Day 8
Some of us might not know this about me, but I am a son of a turkey. Yep, I have written it, I am a son of a turkey. I bet I need to explain. Well, my Dad is from Aitkin and their mascot is the turkey. Hence, I am the son of a gobbler. (Maybe that is why my first name is Thomas). Now this isn’t any great achievement on my part and it is no big deal. But I could be way too focused on this. I could continually say how good I am because of this. Most of us would look at me and think that I am a little crazy, and this thought would be correct. Who would want to brag about being a son of turkey?
So often we brag about what we are good at. We tell others about our achievements. Why? So that they can hear how great we think we are. “Diabolical wisdom is the love of esteem and honors” (Preparation for Total Consecration, 35). Yes, we who are looking to have others praise us and tell us how we are God’s gift to humanity, are looking for others to see that we are important. We want others to see that they can’t live without us. None of us are that important! We have to remember that God doesn’t need us. And that anything that we do that is good is His gift. In other words, we have no talents, no ability, and no… without Him! What should our response be: HUMILITY!!! So if we are honored, we thank God, and we praise Him for His gift, we are nothing without Him.
Too often though, we are showing off those areas that we are strong in because there are areas that we are extremely weak in that we don’t want others to know. [We] cannot bear insult or blame and so [we] hide [our] shortcomings and parade [our] better qualities” (Preparation for Total Consecration, 35). Each of us has weaknesses, but some of our greatest weaknesses in time can become our greatest strengths because we let the light of Christ shine in that area.
What this means is that we shouldn’t look for honors, and praises, rather we should seek to praise God in all that we do. Our intention should be to do the will of God. We should want to please Him and make sure He is glorified in what we say, and do; this is what St. Louis De Monfort is getting at. We are to live in the world and not be of the world. We don’t need trophies and accolades, rather we just need GOD!