By Fr. Glenn Jones:
The concept of seasonal fashions has always perplexed many of us. They seem to be a type of one-upmanship—“See, I can buy what’s new; can you?” (Apparently a new “fashion” for young women are jeans which look like a lion’s discarded scratching post. Ooookaay)
This touches on how many people seem to set their value on their net worth, and why many are never happy with what they have but are always grasping for more. Having counseled more than a few couples, this often leads to the end of relationships as one spouse drains the savings, even spiraling them into hopeless debt—all for “stuff”, ostentation and bragging rights. We certainly see this in the motivation for crime: embezzlement, extortion, etc., people risking years or decades in prison simply to have slightly better boxes to drive, boxes to live in, extravagant travels, etc.
Yes, we do love our pride and to be admired. But we must realize that, in the end, it’s all just fool’s gold—very pretty on the outside, but of little real and lasting worth. As Job said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). Do we not know that simple phrase is true? As they say, there’s no trailer on a hearse.
Rather, should we not heed Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) Even the non-believer can see the wisdom of this, for who does not want to be well thought of at their death? Said no one ever: “What a great guy … so greedy and arrogant and caring little for others!” … much like the fact that nobody ever dies wishing they had worked even longer and harder, neglecting important things even more, to acquire more stuff. “Naked shall I return.”
A pith little snippet of wisdom is in the new Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series on Amazon Prime, in which a character quips: “What’s the good of livin’ if we’re not livin’ good?”, not meaning living in luxury, but rather in doing what is moral, charitable and right.
Another thing we encounter is if you peruse accounts of your interests on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, presenters often commenting about “haters” who post nasty comments. Sadly, such seems to be the trend in many venues worldwide—the replacement of reasoned discussion with screeching and uncompromising/unhearing/illogical rhetoric. That very odd, too: on one hand you have screechers, and on the other you have those who complain about “micro-aggressions” in which any turn of phrase—even though taken out of intended context—is considered to be “violence” upon their persons. The same person can even be playing both sides, depending on if they are at that moment the offender or the offended. Apparently lost is the wisdom:
He who corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning.
(Proverbs 9:7-9)
Pride is often the killer of morality, kindness and reason. A favorite Biblical example is that of Naaman in 2 Kings 5.
Naaman was not an Israelite, or even a Jew; he was a foreigner who had even fought against the Israelites—a pagan, and worse yet a leper. Yet in desperation he goes to the prophet Elisha in hope that the God of the Jews might heal him.
Naaman was commander of the army of Syria—a great general—and we read: “Naaman came with his horses and chariots”—came with his entire entourage and in all his glory, seeking to impress… “and halted at the door of [the prophet] Elisha’s house.” Elisha sent a messenger to him who simply said, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”
What?! Bathe in that muddy creek that cattle and sheep drink out of and wallow in? You didn’t even come out and tell me yourself, but sent a messenger!? No way, Jose … that is insulting to my dignity. This is just too much! I am important! I’m a great man! “Naaman was angry, and went away, saying, ‘Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leprosy… Are not the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ So he turned and went away in a rage.” (2 Kings 5:9-11) Unhealed.
“But his servants came near and said to him, ‘…if the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather, then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” (2Ki 5:13) So Naaman realizes their wisdom, overcomes his pride, and obeying the command of the prophet of God, plunges into the Jordan the seven times … and is healed.
The moral is, of course, that Naaman’s pride would have prevented his healing, but humility led to his being made whole. Likewise, when we subdue pride to do what is right, we, too, are made whole—seeking the good of others and not of self alone.
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.