Sep 9 Mon
What is the most important thing in life?
One came up to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" Like him, we must judge wisely about the important things in life.
Like us, that man wanted to clearly know the principles on which to base his personal behavior. The great variety of opinions on these matters, and the many different situations encountered in life, lead us to seek some norms of judgment and behavior that are certain, permanent, harmonious, and simple.
When we have clear principles, we have a basis for assessing the value of the learning that we acquire. Then we can check how this acquired knowledge may lead us to our ultimate purpose or end.
Our Christian life, our relationship with God in prayer and the sacraments, the formation we receive, and the good example of others, all help to give us a set of solid objective values and make us souls of sound judgment. We will then be able to judge correctly the events and situations in which we find ourselves. St. Josemaría: “I am going to stir your memories, so that some thought may come to you that will strike you: and that way you will improve your life, and enter upon ways of prayer and Love. And end up becoming a soul of worth: someone with sound judgment."
We must give full effect to these desires, so that, from our abundance, others too may have their fill. If God has placed this treasure in our hands, it is so that we may share it with others. Each of us can truthfully say, in the words of an ancient writer: ‘This treasure is not mine, but Another has entrusted it to me, for I am no more than a beggar’.
At the same time, we know we must keep it safe, clean, and pure.
If we ask this of God, he will lead us to that mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
To be truly wise, it is not enough to know many things, even if they appear very profound. There needs to be an overall harmony, with some items of knowledge subordinated to others within a proper order. If this is to happen in our lives, we must use a fundamental principle that assigns each thing to its place. That supreme principle, which should guide our whole life, is what our Lord explains in the Gospel when he says: “If you would enter life, keep the commandments. "It is a quality discernment beyond human knowledge and experience: "I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts."
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