WHAT YOU
OUGHT TO DO
Luke 11:42-46
In a society that has lost the sense of morality: what is
right or wrong, what ought to be done or not, how to act or how not to act,
Jesus insists on the "oughtness".
Here are His words to the Pharisees: "You...neglect
justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting
the others"
Jesus harps on two important virtues, the virtues of Justice
and Love of God. He maintains that we uphold them and never neglect them.
Justice here involves giving each one his due. It has to do with respect for
human dignity and human rights as endowed by God. It is the love of God that
would motivate us to love God. We should bear in mind how much God loves us and
allow it to move us to care for people, not to inflict harm on them. Jesus
wants us not to be like the lawyers and Pharisees he reproached in the Gospel
who make the life of others unbearable.
Are you doing what you ought to do according to divine
perspective? Do you deny others what is rightfully theirs? Do you take undue
honour? Do you suppress and oppress people? Do you have compassion at all?
Jesus wants us to have a loving heart. He wants us to be
guided by justice which will enable us to give God the honour due to Him and
not look down on people around us even in their shortcomings. Jesus wants us to
be accommodating and open to welcome positive values we lack from people around
us.
Jesus wants us to live according to His Holy will for us.
He wants us to live out the morality of the Gospel in a
world that doesn't want to hear about what ought and what ought not to be as
dictated by God. Be guided not by doing whatever. It is a careless living to do
so. The question that should guide your decision on every action before
undertaking should be: Is it what I ought to do? At the end of each day, we
should also examine each of our actions with the question: What I did today, is
it what I ought to have done? Was I just and loving as I should have been? May
God help us.
Let us
pray
Oh God, we pray for the grace not to neglect justice and
love. We pray for your wisdom to know what we should do and what we shouldn't
do at any point in time. We cannot really do without your direction. We need
your moral instructions. Help us not to pay deaf ears to your gracious calls.
Save us from daily falls. Bless us and save us from eternal woes through Christ
our Lord. Amen
God bless your Wednesday
Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh
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