And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
Lk 16:1-13
EXEGESIS
Jesus did not praise the steward for his dishonesty. He commended the steward for his prudence, for his astuteness for being smart (maabilidad; magaling.).
In one of the CEAP (Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines) conventions, the speaker spoke about the kind of Christians we need today in our country. He said that what we need are Catholics who are not only mabait (good) but also magaling (smart; astute).
If we only have people who are magaling but not mabait, what do you get? Criminals. If you go to San Francisco, one of the tourist attractions is Alcatraz. It used to be the prison for high-profile criminals. Do you know that the criminals there had high IQ’s? Those criminals are magaling but not mabait.
If we only have people who are mabait but not magaling, what do you get? People who are good and poor. If you are good, you will be hard working. But if you are not magaling, you will remain poor. I do not know if Bill Gates is mabait. But he certainly is magaling.
I will not speak about being mabait not because it is not important but because we always hear about that. I will focus on being magaling.
MAGALING
Good education + high EQ + well-developed multiple intelligence = magaling na tao
Good education
You need a good education to succeed. You need to go to a school where you will learn. When I was principal, I made it a point to include in the faculty handbook a rule about the school where the teachers can get their MA. Why? Because I discovered that some of them were going to a graduate school that you never heard of. Will I trust that school? Of course, not. Parents must, therefore, check whether their children are learning. My mother transferred my brother to another school when she discovered that he was not learning how to read there.
High EQ
I did not say high IQ. IQ means intelligence quotient. EQ means emotional intelligence. A study showed that people with high EQ are more likely to succeed than those who have merely high IQ. Let me just mention one quality of a person with a high EQ, the capacity for delayed gratification.
Delayed gratification means that a person is able to set aside what is easy and comfortable and do hard work. I read the story of a college student who got addicted to Ragnarok. He would cut classes just to go to an internet café. Instead of buying books, he would use to money to play Ragnarok. Do you think this college student will ever even finish college? Do you even think he will ever even want to work? Parents must, therefore, train their children to work hard. How? Give them responsibilities. Make sure that the responsibilities are adapted to their age. Taking out the garbage; washing the dishes; setting up the table; cleaning the house; tutoring the younger siblings are some of the responsibilities. Today we call the ability to delay gratification in order to do hard work work ethic.
I have a cousin who has been living in the States for many years. She has two jobs. One full-time. Another part-time. I have heard of some kababayans who are even taking on three jobs. I don’t know how they do it but they do.
There is one danger facing parents who started out with great difficulty. They don’t want their children to go through the same experience. What is the danger? They make life easy for their children. Why is that so bad? Because if you pamper your children, they will not develop work ethic. How will they ever succeed without work ethic?
And by the way, St. Paul said that he who does not work should not eat. In other words, St. Paul expected work ethic from Christians.
Well-developed multiple intelligence
Howard Gardner of Harvard University discovered that we possess many intelligences, not just one. In fact, at present he has already discovered eight. What is the implication of his discovery? That valedictorians and salutatorians are not the only intelligent people in the planet. That even if you do not have a high IQ (but not low IQ either), you can succeed in life. Ryan Cayabyab (musician) has a high intelligence in music. Manny Pacquiao (boxing champion) has a high body-kinesthetic intelligence. J.K. Rawlings (Harry Potter) has a high linguistic intelligence. Steve Irwin (Animal Planet) has a high naturalist intelligence. In other words, you might not be good in math and science but you can still succeed in life because your intelligence might be in other areas of life.
God gave everyone some gift or talent. You must be good at something. Find out what it is. Develop it. Use it. It’s never too late. Grandma Moses is a renowned American artist. She discovered her ability to paint late in life, when she was already a grandmother. That is why she is called Grandma Moses. For parents, it means that you must encourage and support your children to try out as many things as they are growing up so that they and you can discover together what talents and abilities God has given to them.
Good education + high EQ + well-developed multiple intelligence = magaling na tao
CONCLUSION
You might have noticed that I have talked things that are not ‘religious’. And you might have asked yourself if what you have heard is spiritually enriching.
Let me say that God is the God of our whole life. He is our God inside the church and outside the church. In other words, we need to hear things about how to live our life outside the church. Why is that? Because our life is God’s gift to us. And what we make out of that life is our gift to God.
Hopefully, the things I have said will help us make of our life a beautiful gift to God.
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The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - finvoc@yahoo.com - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.
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