Days ago, I read a blog post by
some local celebrity blogger that really caught my attention. It was a
graduation speech that was delivered last March in some high school students. What
interested me most is about his sub-topic regarding Relativism. It caught me
off guard and I want to share it with you.
Relativism , like what the blogger
defined as when truth is twisted to meet someone else’s need. Francis Kong, a
businessman and a columnist, set an easy example about it. He said, “If you are
at a streetlight and it turns red, you stop because it’s red, because you’re
supposed to stop. (This isn’t really always true in our country though.) But
when the light turns red, and you look at the car next to you and it’s moving,
you become unsure whether to stop or keep on moving as well. So what do you do?
You put on the brakes… but even then you’re unsure of what to do exactly.” That’s Relativism…you become unsure whether
what you’re going to do is morally right or wrong just to suit your needs, even
though you really know what is right or wrong.
Nowadays, we Filipinos are “dancing
to the beat” of other cultures. We become more open in accepting traditions or
cultures that are very foreign to us. We like to try different things. We love
to explore the world and with that, we become easily adaptive to new trends
such as in fashion, style of clothing, music and technology. As they change, we
also change. And it is very evident now in teenagers and in young people. And sometimes,
too much of it makes me sad and think that we are embracing them more
regardless of the fact that some of the changes are quite unacceptable to the
values that we learned from our families, school and in church. Some Filipinas
for example, no longer embodies the stereotypical Maria Clara—refined and
wholesome. It’s crazy to think that those simple things that the Filipinos are
known for are becoming more and more extinct. Some might say that people or
time changes and those age-old values are old-fashioned and somewhat
unacceptable to the new world. But what is acceptable nowadays? Girls wearing
skimpy clothes? Or billboards or magazines with topless models? Or maybe the
constant portrayal of violence, adultery and even sex among non-married couples
or in youths and even in homosexuals in TV, movies or magazines? It’s very sad
to think that people nowadays are casually involving themselves in immoral acts
like there’s nothing wrong with it. People are getting numb at the fact that
those things are against our core values as Filipinos that were imparted by our
progenitors. Our morals had been tampered by those changes. And we are finding
ways of straightening the crooked paths, o make the false true and to make the
wrong acceptable.
Morals, like truth is absolute. It is
independent and unconditional. There are no exceptions. It will never change
for someone and it will remain as is in the future. You cannot add or take away
from it to make it more rightful or less rightful.
What we need to do, like what the
blogger suggest, is to “break free” from this uprising culture of relativism. We
need to “walk against the wind” (contra
ventum tibi ambulandum est). Remember that just because everybody is doing
it doesn’t mean that it is right. We need to take courage and step up to be
different from others. Let us also remember that the absence of a standard
reference is the root of relativism. But the Bible clearly states in the Gospel
of John, that Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH and LIFE. Therefore, the only way of battling
and breaking free from relativism is to live a life like Christ. I want to
share one of the verses that I first memorized in Church—“Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test
and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”(Romans
12:2). Apostle Paul urges us to be different—to rebel against the patterns of
this world. Because he knew that if we continually adapt and make it as our
lifestyle, we will be living a life full of sin. And we don’t want that! So what
we need to do is to focus on one goal—to be like Christ, the way God wants us
to be.
Let us apply our
values and virtues that we learned from our parents, teachers and in the church
as well. Strength and courage to walk against the wind, constant determination
to go when everybody is against you, perseverance and sacrifice and most importantly-Faith
in God. Because with faith, we can do supernatural things. With all of these things in our heart, there’s
nothing or no one that can stop us from turning the world upside down! - migs AMDG
credits to Francis Kong
