Decisions and promises
Published Oct 30, 2022 12:05 am
THROUGH UNTRUE
Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P.
I once read the story of a girl who tells her father: “Dad, three frogs are sitting on a branch that hangs over a river. If one frog decides to jump into the river, how many frogs are left on the branch?” The father replies: “Two.”
The girl shakes her head. “That is not correct. Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decides to jump. How many are left?” The father says, “Oh, I get the point! If one decides to jump, the others will do the same. So there will be none left on the branch.”
Disappointed, the girl says: “No dad. There are still three frogs. You presumed wrongly that the one who decided to jump actually did."
Decisions are not always carried out. Most of these remain as intentions inhabiting our head. The song “Mona Lisa” aptly describes such decisions thus: “They just lie there, and they die there."
The gospel reading today talks about Zacchaeus, a public sinner who decides to make a great sacrifice to prove to Jesus his sincere desire for conversion. He declares: “Behold I shall give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay him four times over” (Luke 19:8-9).
The story is edifying. But if we delve deeper, Zacchaeus has not actually made any sacrifice by deciding to change. At least, not yet. He just decided to make a sacrifice. Did he carry out his decision? The gospel is silent on this.
Every day we make decisions. Some are trivial or routinary while others are life-changing, like deciding to get married. In the latter case, the decision becomes a promise or a vow a person commits himself to fulfill.
Many factors hinder us from carrying out our decisions or fulfilling our promises. First, we allow other concerns to distract us. Second, we do not know how to prioritize. We jump at a task that we consider urgent, spend hours on it, leaving no time for what is truly important. Third, we do not follow through on what we have promised.
Most important of all, we fail to consider WHY we make promises in the first place. Without a clear and solid motive that underlies our decision, we tend to exaggerate benefits or highly improbable results, thus setting ourselves up for disappointment.
Broken promises are disastrous to relationships. These erode mutual trust and diminish the credibility of the promise-breaker. When you do not keep your word, people will find it difficult to take your word seriously.
These days, we have a surfeit of highly publicized decisions and promises by some government leaders. To ordinary people whose life is characterized by the unmitigated increase of the cost of basic commodities, rampant criminality, graft and corruption, poverty, terrorism, gambling, and the drug menace, what they want to hear are not Zaccheus-like decisions or promises which are loudly broadcasted by the media, but which often remain as mere good intentions.
Ah, how wonderful it would be if we lived in a world where decisions were carried out and promises were kept! What a relief it would be for less-fortunate Filipinos not to wade in flooded streets when it rains, find refuge in decent evacuation centers when calamities and typhoons hit the country, not to fear being kidnapped, not to be forced to go abroad searching for jobs, not lose their savings when they got sick, and see honest work rewarded and criminals punished.
Fr. Rolando V. dela Rosa, O.P.
I once read the story of a girl who tells her father: “Dad, three frogs are sitting on a branch that hangs over a river. If one frog decides to jump into the river, how many frogs are left on the branch?” The father replies: “Two.”
The girl shakes her head. “That is not correct. Here is the question again: There are three frogs and one decides to jump. How many are left?” The father says, “Oh, I get the point! If one decides to jump, the others will do the same. So there will be none left on the branch.”
Disappointed, the girl says: “No dad. There are still three frogs. You presumed wrongly that the one who decided to jump actually did."
Decisions are not always carried out. Most of these remain as intentions inhabiting our head. The song “Mona Lisa” aptly describes such decisions thus: “They just lie there, and they die there."
The gospel reading today talks about Zacchaeus, a public sinner who decides to make a great sacrifice to prove to Jesus his sincere desire for conversion. He declares: “Behold I shall give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I shall repay him four times over” (Luke 19:8-9).
The story is edifying. But if we delve deeper, Zacchaeus has not actually made any sacrifice by deciding to change. At least, not yet. He just decided to make a sacrifice. Did he carry out his decision? The gospel is silent on this.
Every day we make decisions. Some are trivial or routinary while others are life-changing, like deciding to get married. In the latter case, the decision becomes a promise or a vow a person commits himself to fulfill.
Many factors hinder us from carrying out our decisions or fulfilling our promises. First, we allow other concerns to distract us. Second, we do not know how to prioritize. We jump at a task that we consider urgent, spend hours on it, leaving no time for what is truly important. Third, we do not follow through on what we have promised.
Most important of all, we fail to consider WHY we make promises in the first place. Without a clear and solid motive that underlies our decision, we tend to exaggerate benefits or highly improbable results, thus setting ourselves up for disappointment.
Broken promises are disastrous to relationships. These erode mutual trust and diminish the credibility of the promise-breaker. When you do not keep your word, people will find it difficult to take your word seriously.
These days, we have a surfeit of highly publicized decisions and promises by some government leaders. To ordinary people whose life is characterized by the unmitigated increase of the cost of basic commodities, rampant criminality, graft and corruption, poverty, terrorism, gambling, and the drug menace, what they want to hear are not Zaccheus-like decisions or promises which are loudly broadcasted by the media, but which often remain as mere good intentions.
Ah, how wonderful it would be if we lived in a world where decisions were carried out and promises were kept! What a relief it would be for less-fortunate Filipinos not to wade in flooded streets when it rains, find refuge in decent evacuation centers when calamities and typhoons hit the country, not to fear being kidnapped, not to be forced to go abroad searching for jobs, not lose their savings when they got sick, and see honest work rewarded and criminals punished.