PROSPERITY WITH A DARK PURPOSE - PART I

"Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well." - Proverbs 5:15

I am told of a church somewhere in Makati City's central business district, deep down in Bayani Fernando's wimpish, pinkish Metro Manila where its presbytery recently 'gave the boot' to their pastor for a number of serious reasons. My unimpeachable source tells me that even after numerous reminders to this wayward weasel, he has continued to walk towards the dark and away from the light. This pseudo-pastor loved getting inebriated with beer almost nightly in public places and sometimes in the privacy of his own home. Not satisfied with the numbing effect of the bottle, he goes on to take a special interest with one of its church members. A female I suppose. And only God knows how many more. Prosperity with a dark purpose from a pastor impostor? If you ask me, I think just these two items would be more than sufficient grounds to remove a pastor from the delicate responsibilities of caring for its sheep, him being their shepherd. But a shepherd who "slaughters" his very own sheep in the convenience of his own abattoir deserves to be in for the slaughter himself, especially if that poor little sheep is the most vulnerable in the drove, and one who bleats the most for affection. A so-called man of God who in reality is a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' deserves to be stripped off his cover, so to speak. He must be unmasked for his true colors to be revealed for all to see, not to mention the yellow streak that would show running down his spine. His un-virgin wool must be sheared off from his pachydermic epidermis and then given away to the cold and the contrite, not to the prosperous and the plentiful. Men like him are not fit to carry on preaching from the pulpit, for with it is the divine task of winning souls for God - and not the careless and selfish act of ushering souls to eternal damnation. Some say it's alright for a pastor to drink even every night and then go on to preach the next day, as long as he doesn't preach while intoxicated. Well, on that ignoramus idea, it's just like saying that it's alright for a leader of a church to gallivant and have affairs here and there and everywhere around Metro Manila, as long as he goes home to his wife every single night, right? Wrong! Imagine, this so-called man of God was even so arrogant to address one of his loyal church members who saw the light as "isang langaw lang siya sa buhay ko!" This member snapped back immediately saying, "kaya pala lagi ako dumidikit sa kanya, e kasi, saan ba mahilig dumapo ang langaw?!" And to those who blindly tolerate these actions, you too could be most answerable to God and are responsible for the necessary actions to take to stop this and uproot this wrongdoing once and for all, lest you carry on your tired old backs the heavy wrath of God. Further, I am told that this unrepentant person continues to this day to cast his 'net of deception' from his leaking 'boat of pretention.' He could very well be a 'poacher of lost souls' for his self-satisfaction and aggrandizement. A fisher of men who, in reality, is really just a plain old fisher of compliments - and God must be angry and pissed off at him! With this story shared to me, I am reminded of the great and incomparable Reverend Jimmy Swaggart, when he fell, he fell flat on his face for a similar sin. But he went on to try to restore himself in an orderly fashion and in one occasion, as he read Psalm 51 weepingly, repentantly before an equally emotional congregation, he asked forgiveness from both God and man. In a nutshell, Psalm 51 talks about the Psalmist David's repentance from the sins of pride and lust, among others. We all need to cry our heart's out to God Psalm 51 at some point in our lives, yet some people would rather skip it and jump to Psalm 52 straight from Psalm 50 and use it simply as opening scripture for Sunday church service. And so, this church I am told moves on towards the light, and away from the temporary darkness brought about by this 'angel of light,' with a sign on its door which says: "Wanted: A pastor who fights our battles with us, not a pastor who hides his bottles from us. A pastor with a genuine love for the ministry, not a pastor with a genuine lust for the miniskirt."

(Image from http://www.ensltd.com/)

GLORIA'S ILLEGITIMATE PRESIDENCY IS A LEGITIMATE CURSE

Filipinos above a certain age remember the fifties and sixties as the "golden age of Philippine progress and development." The country led the rest of South-East Asia in scientific research, education, business, the arts, and the practice of democratic governance. Filipinos then exuded an air of confidence and a purpose befitting a people in control of their destiny with a bright future ahead of them. Contrast that image with today's reality as outlined by a fact which we quote in part below:

By her own admission, President Gloria Arroyo accurately assessed that "over the last decades, our (strong) Republic has become one of the weakest, steadily left behind by its progressive neighbors, and forty years ago, we were second only to Japan in economic stature, and way ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand." At our present growth rate, it will take us some 30 years to get where Thailand is today. And by the year 2030, our children will experience far worse conditions than we have today:

1. A population of 160 million;
2. Of those, 70 to 90 million will live below the poverty line;
3. Our national debt is estimated to be US$ 200 billion (compared to US$ 28 billion when President Ferdinand Marcos fled the country in 1986, and US$ 72 billion today);
4. We will be competing, not against Thailand or even Vietnam, but against Bangladesh;
5. We will still be the most corrupt nation in Asia, if not the world.

The signs are very clear. For as long as Gloria Arroyo remains our President, our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence - contrary to what she and her economic snails are now reporting to the people.




(image from http://www.chinapost.com/)

HONORABLE CONGRESSMEN - A DYING BREED?

"How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards." - Spanish Proverb

It always seems to many of us Filipinos that our legislators are always busy everyday tackling matters of national interest. Meetings here, meetings there. Well, that's not all entirely true. Truth is, many of these congressmen spend more hours talking about pork barrels, mistresses and golf. They also talk about the latest SUVs and interest rates, not to mention the latest color designs of Lacoste, which really is their brand of choice. I wonder, does that tiny crocodile on the shirt have a direct link to their lifestyle? Most of the time, we see them on our streets with flashy imports and gas-guzzling SUVs bullying their way through traffic sporting #8 plates. It will be a cold day in hell when I actually see a #8 vehicle obey a traffic light. So, lawbreakers in disguise as lawmakers? A congressman's normal life is a life of luxury and influence. He gets the best table in a restaurant, the best seat in a theatre, the best tickets to a concert and the best looking umbrella girl. He gets the first billing in a wedding invitation, which means that he is also one of the first VIPs to kiss the bride. When in a bank, he doesn't get to fall in line like the rest of us ordinary bank clients. He is a "preferred client," as BPI proudly advertises it. He gets the immediate attention of the bank manager, otherwise, he gets to deposit his millions to the bank next door. A congressman isn't subject to a body search whenever he enters a mall. He is saluted snappily by security guards on duty. He gets a steady supply of Viagra and Cialis from his personal physician, and always, the best room with the best view in a 5-star hotel. No wonder many make it a career in life to be a congressman, spending huge sums to buy votes and air time. To get elected no matter the cost, because when elected, can easily get back that money spent via pay-offs, bribes, kickbacks and of course - pork barrel! Oh, he also gets to be addressed as "Honorable." Of course, I find this very difficult to just swallow hook, line and sinker because most of the time, they do the exact opposite. And by the way, the only time they tell the truth is when they call each other "Liar."

(Image from http://bbc.co.uk/)