Thursday, April 05, 2007 Magsaysay: God-used! By Jo Magsaysay Whatever
MY daughter talks back to me in my column and puts me in my place.
I had certain misgivings about her traipsing off to Bicol and abandoning her four, very minor children and hard-working husband for an entire week. She cajoles me and talks straight to my heart to straighten me out - being adamant and relentless in her pursuit of what she calls a ‘strategy for a higher purpose’…
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‘Mommy, call me naive. Call me idealistic. But a bottomless pit of deep longing has been embedded in me which simply needs to be filled. I am joining countless others who are in search of more profound living - to nurture a need to be used by God. I want my life to count. God is not arbitrary about who He chooses to use.
The Bible says, "God is looking for people to use." Believe me, you haven’t really lived until you experience being used by God to bless somebody else.
Some of us could be saying, "God could never use me." That’s a misnomer. Not only can God use us but He actually wants to use us.
Fact of the matter is, we all need a greater life purpose or we’ll miss out on the more essential aspects of our existence. Some of our desires may be admirable goals – but they aren’t a life purpose.
In fact there’s really only one place to start when discovering God’s purpose for our life. "The thing you should want most is God's Kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you." (Matt. 6:33) It starts with a desire.
A strategy for a higher purpose entails costs and risks that will require us to step out in faith. That’s just part of being used by God.
****** Altruism being synonymous with selflessness, best describes the valiant efforts of nameless, faceless people who aspire to make a difference in the lives of others. In this day and age of crass commercialism and worldly pursuits, we are afflicted with indifference at the plight of those who are impoverished and are prone to equate the destitute as nothing more than statistical data.
Breaking out of the mold of apathy is Gawad Kalinga (GK), which is a multi-sectoral movement that works with the poor by giving priority to dismantling the pattern of despair and feeling of abandonment. GK aims to build empowered communities, mobilize massively the spirit of volunteerism and aims to encourage partners in nation–building.
The primary objectives of GK seem idealistic since it endeavors to eradicate the slums, eliminate squatters and alleviate the plight of the poor. In a nutshell, its basic programs are shelter (tatag); education (sibol, siga); health (lusog, botika ng bayan); livelihood (sikap); and community development (kapitbahayan).
GK is a movement that has not given up on our country. GK has created a global awareness that Filipinos can and will build a squatter-free, slum- free and hunger- free Philippines by committing their collective genius, passion and strength towards restoring the dignity and the potential for excellence of the poor, the weak and the powerless.
Numerous companies have embarked on their corporate social responsibility programs by solidifying their linkage with GK by providing the funds and the manpower to build homes for the poor across the country. Tony Meloto, GK’s master storyteller, gave a rousing commencement address to graduating students of Ateneo de Davao and the call he sounded reverberated across the halls. Excerpts of his impassioned speech will surely invigorate the very core of anyone who hears these words:
"You have the choice and the opportunity to correct the mistakes of our generation and build a future full of hope in this country. You can be the new breed of political leaders who will gain your mandate through visible and quantifiable performance, rather than mastery of the art of winning elections through cheating and corruption. You can be the new captains of business and industry who will work for profit with a conscience, expanding the market base by wisely investing in developing the potential of the poor for productivity. You can be the new elite of this country who will not be happy to send your children to exclusive schools and live in exclusive subdivisions if out of school street children are ignored and Lazarus continues to live as a squatter outside your gates.
Who can stop us from claiming our Promised Land? Our enemies are not the corrupt politicians, the greedy rich, the lazy poor, the religious hypocrites and other convenient scapegoats. Our enemies are not out there anymore. Our enemies are now within us. We have compromised our values and tolerated corruption. We have lowered our standard and tolerated poverty. We have sacrificed the truth for hypocrisy. We have chosen convenience for vision, popularity for leadership...and have chosen despair over hope.
Do we fight or do we run? Is there a King Leonides among you who will fight for honor and freedom? Are there 300 Spartans among you who will confront our enemies with extraordinary courage and love? Can you be the army who will lead our people to victory following the path of peace? Are you the generation of patriots who can shout to the world that no Filipino will remain poor because you will not allow it; that no Filipino will remain a squatter because you will not allow it; that no politician will remain corrupt because you will not allow it?
If you are, then join us in Gawad Kalinga. Together, we can build a great nation, first world in the eyes of God and respected by other great nations.
Godspeed to you our patriots and heroes. God bless our beloved Philippines."
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‘With such rousing words of inspiration, yes, Mommy the GK-Bayani Challenge at Bicol is just the start of greater things to come…’
