(LIZARD: I'm sexy and I know it!)
In a candid moment with a friend whom I work with in School, I expressed my dismay, guised as a joke, on how guys from rural areas ditch potential female life mates in favor of sluttier-looking "city gals". Pardon my stereotyping, but in a country where most Filipinos (including myself) do not have an iota of idea "what it means to be a Filipino", we are an easy prey to embody stereotypes. The upside of it is, we are all easy to figure out.
Here goes...
I remarked that the "natives" (those rural guys) will always prefer white-skinned city girls, over their dark-skinned counterparts simply because these dark-skinned girls, and not just the skin, but the way they live as natives, is an everyday reminder that they (rural guys), will never be better than who they are now.
Simply put, these guys detest their VERY OWN kin because they're not contented. They want a silky-smooth, white-skinned gal, to satisfy their egoistic needs and cover up the reality, that they "can never afford a girl like that". And if they did, they're the manliest man in the whole barrio for having bagged a seemingly cosmopolitan girl. All cheers for their lizards.
Now, why do we do something just to feel good about ourselves?
Stupidity (to which we all fall prey) tells us that as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, what we do is good. If we take this to the extreme, what we BELIEVE is also good so long as our beliefs don't hurt anybody.
Well, this secular humanist maxim just doesn't fit the bill.
Besides the Pork Barrel scandal that is now ravaging the Philippines (actually this has been going on ever since the PDAF creation), another scandal that burns in every Filipino radar is the Wally Bayola-Yosh Rivera sex scandal. Apparently, the persons involved are a sad case of people suffering from narcissistic disorders. I don't balk from saying this. I say this because, as far as my humble knowledge is concerned, healthy and SANE persons do not sleep around with cameras recording the movements of their genitalia smooches.
(Wally Bayola and Yosh Rivera embroiled in last years sex scandal and if you're not familiar with them RESEARCH, darn it! I can't post explosive materials here this is an Orthodox Christian blog yadahdadadah!!!)
Some may argue that sex cam recording is not a sign of disorder. I didn't say it is the ONLY indicator. Some say that it's just like a naked person parading in front of a mirror (appreciation of self/self-appraisal or valuation). But mirrors don't record and people naked in front of mirrors do so stand in front of it without becoming infamous in mind!
Some might say, "You're too judgmental, you're mean! You don't know what they're going through!". The points are well-taken if people saying this have not missed vital points:
FIRST, judgments are reserved for those who are deliberately destroying themselves and in the process of self-destruction drag others down their filth. Interjection question is who's got the right to judge? The Bible declares the Church to separate from reprobate minded people who openly refuse God's love. St. Paul admonished the Corinthian Christians to "chastise" a fellow who is sexually immoral by refusing him communion. Church Fathers have declared anathemas and excommunication against dissenters who sounded holy yet bound on leading the flock astray. If there's anyone who has the right to judge, it's those who have experienced downfall, healing, God's grace, and God's loving power: She is The Church.
SECOND, the fate of man, while on earth, does not end in judgments. Judgments once pronounced must have an aftermath-- it must result to a change of heart. It's not being mean at all. In fact judgmentalism, if properly understood and acted upon, can become a factor of man's advancement toward betterment.
Case in point, the woman who was caught (or allegedly caught) by Pharisees in adultery.
John 8: 1-11 does not give us a super detailed account of how on earth the Pharisees and Lawyers caught the woman in an act of adultery. But the conclusion at the end “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” is pretty telling: that the woman had lived a life of sin. Jesus acknowledged in fact the woman SINNED. That's a stinging in-your-face judgment.
If we are to look at the lives of St. John Chrysostom, Blessed Augustine, St. Paul, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Mary of Paris, and all of them writ large, and if we are to look at the way Christ and his apostles dealt with sinners, we will see that JUDGMENTS on the outset are often harsh and as the Jews of those days commented, Jesus's sayings were "hard sayings". No sugarcoating. But the impact of the "judgment" is what exactly made our saints, SAINTS.
You see, for Paul to see Christ, he had to be blind. Jesus made it clear to Paul that what he did to Christians (he POSSIBLY assisted Christian murders), he was doing also to Christ. "Saul, Saul (Paul), why do you persecute me?". Paul left Damascus a blind man for three days. After three days, Paul regained his sight, and was baptized. Once a "Christ Killer", he became a "Christ Follower" to the gentiles. Read Acts 9 and see how much God's judgment upon him changed his life.
A change of heart and soul was what exactly happened to St. Mary of Egypt after she was deemed unworthy.
(Saint Mary of Egypt, Patron Saint of repentant people especially of those who face sexual struggles)
St. Sophronius, her biographer, tells us that this "Desert Mother", was once upon a time a woman of irrepressible pleasures. She was not a "paid" prostitute. She was, what modern Psychology tells us, a nymphomaniac. She had sex for the sake of sex. And then one time, in an attempt to seduce more men, she targeted the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. She attempted to enter the gates, but an unseen force barred her from doing so. She realized that her impurity is what's keeping her from entering God's dwelling place. Upon seeing the Theotokos Icon, she begged for mercy, and at last was admitted entrance. Driven by a repentant spirit, she crossed the Jordan river and sought absolution and communion from the Fathers there. She lived her life as an ascetic in Egyptian deserts for 47 years, proclaiming God's pardon, struggling against the flesh, redeeming spiritual chastity.
From the Church doors alone, she stood judged... But it didn't end there... Because after realizing her heavily marred being, it compelled her to repentance and ultimately a new life.
Consider now the advice of Patriarch St. John Chrysostom:
And the words of the Psalmist St. David:
Photo credit:
http://www.tempo.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/04_09_2013_001_005_002.jpg
From the Church doors alone, she stood judged... But it didn't end there... Because after realizing her heavily marred being, it compelled her to repentance and ultimately a new life.
Consider now the advice of Patriarch St. John Chrysostom:
Thus I have shown you five paths of repentance; condemnation of your own sins, forgiveness of our neighbor's sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility. |
The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance
1For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to
him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.a
I
3Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.b
6Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.c
7Behold, I was born in guilt,
8Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9Cleanse me with hyssop,* that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.e
10You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.f
13Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.g
14Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.h
17Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18For you do not desire sacrifice* or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.i
19My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
III
20*Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.j
21Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
burnt offering and whole offerings;
then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.
How many among us have the penitentiary spirit of David, Paul, and Mary?
More of a point: are we, more than ever, willing to stand BLIND and NAKED in front of Christ? Are we willing to stand trembling before Him because of shame?
Because if we ARE, then we must be prepared to all the emotional and spiritual toll running down on us like an avalanche when we come to the Mercy Seat... And after the blindness and nakedness, here's our Savior and Advocate making us see and clothing us out of His infinite Mercy and Love ultimately giving us the power to keep on being born again.
1For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to
him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.a
I
3Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.b
6Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.c
7Behold, I was born in guilt,
8Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9Cleanse me with hyssop,* that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.e
10You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.f
13Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.g
14Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.h
17Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18For you do not desire sacrifice* or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.i
19My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.
III
20*Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.j
21Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
burnt offering and whole offerings;
then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.
Photo credit:
http://www.tempo.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/04_09_2013_001_005_002.jpg
http://www.bridgebuilding.com/images/mi751-l.jpg
http://glory2godforallthings.com/2007/03/22/st-mary-of-egypt/
http://glory2godforallthings.com/2007/03/22/st-mary-of-egypt/
