Word Magazine February 1990 Page 16

GIVE GLORY TO GOD

By Jameelie Dayoub

In what should a Christian glory? Is it his work which stems from the flesh? Is it his activities? Or is it of himself? What must be the purpose of his glory, and how can he use that glory toward the growth of the community and spreading the good news.

In 2 Cor.10:17 Paul writes, “Let him who boasts boast of the Lord. For it is not the man who commends himself that is accepted, but the man whom the Lord commends.” He goes on in chapter 12 to say, “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The Christians in Corinth directed many complaints toward Paul about the difficulties of leading a Christian life. Paul cites himself as an example of one who had suffered a great deal in preaching the gospel of Christ, and yet he never gloried in or boasted about himself, only in the Lord. We also should never boast in earthly things and not be self satisfied.

It is even harder today to lead a Christian life . . . there are so many temptations around us from the time we are very young. I had the opportunity to hear a dynamic speaker recently from the Texans War on Drugs. She presented their philosophy of ZERO TOLERANCE. There can be no responsible use of any substance that is illegal or harmful, no experimental use, no recreational use, no occasional use, ZERO TOLERANCE. She stated some alarming statistics about what has been accomplished so far in the war on drugs. It has definitely made for a healthier adult population; nicotine and alcohol sales are down nationwide. And deaths in older adults are down due to clean living and great medical care. Our parents and grandparents are living longer, but deaths in the 14-21 age groups are on the rise. So many of those deaths are drug and alcohol related. Teenagers are running away from their problems and turning to drugs. Paul took his problems to the Lord. I want to tell all the youth in our Archdiocese that life is not perfect. . . there are going to be some bad times and that it is O.K. to feel pain and suffer. What we should glory in is that our Lord is here, right here, to wrap his arms around us through prayer, scriptures, and his body and blood. Paul says that in his weakness he was united with God and that gave him the strength to fight temptation. The only way our drug problem is going to be remedied is for teens to help each other. Don’t be afraid to speak up when you see something wrong going on. Don’t be afraid to quote a scripture or pray with a friend who’s in trouble. Get involved in a drug prevention program at school. Help spread the Good News.

The purpose of our glory should be to live with Christ and like Christ and spread His teachings. The way we can do this is by learning as much as we can about our Faith and the scriptures and by supporting our Church according to our abilities. Visualize with me for a moment because I am a dreamer. . . a beautiful day in 1990 when the first shovel of earth is turned over toward the building of our new church. The thought of this really excites me, and then later when we actually set foot in our beautiful new church built to the Glory of our Lord and by our hard work and faith. I really can’t wait for that day to come, but I know there will be much work to do between now and then. I was working on my Sunday School lesson the other night and someone asked me, “Jameelie, why do you do it?” “Do what?” I asked. “Why do you give so much time and energy to the church.” My reply was, “God gave me so much energy I kind of enjoy using some of it for Him.” Oh, I could probably put a few more hours and a little more energy into my business and come out slightly ahead financially. But I would not be using what God has given me, my talents, to the fullest. Orthodoxy is the best thing that ever happened to me. I thank God for my Presbyterian upbringing for the root of my knowledge, but I have never felt such warmth and strength as I have from this Faith and this wonderful congregation. Partaking of the sacraments has meant so much to me and I have learned so much about our faith through the help of Father John and the books he has suggested to me. Even though at times in the face of not getting enough people to participate, parents that won’t bring their children to Sunday School, and arguments at congregational meetings, I wonder if it is all worth it. My faith never falters. Just as Paul told the Galatians, “And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Now, we are all working hard toward our new church building, but it is not over when we get that church built. We need to prepare ourselves to teach our Faith to other Christians and re-teach our Faith to people who have strayed. We must proclaim the Good News of the Resurrection at all times. According to an article I read in the newspaper, it is the perfect time to build our membership. The article entitled, “A Look at the Future”, stated the 80’s era of accumulation will end, leading to a focus on moral, spiritual, and environmental rather than monetary issues. The ME generation is over! Many people had faith in their careers and faith in Wall Street. When that was taken away from them, they had to put their faith in Christ. That’s good news. . people are coming home to the Glory of God!

The purpose of our glory should be to live with Christ and like Christ and spread His teachings.

Mrs. Jameelie Dayoub is the youth advisor in her parish, St. George of El Paso, Texas.