that encourages ritual, obligatory gestures, extrinsic displays of fervor. At the very least, it makes belief superficial”. He says that this is also the way we treat the laws in this country “For the same reason, law functions the same way. It is ritualistic, extrinsic, and in Miriam’s case, ballistic”.

De Quiros maintains that spirituality and the laws in the Philippines are simply not internalized, “Neither religion nor law is internalized. We are deeply religious without being deeply spiritual. We are deeply pious without being deeply moral”. I think that is an accurate analysis of the problem. What is needed is simply an internalization of our faith into everyday life to do away with the problem of dichotomy.

Confusion Over Mideo

The Mideo controversy, I must admit, is a bit stale already. But I could not help from blogging about the subject for the seeming confusion it generated on everyone. From what I’ve read, the controversy appears to deal with issues on freedom of expression, artistic right, right of religion, decency, respect, etc. Each side of the argument also seems to carry some weight.

It is true, that if Mideo is honestly pursuing art, then in that sense, artistic freedom is the issue. He was out to provoke critical thinking and got it. Unfortunately, only Mideo himself knows exactly his real motives behind his artistic works. On the other hand, those who are offended by his works felt they’ve been disrespected, maligned, abused, etc. The latter do not see freedom of expression at work but a malicious hurling of insults to one’s belief. To this side of the spectrum, Mideo’s art is simply an immoral act.

Where do we draw the line between freedom of expression (artistic integrity) and morality (respect to others’ religious beliefs)? At what point do we not get offended morally by any piece of art?

Personally, I feel that no one is really interested in drawing the demarcations in these areas. Each side is more interested in venting its views and thoughts than finding out what truly makes sense. I guess this is the time where emotions rule. Today, we are interested in only one thing – expressing what we feel is right in our own eyes.

Looking at all this at a distance, I can only see clear confusion. We simply could not make up our minds what is the correct view or opinion over the matter. Others tried to strike a balanced view but end up, in my opinion, short. The “balanced” view appears weak and indecisive.

And yet, here’s the clincher. Does God even care about this whole thing? 

Note: For those who are confused who is Mideo, he is Mideo Cruz, a Filipino artist whose work of art includes, among other things, a picture of Christ with a phallus as a nose. His recent art exhibit in the Philippines provoked an outcry from all over the country.

Spiritual Life

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63)

This passage is taken from the English Standard Version. However, I like the clarity and illuminating version of God’s Word translation which says “Life is spiritual. Your physical existence doesn't contribute to that life. The words that I have spoken to you are spiritual. They are life.” This translation starts with a direct and truthful premise on life – that it is spiritual. Right there, it challenges the materialistic view with its sole emphasis on what can be seen, felt, heard, and experienced.

What does truly give life? This seems to be the question posed by this text. Is it the body, the human heart, the human brain? Is it our senses the makes us alive? John says no. It is the spirit of God that gives life. To be exact, it is God’s Word that gives life. Jesus said that his very words are spirit and life.

Often, we are deluded into believing that our senses make us alive. That is why we feed and numb our senses with impunity. We go here and there and lusts for many things. We travel, climb mountains, ride airplanes, eat and drink just so we could have what we call “life”. We believe that the more things we stuff ourselves with the more we have fulfilled lives.

Sadly, it is not our senses that define life. Life is designed to be spiritual. It is designed to crave for spiritual things. It is designed to crave for God. That is why in this sense, “your physical existence doesn’t contribute to that life.” Since life is spiritual, it is sustained, nourished, and maintained by the spirit – that is, the Spirit of God. There is no other way by which life is maintained and lived.

Craving To Be Led

A Christian magazine reads “Whether or not we believe it or would even say it out loud, we are hard-wired with a desire to be led”. I believe this is true. We all need someone to look up to, copy, or emulate. This is more illustrated in our tendency to go after fads and crazies. We tend to follow the crowd. The crowd leads our action.

However, before there is a crowd, there are individuals who ignite the crowd to follow suit. These are mavericks. These are the leaders of the pack. They wade through the jungle ahead of the many and go to places and situations first. The rest look up and simply follow.

In our lives, there are also those whom we emulate or copy, or are intentionally designated as our leader. This person maybe a friend, a co-worker, the Pastor or Priest in our church. They consciously or unconsciously lead us our ways, thoughts and actions. Either solicited or not, this system is beneficial because it fulfils a particular human need - the desire to be led.

I once had a designated leader who had the authority to lead me. He was my pastor. He taught me many things including the love of reading books. Above all, he taught me the way to live the Christian life by the way he lived his life. For a number of years he was my mentor and my guide. Life was quite easy because of his guidance and leading.

Now, he’s gone from my life and I had to find my way alone. I had to wade through the jungle of life to lead myself. And I did with God’s grace. Gradually, I became aware that I had to be a leader too. I developed a growing sense of obligation to lead others as a way of paying back what I enjoyed before.

I’m convinced this is what God intends for his people – to lead each other unto all righteousness. Paul himself said “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). He continues “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). As children of God, we are obliged to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24). This is an obligation we need to consciously assume and faithfully engage.

Every time we engage with our friends, co-workers, love ones, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must (consciously but not obviously) “lead” them unto good deeds. This may come by way of an advice, a prayer or by simply being with the person. The most important thing is that we are consciously pursuing to bless, encourage, and motive others in their journey of faith. We must always be aware that a friend, co-worker, loved one, or brother/sister craves to be led in life and we have an obligation to meet such need.

Drifted Far Out

I once had a friend who was like a father to me. He taught me many things about God and Jesus. We had great time in those charismatic movements of the 80’s and 90’s. We were in the midst of a swirling and unforgettable spiritual movement. Then somehow, the movement stopped. At least to me, it stopped. But we were so used to having these movements. We could not go on without one. We always expected there would be another great spiritual season or movement waiting to happen.

A new teaching came. It offered “something new”. It offered a “movement”. It was too dazzling to be ignored. My friend got hooked. This could start something big. This could turn around the long church plateau. This could bring in the Kingdom of God.

I was hesitant to join in. I had not yet gotten over the fact that the “movement” stopped. Eventually, I joined in. My friend and the rest swam into this new thing like children jumping, diving, and playing in a river. I could not join them for long. This new thing simply twisted what I have learned about God and Jesus. Our need for a new thing simply made us abandon long held beliefs about Christianity. Like a big, steel ship, we let loose all anchors and venture out in the open sea. I simply could not join the ride anymore. I bid my friend farewell.

Soon, I learned that this new movement came to a very controversial and disastrous end. Lives were ripped apart. Churches split. Congregations scattered. Like sheep without a shepherd, each one went about his way to uncertainty.

My friend on the other hand went on. With a handful of what remained, he persisted unto another “new thing”. This time things were different. This new belief is totally devoid of Christianity. The new belief is tolerant, accommodating, non-judgmental and all inclusive. The premise starts with the self. The latter is the starting point whereby one views all truth.

Unfortunately, this new belief is not at all new. “Nothing’s new under the sun”. Genesis tells a story about it. The serpent said to eve “your eyes will be opened (awareness) and you will become like God”. I thought, what went wrong? How could a person, so strong in faith and knowledge of biblical truths lose it all?

There is no simple and straight answer to this. I can only think of 1Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons”. Also, 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions”. And finally, Mark 13:22 “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect”.