WE should be more aware of this phenomenon and then act
accordingly. We are prone to easily get spoiled when we enjoy many
good things. This has been proven even in the times of Adam and Eve,
and all through the ages. We have to be properly guarded against this
subtle danger.
Yes, even in food, if we are not careful and would just
let our animal instincts to lead us in our eating, our life would be
over in a while, like those pigs that cannot last more than 5 years.
They are either slaughtered or explode to death on their own.
And since from our conception in the womb of our mothers
to our birth and childhood, we are always doted and pampered and
showered with everything that is considered good, comfortable,
convenient, we should be wary not to develop a lifestyle of softness,
laziness, and selfishness.
While it’s true that we should always be taken care of,
especially when we are still babies, we should just see to it that we
do not go overboard and develop a monster instead of a human being
with a healthy mind and heart.
A more serious problem in this regard is in the department
of our spiritual and moral life. Since from the beginning of our
thinking life, we have been taught to be good and nice and, if
possible, perfect, we should also see to it that that we do not fall
into the snare of self-righteousness which is the usual problem with
the so-called “good people.”
That’s when what seems to be good is actually evil, and
what seems to be evil is actually good. We have to be more aware of
this tricky phenomenon, and more adept as well in handling it well.
This can be an abiding challenge for all of us. This phenomenon,
actually very common, is iconized in the parable of the Pharisee and
the publican. (cfr Lk 18,10-14)
The Pharisee was the epitome of goodness and correctness.
He fasted twice a week, gave tithes of all what he possessed. But his
righteousness converted his prayer into a boast, and it simply showed
he was separated from God.
The publican considered himself the receptacle of all
possible moral sewage. He could hardly lift up his eyes toward heaven.
His prayer dripped with compunction, but it reconciled him with God.
We have to understand that good and evil is a matter of
whether one is with God or not. Good is good because one is with God.
Evil is evil because he is not with God. It’s as simple as that.
Our problem is that instead of referring things—our
thoughts, words and actions—to God, we refer them only to our own idea
of what is good and evil.
Not much wrong there really. After all, all things we do
have to be referred to our own idea of good and evil. Except that many
times it’s an idea that has been severed from its proper source and
basis—God himself whose perfection is not so much in the physical and
technical as in the spiritual and moral that will always include
humility, patience, mercy, compassion, etc.
In short, we make ourselves our own God, our ultimate
source of what is good and bad, what is correct and wrong. That’s
where the problems come in, where the bugs and viruses enter to
corrupt our otherwise good idea.
That is why, everyday and very often during the day we
need to check whether our idea of good and evil is still vitally
linked with God. We have to be wary with our tendency to just flow in
a certain routine and inertia of goodness that has already deadened
our living connection with God.
How many times have we observed people who are bright but
are proud and vain, wise but sarcastic, bursting with good intentions
but painfully lacking in charity? They have become self-righteous.
There have been cases where we see objectively good
qualities, like their high intelligence, superb eloquence, admirable
work habits, etc., ceasing to be a blessing and becoming instead a
curse to them and to others.
These qualities have become an occasion to dominate
others, to so distort their proper use that they stop serving God and
others but have become self-serving or an exercise in ego-tripping.
They can even degenerate into sick obsessive-compulsive complexes
(OC).
People with this disorder do not like to be wrong or
embarrassed or humiliated. They always want to be right and dominant
all the time, even resorting to cheating. What a disaster!
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