BE CHEATED

1 Corinthians 6:7

Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?

This is how my father distributes that M&M chocolate among him, my brother and me – “one for me, one for you, one for you, one for me. Then, one for me, one for you, one for you, one for me.” In the end, he will have two times more than what we have. We would shout “cheater!”. But we know that he is not, for in the end, he will give “his share” to us so we can divide it equally.

We all do hate cheaters. They take advantage of our weaknesses. But isn’t it our fault also. We usually look at kindness and loving others as something that has perks, or something that we do selectively. We love someone and expect something in return. And if that “something” is not returned, we would call that person selfish and a cheater. And how about, if we are the cheater. Do we accept that we are?

Jesus seems to say otherwise. So what if you lend (or even give) money to a friend in need and instead of thanking you, he looks at you with a “is that all?” look. So what if you did good to someone, and he still asked for more, don’t you give more and feel cheated? But we should accept the fact that everyone is entitled to our kindness. “Be merciful as your Father is merciful” even to the evil and ungrateful. So, why not rather let yourselves be cheated than cheat another? It is indeed better to be giving something than be the one asking for that something. This would only mean that you have more in life, and that you more to share.

Let us pray +

Almighty Father, pardon the unkind word, the impatient gesture, the hard and selfish deed, the failure to show sympathy. Enable me to live happily that I may daily do something good to my neighbor without expecting something in return, so I may have more in life, so I may share more.

Amen +

Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy