For the past three years, the Philippines has been shaken by the health and economic crisis that transpired coupled with the sudden increase of oil prices as a result of the arm conflict in the western world. Weathering against these troubles takes a strong leadership to lead this country out from this dark era. This nation is weary of leaders whose only agenda is to serve their personal interest. This country is in need of statesmen and stateswomen, more than mere politicians. As James Freeman Clarke, an American theologian and writer, said, “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman of the next generation”.

It is a fact that some vie for promotion for fame and personal aggrandizement. This gives them a wrong perspective of leadership. They consider it as a position rather than a function. This drives them to kill their opponents in the election arena, cheat during the conduct of election, or do everything it takes, by hooks or by crooks, in order to achieve their desired positions. Only few wanted to become leaders in order to serve the public well. The moment they acquired the position, they do not function appropriately.

An ideal type of leadership is arrayed with esteemed characteristics. It appears prestigious and highly enticing but behind the colourful and admirable appearances are serious and crucial tasks. This makes leadership a value because of the responsibilities and sacrifices that go with it. Leadership is tough. Heavy loads are upon those who assume such functions. Accountability is attached in every decision that a leader makes especially in critical situations. Their decisions signal movement of operation. Without leaders who decide, the subordinates are at a loss. They are prepared to take the risks or answer for the consequences of their actions.

Moreover, any flaw, lapse, or mistake committed by a subordinate may make a leader liable under the principle of “respondeat superior” where an employer may be held responsible for the actions of his employees, when the actions are performed in the course of employment. The same is true with parents over their children’s actions or teachers over their students’ conduct under the principle of vicarious liability where the parents or teachers are held responsible of the damages caused by their children or students under their watch.

Leaders are also expected to lead by example or to model what they teach. Many eyes are looking at them and many lives are depending on them. If they fail, others may fail too; but if they succeed, others may also succeed. As a result, they cannot misbehave. They are expected to be dependable and reliable. They are obliged to perform accordingly. They cannot afford to relax or let their guards down. As they overcome one obstacle after another, their skills are honed and they grow into maturity. Leaders of this kind bring an entire generation into their destiny. As they assume their posts, they become the answer to prevailing problems of society.  
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The challenge now is – are we ready to be the leaders that this nation is looking for? The Philippines awaits us. 

​Last May 1, we, together with more than eighty (80) countries, have celebrated the International Workers’ Day also known as Labor Day. Annually we celebrate this to honor and recognize the economic and social significance of our workforce, regardless of the type of employment or type of employees. But why do we need to celebrate and value work? For six days in a row, God continually worked on creation, and it was good. Imagine the intricacies of His creation and we, too, are wowed by what we can see in nature. It was excellently done and carefully considered. From its beauty, complexity, and accuracy, we can see that God values work, and as men and women created in His image and likeness, we too, ought to value work and workmanship.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left us a wonderful quote that will make us embrace and honor work, no matter what the job is. He said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” It is indeed true that no work is insignificant as long as it uplifts humanity. Whether we are in blue-collar jobs or white-collar jobs, we must put love in our craft in order to excellently achieve every day’s targets and goals. Regardless if it’s physical or mental work, it must reflect the excellent spirit given to us.

There are many benefits of valuing work. When we value work, there’s peace and joy within us because we know that we have done our part the best we can. It invites praise and commendation, not only because a target or goal has been met, but because its execution is way beyond expectation. It brings wealth when our clients or customers always come back to avail our services or buy the products we sell because they know it is of high quality. When we value work, we become conduits to provide for the needs of our family, our friends, and even other people. Last but never the least, putting premium to our work glorifies God and will bring eventual glory as we offer the works of our hands to our Creator and Master.
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Let us not belittle our work nor take it for granted. Let every work have a mark of thanksgiving to God, and surely it will all be done with gladness in our hearts. Our labor is not in vain as we offer our work as a pleasing aroma before Him. Whatever we do, we do it for the glory of God. For we know that as we work with all our hearts, as if we are working for God, we will receive our inheritance from Him as our reward.  

More than 2,000 years ago in the garden of Gethsemane in Israel, a Man  in agony prayed earnestly, and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. He said, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”. Jesus made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant and selflessly humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death for the sake of the people He came to save. Indeed, the embodiment of selflessness humanity should emulate for a better world.
 
A human being due to his fallen nature is egocentric - self-centered and thinking only of himself to the extent of degrading and taking advantage of others and disregarding their feelings and worth. The challenge for us today is to level up our way of living from the human nature of selfishness to the new nature of selflessness or “the quality of caring more about what other people need and want than about what you yourself need and want.”
 
