By Dr. Dencio S Acop
The little things are the big things! A movie I just saw again reminded me about how the One who created us made us for something so much more, but we settle for only so much less. We easily get distracted by the little things and forget about the larger ones that really matter most in life. Now, what exactly are these little and big things? Is it the amount of money we have in our account? Certainly, it always manages to get us worried about whether we have enough to pay the bills or not, right? Is it the future for what it has in store for us? What would I be doing? Where will I be going? Do I still have enough time left? Is it about the children or grandchildren and what lies ahead that gets us worried? Is it about our relationships with family and friends? It could be anything really. It just seems that with every passing day, our hands are filled with so many things to do. We feel like there is never enough time to finish our daily chores and routines. Etc. Then, life suddenly ends or is about to end and we wonder if that to which we dedicated our lives to — was all worth it. Regrets, if there are, give an indication of the smallness or bigness of things in our lives. When a dying person confesses that he had wished he spent more time with family or not consumed his life worshipping money — that which is regretted clearly reveals itself as the big thing.
It is said that all we need to know to live a good life is learned in kindergarten. It is also said that man is the most capable creature because of what has been put in his heart and mind by his Creator. No amount of artificial intelligence today can come close to supplanting what lies in the innermost being of a human person. Man has been created in the image and likeness of God. And unlike a bot, which is merely limited to the little things, man is not. But the problem with man is that he has been living his life like that of a bot. Man has been focusing too much just on the little things: money, power, (dis)honor, and lust. That’s right! These things which the world acknowledges as the big things – actually, are just the small things! The world has got it all in reverse; and it has gotten it all wrong. Why do we say this? Because the human beings who had pursued such things all their lives regretted having done it! That’s why! On their deathbeds, these dying people wished they had spent more time with their loved ones, been kinder, and loved more. They wished they had given more than just take; Been more humble — because they had let pride and ego take away all the opportunities and possibilities for meaningful growth.
It has been the fate of this world that the golden secrets be hidden from the wise and learned but given to the poor and humble. I wrote in my last article about how “the time for honoring themselves will soon be at an end” for the rich and powerful of this world. The poor and humble have always suffered and perished under the rule of the proud and mighty all throughout human history. But the good fortune of the oppressor has been in this world, and it will stay in this world. That luck has no place in the afterlife, where it is the just and innocent victims who will, in turn, have theirs. How do we know this? The Messiah said so. He warned evildoers saying, “those who are first will be last; and those who are last will be first in the kingdom of God”. It had all seemed clear since time immemorial that worldliness is of this world only but that a virtuous life is deserving of heaven. However, man has always been fickle, impatient, and a prisoner-slave of his senses. Even if man knew the consequences of his wayward actions, he still liked to distract himself just so he could continue enjoying his passions, however disordered. Man, oftentimes, gives in to his momentary indiscretions putting off the wrath of God until the very last minute. Where he still hopes to obtain the mercy of God, nonetheless. But will he obtain it? Will the big worldly things also be big in the eyes of God? Or does God think small preferring the little things?