A new world order

THE world is in great flux these days. The still festering economic crisis mainly gripping the US and Europe is provoking vast and fast changes all over.

Russian leaders, for example, now talk about a new thrust in massive modernization. For this, they are willing to modify some of their socialistic ways to attract more foreign investors who have the right kind of plans for Russia’s needs.

China, on the other hand, seems poised to dominate the world economy if they know how to play with their increasingly powerful currency. This development has been worrying the US and Europe as they now clearly see the threat China poses to them.

We, in our country, may not be in the middle of these sea changes, neither in the good or the rising side nor in the bad or the sinking part. But obviously we can’t help but be affected and somehow involved. We have to know how to play our part.

So far, the world drama and suspense seems focused on the economic side, with the usual social and political aspects as unavoidable companions. This is a mindset that needs to be drastically changed, and we can play a part in this effort.

What we have to do is see to it that we are liberated from such restrictive mentality. We need to widen our perspective to include the often neglected spiritual element that actually serves as the directing principle in this cliff-hanging predicament, and we have to tell everyone about it.

We should never belittle this attitude. Very often in big conflicts and controversies, the solutions and relief are made possible by the quiet prayers and sacrifices of men and women doing their daily work conscientiously. These remedies come about when sound social doctrines are applied to their work.

It’s about time we shout to the whole world that the spiritual angle has a right to citizenship in any discussion of world issues and problems. Those big economic, social and political strategies, which many world leaders flaunt, will always start in the hearts of men, and also end there.

If those hearts are not in their proper condition, when they just get contented with purely worldly values and are averse to the more important spiritual and religious values, they will soon enter into a problem. Their vision is likely myopic, their understanding shallow, their reactions knee-jerk.

For sure, that may sound very simplistic to say, especially if we consider that following spiritual values involve a lot of sacrifice while the earthly values can give instant advantages. How many of us get blinded, confused and then misdirected by this play of things so typical of our human condition!

We have to do all we can to realize that the long-term, more lasting and definitive solutions to our problems are attained when the spiritual values are given their due attention. We have to be quick to identify what are mere false advantages, and learn to do away with them.

We have to be mature enough to distinguish between the precious and the pressing, the ultimate and the immediate, and know how to play with those parameters. We have to know that joy comes after some suffering, and to distinguish which suffering can lead to authentic development and which ones do not.

This strategic and indispensable spiritual perspective may not directly contribute technical solutions, but it is what gives guidance, direction and over-all meaning to our human affairs. This point has to be properly understood, since many times people shy away from the spiritual precisely because it does not give technical solutions.

The spiritual perspective is what keeps our humanity intact, since it connects us vitally with our true roots and ultimate goals. It’s enables us to flow and actively cooperation with God’s providence.

It prevents us from dehumanizing ourselves, a process that can subtly occur in us if we are easily deceived by worldly values that exaggerate their legitimate role in our life. We have to be ever ready to defend ourselves from their arrogant stances and powerful rationalizations.

This spiritual perspective leads us not only to pray, to offer sacrifices, but also to study the relevant Christian social doctrines and prudently apply them to specific situations. It fuels dialogue and fosters an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving. It never means assuming a laid-back, indifferent attitude to our earthly affairs.

This assures us of the proper world order we ought to have, given our dignity as persons and children of God.