Simplifying Life with Love, Tempered by Respect
Posted on Wednesday, 12 November 2014
Simplifying
Life with Love, Tempered by Respect
By Apolinario Villalobos
A positive life or rather, way of life
should be ruled only by love and respect. Basically, we should love God, love
life that He gave, and love others, be they within our family or strangers, as
well as the so-called lesser creatures.
And, with love, comes respect, and with respect comes endurance. That is
how life should be lived…supposedly.
But because of selfishness, life has been
polarized. At one end are those who are exploited by others and at the other
end, are those who exploit others. Life has become complicated because of the
emergence of the mentioned evil desire.
If only we can simplify life with love
tempered by respect, then, there will no longer be a desire for anything that
is more than what we need. Selfishness is the reason why man is never
satisfied. Man covets those that are not his. He even covets those that are not
yet on hand.
However, because life today is ruled by
strength and money, man can no longer say that in order to survive, he can just
run to the wilderness and harvest food, just like they do in the days of old.
Today, living is simply a choice between simplicity but entails a lot of
physical sacrifice, and complexity which calls for a lot of spiritual
sacrifice. Simply put, it is either to live with hunger and needs, then die
peacefully, or live in luxury, and die with a reluctant and heavy heart due to
the amassed wealth that will be left behind.
But, since God gave man intelligence and
free will, the choice is his. One encouraging fact, however, is about the
seeping in of a need among many men and women, to reach out to Him, as they
approach the threshold of their life. Unconsciously, there is a transformation
in the way they live, leading to one of simplicity. Many are surprised about
their loss of interest for socials, but veer their interest, instead, toward
religious congregations. Some even start donating their wealth to worthy
causes. If ever there is a need for socials, simple “ballroom dances” in
multi-purpose halls are enough.
One only needs to look around to see this
phenomenon – senior citizens smiling their way to their respective Church, with
some donning work clothes on weekends to render volunteer service for community
outreach projects, while others protect themselves with umbrellas on their way
to depressed areas to conduct Bible studies. They all seem to shout to the
world that they can still do something for the love of God and others despite
their age. With their simple acts of living, indeed, they are oozing with love
and respect for others, and though, without being solicited, earn some of these
for themselves.
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