R.O.I. vs. Cheerful Giving

Before the offertory in church services, the liturgist usually reads Bible verses on giving. 

A favorite in many churches is Malachi 3:10 (NLT), “’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!’” 

This is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that the more money you put into the offering bag, the more money you will receive in return—like an R.O.I. (Retun on Investment). That’s why some give big sums, expecting returns sooner or later.  

“We need to correct this wrong motivation to give,” one elder said in a meeting. “Giving is not a business proposition. It is defined in the New Testament as something you do with an open heart, without expecting anything in return. 

He then read 2 Corinthians 9:7, “. . .  decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 

No matter how well intentioned the elder’s proposal was, another elder replied, “Giving to the church work is personal, based on faith. Unfortunately, we cannot compel anyone to give cheerfully. Some treasure their wealth so much that by giving generously, they think they will be doubly compensated.”

The Bible raises a red flag about R.O.I. giving, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Matthew 6:21) 

 

That's why Timothy enjoins believers in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, "Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others . . . "  

The desire of a Christian's heart is to trust in God.     

Photo credit: 

Dewi Sri Farm: Encore

One day is simply not enough to take in all the treasures at Dewi Sri, a 10-hectare, Bali-inspired farm in Pila, Laguna. We were there exactly a year ago for an overnight stay. 

Although my heart brimmed with wonders to have written an ode to the place then, I knew there was more to uncover in this hidden paradise, tucked away from the highway.  

This second time around, we stayed for two nights; indeed, the bliss doubled. 

In the province where I grew up, farms were our playground, so the memories of those bygone days come alive at Dewi Sri. As for Tony and my boys—all born and bred in Manila—these are novel experiences and therefore, mind-bending.  

In this resort-farm, the efficient staff and everything else are authentic. Preservatives and chemicals are not welcome. You wake up and turn in with the best in nature surrounding your every move: birds, fowls, fish, flowers, vegetables, trees, rocks, rivers, ponds, fresh air and clear, blue skies. The sights and sounds seem to come directly from the heavens. 

Let me call this encore of a visit a perfect getaway, far from the madding crowd. All-natural and freshly-picked food served on a dining table—open to the scenic terrain—elevate eating from a ritual to a rite.    

Every nook is restful, calm, and an ideal spot for communing with God. I couldn’t take enough photos to show what a healing environment is like. 

Again, we had the pool all to ourselves; the music in our cottage was a chorale magnifique of tweeting birds, clucking chickens, singing geckos, whispering trees, humming waters, and whistling breeze. 

My collage below is just an overture of what you would enjoy at Dewi Sri. No, I am not a paid blogger for this edenic place. I was one paying guest (c/o son #3), but as I have rhapsodized above, every cent was all about the Creator's grace.  

“. . . ask the animals, and they will teach you,

    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;

or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,

    or let the fish in the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know

    that the hand of the Lord has done this?

In his hand is the life of every creature

    and the breath of all mankind.”

Job 12:7-10 (NIV) 

Women Miners

Mining?! It is the extraction of valuable treasures and other astronomical objects from the Earth. 

That’s exactly what the women of our church (ages ranging from 27 to 77) are doing every Sunday, online at the height of the  pandemic and face-to-face since a few Sundays ago, as documented below.  

We come together and do spiritual mining from the Bible, the greatest and richest Mine of all.  We extract valuable, astronomical gems found there. And they are endless! As we keep digging, we keep finding more—and more!  

What we learned in Children’s Sunday School or in our daily reading of the Bible are affirmed and enriched, filling us with astounding grace. In a circle, we find friendship, camaraderie, and love for each other in Christ.  

We have just concluded our series on “Second chances.”  Next, we are gearing up for a series on “Finding Christ." 

Meet our church’s women miners—after an hour of poring over the day's lesson and sharing of challenges, epiphany moments, and blessings in our lives.

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT)

No Lipstick for Mother: The Backstory

On Mother’s Day this year, my mind traveled back to my book, No Lipstick for Mother (illustrated by Kora Dandan-Albano and published by Hiyas of OMF Lit), which I wrote to encourage children to be proud of their mother. 

It was written before I started blogging so I have not yet shared its backstory. It is no coincidence that I am narrating it only now. The person (wedding godchild,  dear friend, and faith brethren), who inspired the book, suddenly went home to be with Jesus last month. Ironically, he was a father and not the mother who stars in the narrative. But the fact remains: this was written to honor him.  

Caloy had been a faithful member of our church for a long time. He was one of the very few who knew the Bible like the palm of his hand. If one had any question about anything in the good Book, “Ask Caloy.”  He was also a poet—his reflections were in verse form.  

ooo

One hot summer day years ago, before entering the church for the service, I saw him parking his tricycle. Sweat streamed down his flushed face. 

“It is difficult these hot days to drive a tricycle,” I said. 

He replied, “That’s nothing, Ninang, compared to how I feel about what I overheard children were saying about tricycle drivers."     

“What’s that?” I was alarmed. 

“I wish papa would find another job. Driving a tricycle is so embarrassing.” 

