No to self-pity, please

WE have to make sure that whenever we encounter pain and

difficulty in life, failure and loss, misery and misfortune, things

that can usually happen in anyone’s life, we avoid falling into

self-pity which will only make things worse.

            These predicaments in life are actually golden

opportunities for us to get closer to Christ, to be more identified

with him in his redemptive passion and death, and to be in a position

to receive greater grace and blessing from above.

            It’s a matter of exercising our faith, purifying and

broadening our human estimation of things. It is a matter of relying

mainly on God’s providence that knows how to derive good from evil,

without neglecting the effort we need to exert.

            Let’s have the same mindset and reaction of St. Paul

toward his own weakness as illustrated in his second letter to the

Corinthians: “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan,

to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away

from me.

            “But he said, to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for

my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the

more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on

me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in

insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am

weak, then I am strong.” (12,7-10)

            Let us study these words very closely and try to fathom

the implications they contain. From these words, we can somehow gather

that any predicament we can have is somehow given to us by God, or is

allowed by him, for a purpose. And that purpose is so that God’s power

can be shown on us and can benefit us, making us a better person.

            And while it’s true that the predicament we have can

really give us some real pain and trouble, God assures us that he also

gives us the grace to handle it. Let us not allow ourselves therefore

to be guided only by our own feelings and our estimation of things,

because these cannot appreciate the grace God is giving us.

            Let us then have the same reaction as St. Paul who,

instead of being discouraged and depressed because of his trouble, was

happy to suffer all kinds of problems because he was convinced that

those problems would attract God’s greater grace and would occasion

God’s power to work in him.

            In other words, we should just have a sporting spirit in

life, because even in our bad moments and worst conditions and status,

God’s powerful providence will always be at work. We need to trust in

God’s ways.

            Let us not waste time lamenting and complaining even as we

try to sort out and solve our predicaments. But let us not forget that

no matter how much we try to handle our predicaments, a time will come

when we just cannot handle them humanly.

            In the end, we are going to die, and with that there is no

more human solution. But if we trust in God’s providence, our very

death can be the transition to our eternal life of bliss with our

Father God, from whom we came and to whom we belong in a most intimate

way, as in living in communion with him and with everybody else.

            Again, let’s be game in life. Let’s not be afraid of

anything. Let us just focus on what we are supposed to do, that is,

doing a lot of good, giving love to everybody, consuming ourselves in

that effort since by losing our life here on earth, we gain the life

eternal.

            We should avoid falling into self-pity, discouragement, despair…