Godliness & Holiness - an Essential Value in These Times of Pandemic

“...no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. ”

​Nowadays, we observe that moral values are deteriorating and among them is the value of godliness and holiness. Saint Paul, in his letter to Timothy said that there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. This current pandemic is pressing us, tempting us to give in and participate in the situation depicted above. Will we strive to be holy or are we going to compromise the principles of godliness just to survive and ‘live’?
Whenever we reflect on the virtue of godliness and holiness, most of us must be thinking that, “it is hard to be holy, I can’t be one. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away and  like sheep, we have gone astray; each of us have turned to our own way.
 
There are two common statements that we usually say or hear to justify mistakes or sinful actions: “sorry, tao lang,” or “sorry, I am not perfect.” Selfish Interest Nature (SIN) has always been embedded in us as human beings – challenging us and tempting us. It is a nature that we must personally wage war against. We must not look at it as a curse to dive into but a victorious journey towards a godly and holy life. While we fall here and there, our humanity taking over once in a while, we must strive to rise back up stronger and wiser - with lessons learned and mistakes to not repeat.
 
Remember the instances that we get frustrated for being tempted and suffered some consequences? Paul of Tarsus urges us that no temptation has overtaken us except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. We must hang in there and understand that what we are going through is a process and that we are a work in progress. Keep in mind that in the most difficult times, we can kneel and pray for God to give us the strength of will and character to say no to every temptation.
 
In these times of pandemic, are we being enticed to lie, cheat, steal and do something that is contrary to what is right? Are we tempted to falsify documents to gain more money and advantage for ourselves? Are we on the brink of doing something risky, such as, “kumapit sa patalim,” because of dire need? Are we going to compromise? To what lengths shall we go to satisfy our human needs? Will we fight with all our might to withstand all temptations and work our way towards holiness and godliness or the other way around? Fight will all our might to satisfy our flesh?
 
In our lifetime, there will always be opposing choices that we need to live through. The battle between good and evil is always present and only one will be victorious in the end. We have learned and heard more than enough to figure out which side is going to win. If we try to recall, in everything and in every circumstance, God has given us the freedom to choose. Where we are right now and the principles we uphold is a result of what we chose to do in the past. Let us choose to be godly and work our way towards holiness. My choice. Your choice. Our choice.
 
Finally, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  God has called us from darkness into His marvelous light. We are His chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and His special possession. (MAT, CRFV)