Tomorrow morning, I start my summer job as a teacher aide in a summer school program for kids with autism and behavioral issues. I did it last summer and found it to be extremely rewarding; I can't wait to get started! The program's start is a bit bittersweet, however, because it marks the end of the majority of my free time during the week. The time for lazy summer mornings has past and my circadian rhythm will no doubt take some time to adjust to the 6:30 alarm. But God has made us to work, and it'll be nice to have some influx of revenue into my bank account.
This transition has had me reflecting on the topic of choices. God did not create humans to be his slaves but his children, with independent minds and the freedom to choose between a myriad of alternatives. In my case, I could have chose not to work at all this summer. To do so, however, I would have had to reduce the money I spent going out with friends. In short, I could not maintain my current lifestyle without somehow financing it. The catch is, in order to do the responsible or "right" thing and work, I have to forego some of my free time. That is to say, I have to make a sacrifice.
Just as we seek a certain amount of money to live comfortably, we seek a particular degree of contentedness in our lives. And just as money allows us to live how we want, serenity permits us to be who God wants: ideally, people full of joy. One cannot purchase true joy, as it is a gift from the Lord. I felt this most profoundly a couple evenings ago on a trip up to a Canadian casino with a friend. In my free time, my friends and I like to get together and spend an evening playing poker. Through playing with my friends. I've gotten pretty good at the game the last couple years, and one of my dreams has been to win a big pot in an actual casino. The other night, that wish was realized in a huge way. On a single hand I tripled what had been my best night beforehand. Immediately afterwords, I was filled with excitement. But as the initial adrenaline died down and the congratulations subsided, I realized that little had changed. The money I had won would be spent within a month or so, the next hand I would be dealt could very well be a loser, and the only lasting legacy of my dream fulfilled would be a nice story to tell the guys around the table. The big win changed nothing about me: who I am, what I do, or most importantly, my relationship with God. I imagine my experience is a small insight into the kind of life built on "sand" that Jesus warns again in today's Gospel (Mt 7:21-29). When the winds of fortune blow against you and the rains of trial pour down, what will remain in our lives? Have we built our "house", our peace and joy, on the rock of faith in God our Heavenly Father? Or is who we are inextricably tied up in what fleeting possessions we rely on?
Have we chosen the One who was, is, and will be, or will we cast our lot with the world?
The devil, knowing his offerings can never compete with God's, tries to get us on his side by offering with immediacy what he lacks for in quality. He knows we are suckers for the quick fix and the easy way. He's the reason we chose to disown rather than to forgive, to hurt another instead of teach another, to cast judgement on our neighbor rather than our own soul. Furthermore, his greatest tool to lure us to destruction is to present us with a feeling of control and power. Since the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden, Satan has been telling humans, you can be like God. (Gn 3:5) We have all fallen prey to this temptation to control what God alone controls. The temptation echoes in all of humanity's vices, be it abortion, pornography, abuse of elected office, etc.
It's important to remember that nothing this world offers- be it fame, fortune, or friendship- is so valuable that it should strain our relationship with the Lord. Cemeteries are full of numberless bodies that once housed souls who boasted they had all the answers, who thought themselves to be indispensable, who others believed the world could not do without. Yet there sits their remains, indistinguishable from the poor man except perhaps by way of a bigger tombstone. Therein lies the beauty and wonder of God's creation. We are judged not on what we had in this world, but who we were. If you had money, were you charitable? If you had time, did you spend it serving others? If you suffered, did you offer it up?
May Jesus' words be always on our minds as we exercise our free will: Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those that find it are few. (Mt 7:13-14)
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