HINDSIGHT

HINDSIGHT

By Ray Alan T. Drilon

On hindsight the successful impeachment of CJ Corona may have a chilling effect upon the High Court Magistrates, who until lately, have been comfortable in their Ivory Tower, imperious in their mighty chairs handing down Judgments which could make or unmake the lives or fortune of puny man.

The lofty office of our Magistrates, may be high, but lonely. Perhaps because they sit above and cloistered, they have become too distant, detached, cold,  and confidently  secure  in the position they hold and in the power they wield. Could it be that in this pedestal they have grown exceedingly steep in their own sense of righteousness? 

Our Jurists are supposed to be impervious to any kind of influence, and are not swayed by any kind of views, sentiments, even popular opinion, except their own, or, what the law says, or, what their interpretation of the law is. They are supreme and final in their pronouncements. Their word becomes law.

The impeachment of no less than the Chief Justice of the High Court, pricks the bubble. It gives a very strong signal that the Brethren’s  Ivory Tower is, vulnerable, after all.

I have mixed feelings, though, about this.

Impeachment indeed is the built-in constitutional mechanism to check on the excesses of the Judiciary’s high and the mighty. And yet it is a double edged sword, for when the great Solons of the land, decided to scale the Bretheren’s Ivory Tower and traverse its hallowed halls,  deposing the Chief of Magistrates, could it be possible that they might have unwittingly chipped away the weakest point in the Ivory Tower’s foundation, which is its untrammeled independence.

The great Solons indeed have shown that the power of impeachment is their mighty tool to cast down erring kings and chiefs. They have used it and shown that the system works. Did it imbue them with the grand feeling to sit as Judges of the Judge?  Or was it because they were called out not to be judges but as guardians of righteousness. I hope it is the latter.

This is the reason why this power is entrusted to the wise. The law makers of the land are presumed to be wise, for if this power be held and wielded with an evil eye, where would the Blind Lady Justice be? 

On the lighter side, the common people’s exhilaration in seeing how an abstract concept like “impeachment” could at least be understood as it played out in this drama is a unique learning experience.     

God Bless our country and people. 

Worship

As the day winds up and the sun begins to set, I’m glad I rose early, meditated upon God’s word, and prayed that my eternal and loving Father would prepare my heart to meet and worship Him in the church where I was raised and born into His family. 

As the Psalmist said there is gladness in going into the  House of the Lord. Sunday wouldn’t be right in my household if we miss worship on the Lord’s day.

Some of my friends are just plainly curious while others are perplexed why I refuse all social invitations on the day of worship.   Some of them are Christians others are not.  I always tell them that when one stands up for the cause of Christ he should not be wishy-washy about his commitment to his faith.

Christians are called upon to glorify God. In every situation our spiritual service of worship requires that we present our bodies  to God as living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Him, which is our worship. We have to be present. It is hardly possible to do this if I go to places of leisure or pleasure instead of His House, or simply send my wife to say Hi! to God for me . Spending time with our Creator is a serious business. If we are afraid or hate to miss an appointment with the boss or a business  associate, I am always puzzled why some Christians couldn’t care less if they miss or are even late for their meeting with God.  Think about it.

My Struggle Against Anxiety

I have been suffering from chronic attacks of anxiety for which I refuse any medication. My lifetime struggle against anxiety begins in the mind which imagines dreadful things of foreboding doom. Tension, edginess worry and fear have been constant companions. Uncontrollable intrusive thoughts of disaster, trouble, and misfortune would overwhelm me with dread.

     

Anxiety is slightly different from fear, in the sense that the cause is vague, and none-specific. One may know the object of his fear but the anxious person is frightened or worried by feelings of dread or uneasiness as a reaction to a perceived stressful situation. This psychological condition could bring about physical symptoms affecting one’s health. About 25 per cent of the world’s population are anxiety sufferers.

When I became a Christian I discovered that the  Bible has a lot to teach about this general malaise.   

John Piper sharply observed: "if it is right to feel grief and anguish at some loss, then it would seem right also to be anxious about the possibility of that loss."

It is normal to be affected by life’s distressing events. I have come to deal with this problem by trusting God’s promises and assurance.

The words of St. Paul to the Philippians could far surpass any professional counseling:  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7)

Nothing more could be uplifting by meditating upon these words. They are more effective than any pill or medication. Like medicine the words are healing to the anxious soul. They come in four separate prescriptions but may be taken in a single dose. These are: Praying, Asking, Thanking, and Presenting to God all of our cares and anxious thoughts. The effect is Peace, which no one can really explain.

The great Apostle has revealed to us the secret of overcoming worry and anxiety. It is faith in a Powerful God who is far bigger than any of our concerns. “The beginning of true faith.” said George Mueller, “is the end of anxiety.”

The Lord Jesus Christ speaks to this issue today.

He said,  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

³⁴"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day."(Matthew 6:24-34)

“The implication of the message” of Jesus,  writes Richard Beaton,  “is that much of what matters to us today, the material aspects of our lives ought not to be taken seriously and can be completely entrusted to God who cares for us.”

If instead  of worrying, we have confidence and faith in God’s provision then we need not worry about worldly cares. Deep and strong attachment to worldly pleasures, possessions, or position and desperate grasping at one’s life are usually the marks of the anxious and faithless person. A life of simple faith produces a detachment which drives away worry and anxiety. Our Lord calls our attention to look at the birds of the air or the lesser creatures in the forest. He provides for all their necessities and they neither worry a bit. They simply trust in the bounteous grace of their Creator.

The command not to worry does not mean careless abandon or to be thoughtless about anything. The implication is not to be passively idle or apathetic to the concerns of life. Our Lord is not teaching that we stop from planning or working. As the Lord declares in the Gospel of Mathew, to be not anxious about our life, means to keep away from faithless  anxious thoughts fearful apprehension about possible danger or misfortune. Christ is saying if we trust God we will not worry. God is all there is. He is the Giver of life and we can entrust our lives to Him. He promised to take care of us, even as He cares for the lesser creatures, under any and in all circumstances. He positively declares that absolutely nothing, not even death can ever separate us from His love.(Romans 8:38-39)