Our best is never enough

IT’S indeed laudable that in whatever we do, we try to

give it our best shot. We should just remember that our best will

never be enough insofar as pleasing God and everybody else is

concerned. Our best can always be made better.

  

            This should not surprise us, much less, cause us to worry.

But we should acknowledge it so that we avoid getting self-satisfied

with what we have done and then fall into self-complacency. That’s

when we stop growing and improving as a human person and as a child of

God.

  

            We have to remember that we are meant for the infinite,

for the spiritual and the supernatural. That’s a goal that we can

never fully reach in our life here on earth. But we are meant to keep

on trying.

              What can keep us going in this regard is certainly not our

own effort alone, much less our desire and ambition for fame, power or

wealth. It’s not pride or some form of obsessions. These have a short

prescription period. A ceiling is always set above them. In time, we

will realize that everything we have done was just “vanity of

vanities.”

  

            It is God’s grace that does the trick. It’s when we

correspond sincerely to God’s love for us that we get a

self-perpetuating energy to do our best in any given moment. It’s when

we can manage to do the impossible.

   

            It’s a correspondence that definitely requires a lot of

humility because we all have the inclination to be proud of our

accomplishments that would kill any desire to do better. It’s also a

correspondence that is always respectful of our human condition, given

our strengths and weaknesses, our assets and limitations.

  

            It is devoid of what is called as bitter zeal. In fact,

there is a certain sweetness to it in spite of the amount of effort

and sacrifices involved. A sense of joy and peace will always be felt.

It also knows how to pass unnoticed, avoiding attracting unnecessary

attention from others.

  

            It is important that this attitude be instilled actively

in all of us, since it is what is proper to us as persons and children

of God. At the moment, what we can readily see around is naked pursuit

for power, fame, wealth, etc., all for the sake of human glory.

  

            And once the supposed goal is reached, then a lot of

flaunting, gloating and all other forms of self-glorification can be

observed, blind to the fact that such behavior actually demeans our

human dignity.

   

            We need to help each other to do and give our best in

whatever task we have out of sheer love for God and neighbor. The

appropriate training should be established in homes, schools and

everywhere. The proper climate and environment should be created for

this purpose.

  

            Everyone has to be reminded that everything that we do

should always be for the glory of God. To be sure, this attitude would

not take away the autonomy we enjoy in expressing different and even

conflicting views and opinions on certain issues. It will not lead us

to have a rigidly uniform way of life. It, in fact, can foster

plurality and diversity.

  

            But with it, our differences and conflicts would always be

tackled with due respect for everyone. With it, the plurality and

diversity of our conditions cease to be a divisive agent. Rather they

become enriching elements that can benefit everyone in his own way.

  

            We should all strive to do better than our previous best

mark or record. This is always possible because in the first place the

field to do better is limitless, and God’s grace is always available.

It would just depend on us to take the challenge of God who wants us

to be his “image and likeness,” no less.