What Occupation is
Better for the Soul?
Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.
Pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of
faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. 1
Timothy 6:11
It is a new year so it
is always good to have a new beginning. A new hope for the struggles I
have so that I may overcome them with the strength Christ offers me. The good
fight in keeping the faith gets challenged every day.
I am still trying to
figure out which side of the concrete “Wall” is the wrong side since most of
the time I am feeling locked up behind an official 26 feet high
“Separation Barrier” on Palestinian land but when I am in my
husband’s village of Taybeh, I end up speaking to God more. Thus, I
have always felt living in the Holy Land under military occupation with
no basic human freedoms is surely the wrong side of the wall.
Having escaped to America for a couple of months, I noticed I am
talking to God less since there so much here to keep me busy from shopping,
sports and entertainment. It is really a struggle to squeeze God in on
Sundays. I am sadly coming to the conclusion that living under oppression might
be better for my soul because prayer was the answer to everything out of my
control.
I have been feeling that
there is no perfect place on earth especially because some
people in free countries sometimes abuse their freedoms and commit acts of
violence in schools and shopping malls. I make every effort to always
keep my focus on God’s Heavenly Kingdom no matter what news I hear.
Surely military occupation is not a good thing and for sure until the day
I die, I will be promoting a free Palestine. However, I am feeling a
different type of occupation in the USA. My challenges on the other side
of the wall are so evident and physically easy to spot with guns and
military uniforms but I think the evils that exist in free society are subtle.
They are unnoticed occupations.
Have you ever been
bothered by materialism or is just my imagination that the majority of
Americans want too much.. I am always overwhelmed by all the luxuries and
wonderful things America provides because materialistic things are so easily
accessible. It seems one credit card is the answer to everything.
And, I guess it is ok if you spend the rest of your life paying for it.
My family gatherings
have completely been transformed because before or after dinner every single
family member sits around without any eye contact but with their iphone, Ipad
or some computer devise. Maybe this is not a technological occupation but
I feel strange that my children prefer to send me emails while I am sitting in
the same room. There is a type of pre-occupation that I noticed many
friends have because there is so much media pressure from the TV ads, the
magazine ads, the radio ads to have ; to buy; to spend; to go; How is it
possible that your neighbor will go to Aruba; so you need to be thinking of
going to Bermuda or something. This social competition is nerve wrecking.
Maybe I am wrong but all of the materialism, consumerism and the
luxury made me so dizzy I continue to see the world only as the ones that have
and the ones that have not. The Gospel constantly challenges our
lifestyle. I am always wondering what God wants me to have.
I am very ashamed
of myself because I don’t always see Christ in the other, especially when
the other is a beggar in the middle of New York City. I use the excuse
that I am too freezing cold to open my pursue and give an offering or I am too
scared someone will rob me if I stop to pay attention to the one
in need. So this world is getting very complicated for me because I
see the person who pays $75 to have tea at the Plaza but who is
un-willing to give a dollar to have a crown in God’s Heavenly Kingdom. We
really need to reevaluate our treasures. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28).
In this new year can we
re-new our hope of finding our space where God can be first in our life.
Can we get to a comfortable point of focusing on Christ since the end goal is
truly to be in God’s Heavenly Kingdom no matter what color pursue or brand name
boots we buy. Let us open a new page of seeing Christ in the other
no matter how difficult it may seem. Let us try as hard as possible to
make every effort to understand God’s will in our life. Are we able to make our
decisions according to God’s understanding of what is holy? In this way
we help our soul be occupied with the focus on eternal life. It can
only lead one little step closer to God’s Heavenly Kingdom.
“Well done, good and
faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over
much. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:23)
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