Always be charitable

IT’S sad to note that charity seems to be clearly absent

in the usual discussions and exchanges we have in the media.

Especially in the American scene and slowly in ours, we often see a

lot of slamming, fault-finding, sour-graping and gloating. It seems

that these are now the normal things to do. What worsens it is that

the press also makes its own spin and often distorts the reporting.

            Those involved, generally in the political arena, usually

assume a know-it-all attitude and are quick to shoot down any contrary

or even just different opinions from others. Even when the issue is

not yet thoroughly studied, they are quick to give their

shooting-from-the-hip views that clearly show their biases and

personal or partisan preferences.

            This is unfortunate because the atmosphere that is

inevitably generated gets increasingly toxic. And it would just be a

matter of time before we will have a free fall to outright hatred and

even violence. In the end, the common good becomes the victim.

            I would not be surprised if later on we can find some

correlation between the surge of terroristic attacks in the US and the

toxic media world there that is full of anger, hatred, rash judgments,

etc.

            We have to learn to be charitable always, especially in

our unavoidable differences in the fields of politics, culture,

lifestyle and in our respective temperaments. To top it all, we should

be most charitable because we are all sinners and we just have to

understand one another and try our best to help each other instead of

waging “war” with each other.

            This was the attitude of Christ which he continues to show

to us since he is always with us and continues to interact with us. If

we care, we can actually notice that and should be inspired by his

example. He knows how to handle any situation we can find ourselves

in.

            In fact, if we truly are aware of the presence and action

of Christ in our life and in our daily activities and concerns, we

will always be happy and at peace, able to find meaning in any

situation whether good or bad, or whether we are contradicted,

insulted, offended, etc.

            Like Christ, we should be very patient and just try to

drown evil with an abundance of good. As St. Peter would put it in his

first letter: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On

the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were

called so that you may inherit a blessing.” (3,9) This is the way to

go.

          We have to have a firm grip on our emotions and passions,

and should see to it that our reasoning is always inspired by God’s

love for us. There we can find understanding and compassion, fairness

and willingness to bear the burden of the others and to suffer for

them. These will go a long way in defusing the tensions in our

differences and conflicts.

            We should try to be broadminded and eager to listen to

others, no matter how different their views are as compared to ours.

Let’s try to salvage any point in the arguments of others that can

serve as a unifying element, rather than focus on those points that

divide us. This can always be done if we are humble enough.

            Charity has reign always. And I mean the charity shown to

us by Christ, who himself commanded us to love one another as he has

loved us!