You have been purchased at a price (1 Cor 6, 20)<\/i><\/p>\n
God considers us very dear and very precious.\u00a0 Do we take ourselves according to his appreciation of us?<\/p>\n
Jesus teaches that we human beings are worth much more than all the wealth we may have accumulated and may be able to amass.\u00a0 Hence, it is not right that we lower ourselves in order to serve mammon as though it would guarantee security and salvation.\u00a0 These\u00a0belong to those who accept the invitation to be at the service of God\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 The invitation itself is one more way to affirm our worth.<\/p>\n
Jesus indicates besides that neither food nor clothes bring us dignity.\u00a0 Dignity comes from God who created us, male and female, according to his image and likeness.<\/p>\n
But the Creator values and exalts us even more by making us his children and heirs.\u00a0 God is the heavenly Father who takes care of all creation.\u00a0 In contrast to the deists\u2019 unconcerned deity, our God does not cease caring even for the birds and the wild flowers.\u00a0 And since we are more important than they, we can then put our trust in our Father, whose love, both affective and effective, surpasses a mother\u2019s love for her infant.<\/p>\n
We have no reason to worry or despair, even when it seems that, as in the Philippines, there is no leader, whether political, ecclesiastical or otherwise, who brings hope.\u00a0 Unlike pagans, we believe in a provident God who knows our needs beforehand and whose concern for us confirms our worth as his chosen ones.\u00a0 Rather, we have reason to take part first in the project of God\u2019s kingdom and justice.<\/p>\n
If we seek thus God\u2019s kingdom and his justice, to us will be given besides the stature and all the things that no amount of worrying about our basic needs or about security and superiority in the future can give.\u00a0 The security and stature that really matter are those that match God\u2019s appreciation of us.<\/p>\n
Do we value ourselves in accordance with how much God values us?\u00a0 How much we esteem ourselves shows in how much we esteem others, especially those looked down upon and considered useless.\u00a0 If, following St. Vincent de Paul\u2019s exhortation (Coste XI, 32), we turn the medal and see Jesus in the poor who have neither majestic bearing to catch our eyes nor beauty to draw us to them, this is a good indication that we have the right appreciation of ourselves.<\/p>\n
But if, on the contrary, we like making rash and hurting judgments, are not these only a spilling out of our low self-esteem?\u00a0 Low self-esteem cannot only turn scornful, but also quite divisive and destructive.<\/p>\n
And, of course, we who partake of the Lord\u2019s Supper with equal dignity are called to the unity and the building-up of the body of Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"