ധ്രുവദീപ്തി // Divine Thoughts : A Selfish Man is an Evil Man- Elsy Mathew, Bangalore

 Divine Thoughts :

A Selfish Man is an Evil Man- 

                                                                                                     

Does it make you a better king if you build houses of cedar, finer than those of others? Your father enjoyed a full life. He was always just and fair, and he prospered in everything he did. He gave the poor a fair trial, and all went well with him. That is what it means to know the Lord. (Jeremia 22:15)

                                                                                                Elsy Mathew, Bangalore

Unforgettable moments

Elsy Mathew

One day, a very wealthy man was walking on the road. Along the way, he saw a beggar on the sidewalk. The rich man looked kindly on the beggar and asked, “How did you become a beggar?” The beggar said, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man. Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.” The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job. I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.”

The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do you mean, Sir?” “I own a rice plantation. You could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance everyday for the next 30 days. All you’ll have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Business Partners, we’ll share  the profits.” Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. “Oh Sir,” he said, “you’re a gift from Heaven. You’re the answer to my prayers. Thank you. He then paused and said, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get the 90%? Do I keep 5% and you get the 95%? I’ll be happy with any arrangement.”

The rich man shook his head and chuckled. “No, I want you to give me the 10%. And you keep the 90%.” For a moment, the beggar couldn’t speak. When he tried to speak, it was gibberish. “Uh, gee, uh, wow, I mean, huh?” He couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was too preposterous. The rich man laughed more loudly. He explained, “I don’t need the money, my friend. I’m already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.” The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me!”

And so that was what happened…

He forgot where the blessings came from.

Each day, the beggar—now dressed a little bit better—operated a store selling rice in the market. He worked very hard. He woke up early in the morning and slept late at night. And sales were brisk, also because the rice was of good quality. And after 30 days, the profits were astounding. At the end of the month, as the ex-beggar was counting the money, and liking very much the feeling of money in his hands, an idea grew in his mind. He told himself, “Gee, why should I give 10% to my Business Partner? I didn’t see him the whole month! I was the one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work! I deserve the 100% profits!” A few minutes later, the rich man was knocking on the door to collect his 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it!” And he slammed the door.

If we were his Business Partner, how would we feel? This is exactly what happens to us…

God gave us everything, 

God is our Business Partner,

God gave us life—every single moment, every single breath, every single second… God gave us talents—ability to talk, to create, to earn money… 

God gave us a body—eyes, ears,   mouth,   hands,   feet,   heart… God gave us mind— imagination, emotions,   reasoning,   language…

So we need to give back Our Business Partner something in return. How do we manage the gifts and talents granted by God? Do they serve you to do good to others?

When you have all you want, think what it is like to be hungry, what it is to be poor. 

Things can change in a single day, the Lord can act very quickly. If you are wise, 

you will be carefull in everything you do.(Sirach 18-25)

A preacher once gave a graphic description of the different ways in which people give. There are three kinds of givers: the flint, the sponge and the honeycomb. To get anything out of the flint, you must strike it--and then you get only sparks and chips. To get water out of a sponge, you must squeeze it; and the more you squeeze it, the more you get out of it. But the honeycomb just overflows with its sweetness.

Riches should be shared with those in need.  

Pope Francis talked about the dangers of becoming a slave to material wealth. He said focusing on accumulating riches, corrupts the heart.  Taking his inspiration from the day’s gospel reading where Jesus warned his disciples not to accumulate treasures on the earth but instead in heaven, the Pope reflects on the many dangers posed by greed and human ambition. He said these vices end up corrupting and enslaving our hearts and rather than accumulating wealth for ourselves we should be using it for the common good.   "In the end this wealth doesn’t give us lasting security. Instead, it tends to reduce your dignity. And this happens in families – so many divided families.  And this ambition that destroys and corrupts is also at the root of wars. There are so many wars in our world nowadays because of greed for power and wealth. We can think of the war in our own hearts. As the Lord said, ‘Be on your guard against avarice of any kind.’ Because greed moves forward, moves forward, moves forward…   it’s like a flight of steps, the door opens and then vanity comes in - believing ourselves to be important, believing ourselves to be powerful… and then in the end pride (comes). And all the vices come from that, all of them. They are steps but the first step is avarice, that desire to accumulate wealth.” –Pope Francis

 

There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. There was also a poor man names Lazarus,  covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man’s door, hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the  feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, and in Hades, where he was  in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, “Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!”

“But Abraham said, “Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are. The rich man said, Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.”   (Luke, 16:19-28)

Once Mother Teresa was asked: What is God's greatest gift to you? She replied: The poor people. How are they a gift? I have an opportunity to be with Jesus 24 hours a day. John Wesley's rule of life was to save all he could and give all he could. When he was at Oxford, he had an income of 30 Pounds a year. He lived on 28 and gave 2 away. When his income increased to 60 Pounds, 100 Pounds and 120 Pounds a year, he still lived on 28 Pounds and gave the balance away. The Accountant General for Household Silverware demanded of him a report of his silverware. His reply was, "I have two silver teaspoons in London and two at Bristol. That is all the silverware I have at present, and I shall not buy anymore while so many around me want bread."   

As part of their Social Awareness Programme, the college students who were members of the National Service Scheme were taken on a tour of the city’s slums. One of the students was appalled by what he saw: poverty, misery, undernourished children, sick and suffering elders. That night, while saying his prayers, he turned to God in anger and said, “Lord, how can you allow this? Why can’t you do something about it?” He heard a voice deep within him, God said, “I already did. I created you.

I am an old man now; I have lived a long time, but I have never seen a good man abandoned by the Lord or his children begging for food.  (Psalms 37:25)./-

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