What should drive us

I REMEMBER a TV commercial sometime ago that had this

punchline: “Kanino ka ba babangon?” (For whom do you get up in the

morning?) I imagine it was supposed to highlight the motivation one

has in getting up so early in the morning, do some tasks and other

sacrifices to serve a loved one. It obviously resonated with many of

the audience, me included.

            Still, no matter how legitimate and worthwhile the whole

idea behind that commercial was, I would still say it did not say

enough. To put it bluntly, to work and to sacrifice for some beloved

person and yet fail to consider love for God as the main motivation,

would be a great pity.

            Sure, there is already some good being done to another,

yet it is a good that is not quite clear about its origin and its

ultimate end. If not corrected, that good according to human and

worldly standards, could not stand the test of time and the many and

often formidable challenges we can face in our earthly sojourn. It is

a perishable good that would not bring us to our ultimate imperishable

and supernatural good who is God.

            Indeed, we can say that what good we do to others out of

love for them can be translated into a good done to God out of love

for him. Loving God and loving others always go together. Still, it’s

always a possibility that what we consider good by serving our loved

ones may just be an apparent good because it is not properly animated

by our love for God, which should be the ultimate motivation for all

our actions.

            This is when we have to develop and sharpen our sense of

hope, since it is with this virtue that we would be willing to do

things and make sacrifices for others, if only to attain what we

consider to be a greater, nay, the greatest good.

            Now, we have to be clear about what this greatest good

would be for us. If it would just be something that simply revolves

around ourselves, like gaining a sense of satisfaction, or respect for

others, etc., then that good would not be worthwhile. That good would

be nothing less than an expression of self-indulgence.

            We have to aim at nothing less than the greatest good, the

ultimate good, and that is nothing other than love of God, being with

him of whom we are supposed to be his image and likeness, and children

of his.

            Some words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans can

shed light on this point. “I consider our present sufferings,” he

said, “not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in

us…For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own

choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the

creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into

the freedom and glory of the children of God.” (8,18-21)

            It’s a fine point that is worth considering since it makes

a big difference. Let’s see to it that all our good actions towards

others be properly motivated by love of God and not just by some

perishable human and worldly motives. Let our hope be grounded

properly on our Christian faith and oriented toward true charity, our

love for God.