Embarrassing?! I screamed the word silently. 

“That hurts more than the sun, the dust, the fumes, and the punishing hours,” he said. 

I was just as hurt. So I did what I like doing best: I wrote about that story. In the process of tweaking, I changed the tricycle driver to a mother (at that time, there was one woman tricycle driver in our village) and used lipstick, which is familiar to every kid, as a metaphor for beauty and to convey vivid imagery. I sent the manuscript to the Palanca Awards and it won first prize in its category. 

Hiyas had the story re-told in Filipino by Dr. Luis Gatmaitan, a Palanca Hall of Fame awardee. 

On Mother’s Day, I thanked God for the life of Caloy, the father who inspired a mother’s story, which by grace, will likewise inspire children to be proud of their parents, who are willing to go through any hardship for their sake.  

"If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Romans 14:8 NLT)

Eve of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day as we know it today is highly commercialized: flowers, greeting cards, parties, meals in fancy restaurants, and phone calls (more than any other day of the year) for mom.

I plead guilty to this state of disrepair. In advertising, my career for years, we hyped Mother’s Day to boost our clients’ sales. We crafted touching phrases so people would feel some kind of guilt if they scrimped on gifts for their Mom. Manipulative? But my heart cried, Mothers ought to be honored for their unconditional, sacrificial love sans gongs and cymbals.  

Celebrating mothers goes back to the beginning of time—to the first mother on earth: Eve. 

Called the mother of all the living, Eve was different from all of us—she came from a man and had no mother. All women after her came from a mother. 

The first human to fall into sin, Eve understood and suffered loss: loss of innocence when she disobeyed God in Eden; loss of paradise when God sent her and Adam out of the garden; loss of her son Abel when he was murdered by Cain. Worst of all, loss of close relationship with God. 

In Genesis 3:20, we read. “Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.” Let’s summarize what this means: 

1. The mother of all the physically living 

God commanded Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it." From them would come all other human beings. 

But sin intervened. In Genesis 3, God pronounced a curse upon Eve, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing.” And He told Adam that he would return to the ground from which he was taken. 
Yet, even with that death sentence, there was hope: Eve would experience pain in childbearing, but would bear children to be the mother of all human race.  

2. The mother of all the spiritually living

To the serpent, God said in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers.” Spiritual battle! There would be war between the offspring of the serpent, Satan (those who oppose God and His will) and the offspring of Eve (humanity that obeys God).  

What began in Eden continued with Eve’s Cain and Abel, and then Eve’s third seed, Seth, who named his son, Enosh. “At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 4:26) 

Eve’s godly seed is represented by Seth’s offspring and wicked seed (those who disobey God), by Cain’s offspring.

3. The mother of Christ the Savior 

Eve would become the mother of Christ. God prophesied Christ when He told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

When Eve and Adam sinned, they were separated from God. Because of His grace, God sent sinful men a Savior: Jesus. That Savior would come through the offspring of Eve.

Satan struck at Jesus’ heel (crucifixion) but Jesus crushed Satan’s head (dying for our sins on the cross and freeing us from Satan and death), so that we could live with God forever.

In celebrating Mother’s Day, may we reflect on the blessings that have come to all mothers through Eve. Like her, we have suffered over losses of various kinds. But the joy of motherhood outweights them all! 

Photo credit (top):  Andreus of iStock; (collage) Pinterest

Seenzoned

This term came with the digital age; it appeared in the urban dictionary sometime in 2016. Seenzoned is when you send someone a cyber message and you know it has been “seen” but you get no response. 

Young people of this generation go berserk when they are seenzoned. “It’s a death knell,” one of my students whined. “It means you are not important to deserve a reply.” 

I tried to appease her, “I get seenzoned often by friends and family and it does not matter. Perhaps they had no time to check their gadgets. Or even if they read my message, a no-reply does not affect our relationship.” 

Ooops, I spoke too soon. 

I was seenzoned by a student leader I never met, but whose online invitation for me to speak about writing in the big university in the south, where she is taking up education, I graciously accepted.  

Without asking for any fee or favor in return, I spoke virtually to over 100 students—most of them studying to be teachers—about why I write: to help instill values among young readers. It was a spirited and fruitful two hours of my time.

After my talk, the student leader wrote a message of thanks on behalf of the school and she committed/offered to send me some souvenir items, among which is a university t-shirt as soon as it is printed. She asked for my address.  

Six months later, the items she promised never came. So I messaged her and asked that perhaps they sent them to the wrong address? (Don’t get me wrong. The  items, for me, are inconsequential. But for future educators reneging on their commitment is dangerous; they will produce students who will emulate them.)

She replied that it was the club president, not her, who was in charge of such, but she will remind him. 

It had been three weeks, and there was no update from her. So I messaged her again, asking what had happened—wishing that as a teacher myself and a writer on grace, I could teach her and her schoolmates the value of commitment. 

Seenzoned. 

And that was like a death knell. My grief has nothing to do with feeling unimportant. It is about young people ignoring values. What happened? Commitment is a promise, a pledge, an obligation, a covenant, and according to son #3, who is a lawyer, “a contract.”  

