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Gospel Reading for September 30, 2024 – Luke 9: 46-50
LASTING SELF-ESTEEM
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”
Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
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Why is it important that we are the greatest of all? Will it make us bigger persons? If we go through life believing it is a competition, we will lose the very essence of living, because we will always be insecure when we see someone who is doing the same thing we are doing lest they might outdo us. When we see people who do better than us, we will have worries and will pressure ourselves to do more. What if we reach the limitation of our capabilities? What if they have capabilities that we do not have? Does this make us less persons? The worst part is if we cannot accept this, it will signal the start of entering into frustration, anxiety, hopelessness, then depression, like some celebrities whose lives ended tragically. We cannot build self-esteem on things that are not within our control. Why compete with each other when all of us have an expiration date anyway?
The good news is – when we allow God to take control of us, we will be able to build LASTING SELF-ESTEEM because the ability to love, which everyone is endowed with, is what will make our life really worthwhile. We do not have to compete with others because knowing that God is the one in control of us should keep us humble, and help us stop comparing ourselves with others, which we will discover is a useless exercise!
And, the “goodest” of all news is that when we allow God to control our lives, we are sure to live with him in eternity!
Teach us your ways, O Lord, that we may go through life living happily and peacefully!
