BLIND SPOT
“Is he not the carpenter…” – Mark 6:3
“No
Filipino can put up a business. Whenever he has money, he spends it on
drinking, gambling and womanizing,” a Chinese businessman told Derio,
his Filipino employee. Derio, who only finished grade 6, thought to
himself, “I’ll prove him wrong.” Years later, opportunity knocked on
Derio’s door. He was able to put up his own business through the help of
another Chinese businessman. His business flourished and is still going
strong after 42 years.
Jesus taught with wisdom but the people’s prejudices blinded them to
the truth. They refused to believe His teachings because Jesus was just
one of them — ordinary and no better than them.
The Chinese businessman in my story had preconceived notions about
Filipinos. If he were alive now, he would have seen how Filipinos have
evolved and become successful entrepreneurs.
We must not make conclusive judgments on people based only on their
looks, ethnic background, education or occupation. We need to go past
the surface. Go deeper by learning more about the person in order to see
him for who he really is. Who knows? He may be our future president or
the next pope. Judith Concepcion (svp_jmc@yahoo.com)
Reflection: What blinds you to the truth?
Cleanse me, O Lord, from all my biases and prejudices that I may clearly see my neighbor for who he really is: a child of God.
St. Agatha, virgin and martyr, pray for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment