By Dr. Dencio Acop
‘Heaven can wait’, a friend once told me. It was perhaps because he was enjoying life too much. We were in the military then and no matter how hard that life was, it certainly had its privileges too. Especially in a society that allowed double standards and short-cuts. Which was itself kind of strange too because we actually grew up in a black and white culture highlighted by an academy life that was nothing less than perfectionist. But then again we already found ourselves immersed in an operating environment that was far from ideal. Where the dysfunctions in that environment could only be leveled straight by leadership. But if and only if that leader was himself straight.
So a lot of us reveled in that environment where power and authority held the most sway. Where that same power and authority at times dictated what actually occurred more than the policy that should have guided policy action. Most of us craved for that power and authority and made it the sole direction and goal of our earthly lives. Many lobbied and schemed for that power. Many were and still are possessed and obsessed by it. You see, the softness of a State is the great enabler of the wrongness of leadership than its righteousness. For in such a state, there is nothing or no one to fiscalize adherence to law by those in positions of power and authority. Of that same law should-be upholders break on whim.
So, ‘heaven can wait’, as my good friend said. A friend who had attended Catholic schools and who knew right from wrong from the get go. Who had graduated from one of the best academies in the world. But who until today just could not say no to the allures of worldly power, wealth, honor, and pleasure. Maybe there is simply too much of that endorphin-producing adrenaline when one is engaged in the wild passions of life. Why some could go as far as being ‘drunk with power’ and still want more of it. Many cannot let go of unbridled capitalism, money laundered or not or both, whose proceeds allow the owner even more power, wealth, honor, and pleasure. And there is of course that place of ‘honor’ belonging only to the blessed select few. Probably why many invite themselves to the front row seats of honor even without the Host ushering. Finally but certainly not least, who could say no to the pleasures of this life? Indeed, ‘heaven can wait’. Until heaven is no more.