Philippines in the seesaw (Of Heroism and Massacre)
Just as the country is overwhelmed with joy for the honor received after international television network CNN awarded Hero of the Year to Filipino Efren Peñaflorida, we are then overwhelmed with devastating emotions, after a politician’s family was massacred in Mindanao area, which reflected the dangerous “other side of the coin” of the country that heroes like Efren represented.
As if in a playground, the series of events is a seesaw, an alternate of up and down play. Unfortunately, this is the real thing, and not just a child’s typical after-school pastime.
I confess I have gone ecstatic to speechless when these details flashed before me. I mean, how am I supposed to react about this, I should describe as, injustice? Shall I be angry because of the self-serving motives of the attack, if indeed proven that it was politically motivated as popularly alleged? Or shall I just focus my thoughts on the less violent ones, (like Efren or Manny Pacquiao’s victories for the nation) that I may be spared from emotional trauma?
Until now, I am still processing my reaction. After all, I am still a Filipino, and I will remain to be a Filipino until my last breath. What hurts or pleases my brothers and sisters will also affect me.
As I hopefully wait for more positive updated news, praying that justice will indeed prevail, I couldn’t help but feel grief at this obvious truth: I am in a broken world, and I am with broken people. Our world needs help. Not just the Philippines, but every nation battered with bloodshed, corruption and environmental abuses; every person suffering from immorality, trauma and pain; every soul in need of acceptance, hope and love.
I see it not as the issue of when the next massacre would happen, but of how destructive SIN is. Yes, in the bottom of these abuses, sufferings, and hopelessness, sin is the core. Sin brought this separation of man from His God who intended what’s best for His creation. Apart from God, humans are left to serve themselves, and now we see the ripples of that service.
But I remain to have hope that something good can still come out of this painful event. I don’t know yet, but I am convinced, that the Lord Almighty has proven Himself to be in control in any and whatever situation the world is in. I still believe that God is in the business of transforming broken clays into sought-after jars. I still believe that if every event in life is a threaded color, God can weave them together to bring out that magnificent tapestry – one that draws our awe.
Because of Jesus Christ, and the hope of life I have in Him, I still believe that God can work things out for His greater glory – even if I believe alone. :
As if in a playground, the series of events is a seesaw, an alternate of up and down play. Unfortunately, this is the real thing, and not just a child’s typical after-school pastime.
I confess I have gone ecstatic to speechless when these details flashed before me. I mean, how am I supposed to react about this, I should describe as, injustice? Shall I be angry because of the self-serving motives of the attack, if indeed proven that it was politically motivated as popularly alleged? Or shall I just focus my thoughts on the less violent ones, (like Efren or Manny Pacquiao’s victories for the nation) that I may be spared from emotional trauma?
Until now, I am still processing my reaction. After all, I am still a Filipino, and I will remain to be a Filipino until my last breath. What hurts or pleases my brothers and sisters will also affect me.
As I hopefully wait for more positive updated news, praying that justice will indeed prevail, I couldn’t help but feel grief at this obvious truth: I am in a broken world, and I am with broken people. Our world needs help. Not just the Philippines, but every nation battered with bloodshed, corruption and environmental abuses; every person suffering from immorality, trauma and pain; every soul in need of acceptance, hope and love.
I see it not as the issue of when the next massacre would happen, but of how destructive SIN is. Yes, in the bottom of these abuses, sufferings, and hopelessness, sin is the core. Sin brought this separation of man from His God who intended what’s best for His creation. Apart from God, humans are left to serve themselves, and now we see the ripples of that service.
But I remain to have hope that something good can still come out of this painful event. I don’t know yet, but I am convinced, that the Lord Almighty has proven Himself to be in control in any and whatever situation the world is in. I still believe that God is in the business of transforming broken clays into sought-after jars. I still believe that if every event in life is a threaded color, God can weave them together to bring out that magnificent tapestry – one that draws our awe.
Because of Jesus Christ, and the hope of life I have in Him, I still believe that God can work things out for His greater glory – even if I believe alone. :
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