Our temporal affairs should serve our ultimate goal

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT’S the lesson we can draw from that gospel parable about the faithful and prudent steward. (cfr. Lk 12,39-48) We should know how to make all our temporal affairs—from our family life to our business and politics—serve to pursue our ultimate and supernatural goal of our own salvation. It is the goal of becoming nothing less than being like God, sharers of his divine life and nature.

As God’s image and likeness and redeemed children of his through Christ, we are tasked to take care of God’s creation. “Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Gen 1,28) That was God’s clear mandate to our first parents. It continues to be ours too, till the end of time.

The world has been given to us by God as the place for us to do our life’s test of whether to love him in return or not. As such, it comes to us with a certain order, direction and unity. It comes to us with laws that we try to discover and follow.

As the masterpiece of that creation, we are made its stewards who have to take care of it, always with the mind of God and never just with our own ideas. That’s why we need to always be in God’s presence, asking for his guidance. We can never overemphasize our need for prayer, for studying the doctrine of our faith, so we can discern God’s will and ways as we go through our earthly affairs.

We should be profoundly aware of our accountability of our stewardship of the many things God has given us. We have to do everything to keep that awareness active and functional, supported by the appropriate means that first of all are spiritual in nature before they are material.

We are reminded of this duty when in the gospel Christ said, “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Lk 12,39-40)

Since God has made us stewards of our own life, we need to learn how to manage the many resources entrusted to us so that we can be fruitful and productive in this life. Let’s remember that God will always ask us to account for what he has given us.

We have to be really good in managing our life, being clear about the proper motives, priorities and standards, especially in the use of our time. The motives should be none other than love of God and others. The priorities should always be God first, then others, then ourselves.

And the standards should be such that at the end of the day we can ‘harvest’ a good crop that at bottom is a matter of growth in sanctity and apostolic zeal. We should be clever enough that we do not get too entangled with the technicalities involved in the pursuit of our earthly and temporal concerns, though they have their objective value.

In this regard, I suppose having daily plans and strategies would greatly help us. We always need some structure to guide us and facilitate things. This way we minimize getting distracted along the way.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com