Sob.

My prayer is that universities educating students to be teachers would emphasize the importance of moral values. Without them, the world of our children and their students would be in a state of meltdown.    

Beautiful Forever

For me, the ultimate magicians on this planet are  make-up artists. They can make any ordinary-looking woman extraordinarily beautiful. They can vanish crow's feet, wrinkles, skin blemishes, misshapen eyebrows, and pug noses right before your eyes. 

When I was still in advertising, I saw how make-up artists performed their magic. During a TV commercial shoot, they would work on the faces of our on-camera talents. In an hour or so, these talents would look like a million bucks!

After the shoot, just a few hours later when everyone had changed back to casual clothes and washed their faces—well, the magic went poof. That's how temporary make-up is. No wonder many celebrities lug magicians wherever they go!

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:8: 

He wanted the people of Corinth to avoid focusing on the external, which is temporary. When we focus on life in eternity, we can better accept skin blemishes and facial imperfections. Wrinkles, sagging jowls, and pock marks, which often cause aging women to panic, do not matter in eternity.

Beyond sorrows on earth are the joys in heaven. Insecurities about one’s physical imperfections and signs of aging will end; because in heaven, these anxieties are vanished. With God, everything and anything is beautiful—forever!

Lord, help me realize that physical imperfections do not make me less of a person. Help me see myself through Your eyes. And please make me look forward to the awesome beauty of forever. Amen. 

(The above devo is is an excerpt from "Grace Found Me," a recipient of the 2012 Gintong Aklat [Golden Book] Award, Inspirational Category, from the Book Development Association of the Philippines.) 

Being Nice

“A lemon!” Mercy described the smart phone she bought on sale with her first paycheck.  It was only one-week old and already it went pffft—zero incoming calls. 

Naturally, she was livid, and prepared to demand an explanation from the store. Her mother cautioned her, “Hey, be nice. Just explain what the problem is. Remember, a scowl begets a scowl and a smile- ”   

“ - begets a smile,” Mercy replied. “Okay, Mom, they might do something nice in return.”   

“Mercy, being nice is not about getting something in return. It’s how children of God should behave.  You will just annoy people by being difficult.”    

Mercy reined in her temper at the store. She patiently explained to the salesman what had happened to her phone. 

“I am sorry, Ma’am, but . . .” 

“Please, let me talk to your manager . . .”  

Because Mercy was nice, the sales clerk called the manager. Again, Mercy patiently explained her problem.  

The manager said, “Thank you for being so gracious, Ma’am. I wish all customers were like you. Let me call the head office.”  

After the call, the manager said, “We’ll service your phone and give you a temporary phone to use meanwhile.”   

Mercy happily narrated to her Mom the favor she got from the manager.  

The attitude of Mercy epitomizes Ephesians 5:8-9 (NLT), “. . . once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” 

Colossians 4:6 is specific on what God’s people should do, “Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” 

Under annoying circumstances, one needs enormous effort, an extra package of grace, to remain nice. But we need to keep trying and behave as as people of light. 

Viral: Surge of Social Currency

In recent years, there have been diverse definitions of this “new” buzzword: Social currency.  And now, it is also equated with money. 

Quickly defined, social currency is the personal assets and attributes of a person that help him/her raise his status/reputation in the eyes of others.  

The term is commonly used for online social networks, but it also refers to real life and the online/physical hybrid environment in which we live today. It is associated with “like” (thumbs up, heart, embrace, and wow emojis; and number of followers) we receive that elate us. That’s why we take pains in uploading only our “good” side.  

Those ”likes” today are monetized by advertizers. 

This blog is hardly that. It is simply about one post of Tony that shocked him when he got more than 10 “likes” (the highest he ever got for one post). He got over 5,000 likes! 

Unbelievable. 

He posted this photo with a caption on how the book reveals devastating truths about our country that the public is not aware of.  

I teased him, “Now you’re rich!” 

“Rich?” 

“Yeah, your social currency surged beyond your imagination.” 

“Did I go viral?” 

“Not yet. Try reaching 10,000,” I dashed his hope.

This post has little to do with Tony (my camera has no filter), but a lot with Maria Ressa, the author. 

If you are updated on Philippine journalism, you must know her. Let me lift some data from write-ups about her: 

“Maria is the CEO and president of Rappler, the top digital only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. She has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government, forced to post bail ten times to stay free. 

“In October 2021, Maria was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her ‘efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.’

“She was named one of Time Magazine’s 2018 Person of the Year, was among its 100 Most Influential People of 2019, and one of Time's Most Influential Women of the Century. She was also part of the BBC's 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 and Prospect magazine's World's top 50 thinkers. In 2020 . . . "  

Plus tons more. 

Tony lent the book to me after he read it. I couldn’t put it down, sobbing through many of the pages. I can’t write all my reasons why, but if you love our country and have read the book, with its documented details of human rights abuses, you know why. 

We leave our beloved Philippines in God’s hand. The injustices will further escalate (end times), but grace with sail us through.