Daily Devotional

Helping others is a command. If all we do is amuse ourselves and gossip about the misfortunes of others, then we are not truly Christians. Jesus played the role of the Good Samaritan when he became a man to live among us and die for our sake. We must do likewise.

Too often, like the tenants in Jesus’ parable, we forget that we are mere caretakers in this world and that, no matter how hard we try, we can never own anything. Painfully, all our problems, fights, quarrels, worries and anxieties arise from our attempts to own the world. No wonder St. John would say: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it.” (1 John 2:15-17)

When the seventy returned, Jesus offered a prayer of thanksgiving to teach us the importance of appreciating God. Do not develop an entitlement mentality. Refusal to give thanks leads to pride. You start to feel that, after a successful mission, you are now greater than others. Do you know what becomes of proud people? Mary said: “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted the lowly.” (Luke 1:51-52)