Billy Graham said, “Only God can give us a selfless love for others, as the Holy Spirit changes us from within. This is one reason we must receive Christ, for apart from His Spirit we can never be freed from the chains of selfishness, jealousy, and indifference.  Will others see Christ's love in your life today?" Selflessness is experiencing God’s love and goodness and selflessly extending it to others or paying it forward. Selflessness is putting others’ well-being or benefits first than ours. In a deeper sense, however, selflessness is putting God first. Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.” Consequently, the J.O.Y. of selflessness is Jesus, Others, You.
 
In implication, to be selfless, in practical ways, is to be patient, kind, and not envy others or boast to them. A selfless person does not dishonor people, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered and he keeps no record of wrong. Furthermore, to be selfless is to let God work in us and through us for His name’s sake and glory. Such virtues and acts of selflessness seem tough to live with yet by the help of God we can practice them before our family, neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Finally, as we choose to live in selflessness the joy of the Lord is our strength, and God’s favor is our portion.  

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.”
 
Probably by now we have read several write-ups on how to start the year right. Most likely we have responded by contemplating on specific areas we would like to work on to achieve success or become a better version of ourselves. Perhaps others have taken it further by owning up to mistakes, taking responsibility for past actions and making efforts to restore broken relationships and trust.  Being true to your values is a good start to nurture integrity.
 
Integrity comes from the Latin word ‘integer’, which means whole and complete. We can then say that a person living in integrity gives no room to duplicity and hypocrisy.  Hence, one walks with honesty and upholds moral principles consistently whether alone or not. Regardless of circumstance, integrity drives us to make our thoughts, words and actions congruent to our values. For instance, we say we value excellence yet our most recent report clearly reflects a haphazardly done job. If we consider ourselves as a person with integrity, we will take responsibility for the lapses in the report without justifying or blaming and initiate action to produce an excellent output. In doing so, the importance we give to our values is not just in words but also in deeds. That makes integrity a lived experience and not a mere concept.
 
A sense of wholeness and completeness within is developed as we continue to live by the values and principles we confess to stand for. In every compromise we make, whether big or small, we move a step farther away from living in integrity. Most of the time compromises are followed by cover-up, lies, manipulation and a lot more to mask the real score. While we may get what we want by wrongful means, we are constantly haunted by our conscience or internally disturbed by fear of being caught. Deep within our hearts, we know that we did something wrong that hardly keeps us from experiencing real wholeness. Indeed, any departure from the truth puts us in a volatile position but when we walk in integrity, we walk securely.
 
Living in integrity is not perfection. It is a daily intentional and deliberate choice to be on the side of truth and make our thoughts, intentions, words and actions congruent to our values and principles. In the event that we deviate, be quick to repent and do what is right. For a better 2022 notwithstanding the current pandemic, nurture the value of integrity and experience wholeness within and in relating with your family, the workplace and community.

During the American colonial period, Francisco Santiago,  the “Father of Kundiman Art Song,” composed “Pilipinas Kong Mahal” or “Philippines my Philippines” in the English text by Prescott Jernegan. It is believed that Santiago composed it to portray his patriotism. Evidently, the song highly depicts a patriotic message every Filipino, in all generations, is challenged to imbibe and live by. The lyrics say:

Ang bayan ko’y tanging ikaw
Pilipinas kong mahal
Ang puso ko at buhay man
Sa iyo’y ibibigay
Tungkulin ko’y gagampanan
Na lagi kang paglingkuran
Ang laya mo’y babantayan
Pilipinas kong hirang

Patriotism is defined as “love of country and caring for the welfare of the people.” While a patriot is someone who loves, supports, and defends his country of birth. Many Filipinos claim to love the Philippines. And love should be expressed both in words and action. It does not mean, however, we have to fight and die for the Philippines just like our great heroes did in the past. By constantly exercising simple acts of service we display love to our county. John Devine said, “Patriotic talk is no proof of patriotism. Anyone can wave a flag. The real patriot lives his patriotism in everything he does.”

Consequently, we are to continuously highly prioritize the purchase of locally made products; we are to boost by word of mouth the beautiful aspects of the Philippines particularly to foreign acquaintances; we are not to demean the Philippines in comparison to the countries we visited; we are to constantly abide with the law especially in the observance of traffic rules, no littering policy, paying of proper taxes, and now the practice of COVID-19 minimum health standards such as physical distancing and wearing of face masks; As government officials and employees, we are not to misuse government funds rather utilize it to its lawful allocations for the well-being of our constituents, and we are not to abuse our natural resources rather enrich it and be good stewards.
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Furthermore, we are to be proud and grateful for being a Filipino and of the Philippines for it is what the Sovereign God made us be. The Scripture says, “from one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live”. Finally, patriotism is love shown in words and action for our native land - the Philippines our Philippines.

The value of thankfulness and gratefulness is timely for this yuletide season. Simply thinking of this topic reminds us of the things that we ought to thank God for. Thus, before we enter 2022, let us just think of the blessings that we received throughout the year. They do not only come in the form of finances or material wealth but protection, deliverance from danger, healing from sickness, physical, mental, and emotional strength, and more.
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Thankfulness and gratefulness govern the conduct of the recipient and the giver. The recipient will put value on the things he or she receives by handling the gift with due care. On one hand, the giver will be delighted to give more because of the appropriate responses he or she receives from the recipient of gifts, kind treatment, or favor. On the contrary, if the recipient acts with obvious ungratefulness or misconduct, he or she may be censured by the other. In the Philippines, such misdemeanor is frown upon which can be the subject of disinheritance or increase in penalty for a crime committed.

Is there anything to thank God for? The answer is a big “YES”. It is extant from what He has done for us. While we were sinners, He came to save us. The obvious ungratefulness is evident upon those who live in the early days. Those whom Jesus had miraculously healed, delivered from sickness, diseases, and demonic possession, fed when hungry, and protected from storms or disasters were the same people who cried “crucify Him!” However, even with opportunity to judge, He did not condemn the world but repaid evil with love. He chose to take upon Him the sufferings instead of us so that we can be saved. He could have evaded the pains and death of the crucifixion but with due regard to the salvation of humanity, He chose not to obey His own will and personal wishes.

Today, we celebrate Christmas in remembrance of the coming of salvation of the world. We could have remained in sin and disastrous state, destined to curses and eternal damnation, if not for the sacrifice of One on the cross and subsequent resurrection. As a result, we have hope for healing and life everlasting. There is indeed enough reason to be thankful and grateful.  

In this time of pandemic, we do not have the right to blame God for the existing economic and health crisis. Instead, take this opportunity to call upon Him and draw closer to Him. We do not have time to remain in our desperate state. God has given us the capacity and capability to rise from our situation. With the value of thankfulness and gratefulness, it will help us become buoyant and look beyond the negative circumstances. It will give us a better perspective of the challenging situations by focusing our attention to their beneficial effects rather than their hapless impact. If we do this, the chance to get better is greater.

Be thankful at all times. 

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond  

The year of the Lord 2021 is drawing to a close. For almost 2 years now, COVID -19 pandemic brought about distress among the members of our society due to massive losses in terms of health - either mental or physical or spiritual or a combination of any of the three, livelihoods suffered, resources dwindled and even lives succumbed to it. Such losses resulted to frustrations, disappointments and fear of uncertainty. There are moments of loneliness as stressful adversarial consequences affected all sectors of the society. Many are giving up and losing hope as they set their thoughts of a bleak future. Positivity and optimism are almost hard to perceive.

As the mantra, “we heal as one”, for national recovery cries, we believe that this pandemic is not our destiny. We still see a glorious future anchored on this blessed and living hope that is in Christ Jesus. We have confidence that the promise of the Almighty God of a peaceful, progressive, prosperous and successful tomorrow will be fulfilled. For this, we rise together to be an inspiration and catalyst to impact the society that shall be stirred to be cohesively one in overcoming adversities. We also trust that opportunities to gain and recover can be achieved that will make every individual regain confidence and morale to live their lives once again as God designed them to be.

We then therefore, appeal to every person to live a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. Regardless of our different political views, positions in the government or private sector, gender, age, ethnic background and social status in life; we are to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior. We are to practice a life that expresses gratitude to God for our salvation during these times.  We must start to honor one another as we clothed ourselves with all humility and in doing so, we forsake self-righteousness. It is also essential that we live in gentleness by means of maintaining self-control with patience, selfless love and bearing with one another. In doing all of the above actions, we are making every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We are putting forth an honest effort to observe that each individual is working together to make our aspirations and dreams of a wonderful future truly and wholly successful.

Knowing that God’s hands have made and fashioned every person in intricate unity, the human body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ and in Him, we must be one. Our healthy human body is harmoniously working together. Every body part is complementing each other and not competing or destroying any part. So, must we as a family and as a Nation.
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Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ as there certainly is in abundance, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship that we share in the Spirit, if there is any great depth of affection and compassion, Altogether, let us make a complete and joyful holiday and holy-day season looking forward to a glorious future  by being of the same mind, having the same love toward one another, knitted together in spirit, intent on one purpose and living a life that reflects our faith and spreads the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ.  Let’s not do anything from selfishness or empty conceit through factional motives, or strife, but with an attitude of humility, being neither arrogant nor self-righteous, regard others as more important than ourselves, then we indeed and in deed “heal as one because of the One who is at work in us.”