roi: what's in it for us?
What’s in it for us? What do I get in return? In business you have what you call your ROI, your return on investment. Good economics require that your gain should yield more than your capital investment. You do not invest on something that yields a negative return rather you invest on something that will not only give you a positive return but also the highest return. Kon patas man lang ano gid da ang imo. Indi makabayad sa imo pangabudlay. In making an investment you should be conscious and aware of the return on investment or the ROI.
Our topic today is incentive. What’s in it for me? In essence this was the question of Peter. If I give up everything for you what do I get in return? We have given up everything for you, so what is in store for us?
Jesus played along with this seemingly human motivator and he gave two replies, two incentives.
First, he said, “Amen, I say to you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The key word is, in the new age. Not on this age but in the new age. You will have a problem with this if you are not a believer in the life to come. You will have a problem with this ROI, with this return on investment, if you do not believe that this life is just temporary, that this life is just passing and real life is in the new age, in the life to come, in eternal life. You will have a problem with this if the only life you know is your life now. If you are familiar with the bible you will find in many passages people wrestling with the question why do bad things happen to good people. Probably you have known good people in your life and you get shock when you come to know that this good people have cancer, this good people have a son or a daughter who is an addict, or you came to know of people who are good and god-fearing yet could hardly make both ends meet. And you are left with a nagging question, why do bad things happen to good people? This is a question is an age old question that has been tackled since the book of Psalms, the book of Job, the book of Sirach and not one of them gave a satisfactory answer. And it would be harder still to understand the words of Jesus without the belief in the age to come. How can we understand blessed are the poor, blessed are the persecuted, blessed are they who cry now? It would be very difficult if we equate heaven with earth and if we view earthly life as the only life. So what do we expect in return? What’s in it for me? Believe in the coming of the new age.
The second answer to what’s in it for us. The Lord assures us we will be given more. In fact a hundred times more. The point here is this, God will not outdone in his generosity to us. Indi sia magpapierdi. God cannot be and will not be outdone in his generosity. If you are generous to God, God will be more generous to you. The word is more, a hundred times more. When will that be? What will that be? I do not know. I am just assured that it will be a hundred times more.
And so I end this reflection with a message of hope. If anything the Christian message is always a message of hope, a hope that enlivens and arouses us to action even though we know that nothing can be truly perfect in this life; a hope and yearning that grants us even now the joy of peering into what we will later become even if it is just a foretaste; a hope that gives us comfort and consoles us in our trials. I would like to end with a song we sing during Advent, a song filled with nostalgia of the things promised us in the age to come. It goes this way.
A time will come for singing
When all your tears are shed,
When sorrows’ chains are broken
And broken hearts shall mend.
The deaf will hear your singing
When silent tongues are freed.
The lame will join your dancing
When blind eyes learn to see.
A time will come for singing
When trees will raise their boughs,
When men lay down their armor,
And hammer their swords into plows,
When beggars live as princes
And orphans find their homes,
When prison cells are emptied
And hatred has grown old.
Years back I wanted to save a seminarian who had lost his desire for the priesthood. He was going out on a date for valentine’s day. So I offered him a deal. I told him, if you forgo the date, I would treat you to a restaurant of your choice. I won, or so I thought. He let go of the date on Valentine’s Day and so I treated him out in a restaurant which cost me to shelve out a thousand pesos. This only proves my theory that the shortest way to a seminarian’s heart is through his stomach. Little did I know, however, that he merely postponed the date from a Friday to Sunday, two days after, which was a free day of which I had no control. So, in the end, he got himself a free lunch and a little after he also had his date. I lost. This only proves my theory that man is a capitalist by nature. He will always work to his advantage.
Our topic today is incentive. What’s in it for me? In essence this was the question of Peter. If I give up everything for you what do I get in return? We have given up everything for you, so what is in store for us?
Jesus played along with this seemingly human motivator and he gave two replies, two incentives.
First, he said, “Amen, I say to you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The key word is, in the new age. Not on this age but in the new age. You will have a problem with this if you are not a believer in the life to come. You will have a problem with this ROI, with this return on investment, if you do not believe that this life is just temporary, that this life is just passing and real life is in the new age, in the life to come, in eternal life. You will have a problem with this if the only life you know is your life now. If you are familiar with the bible you will find in many passages people wrestling with the question why do bad things happen to good people. Probably you have known good people in your life and you get shock when you come to know that this good people have cancer, this good people have a son or a daughter who is an addict, or you came to know of people who are good and god-fearing yet could hardly make both ends meet. And you are left with a nagging question, why do bad things happen to good people? This is a question is an age old question that has been tackled since the book of Psalms, the book of Job, the book of Sirach and not one of them gave a satisfactory answer. And it would be harder still to understand the words of Jesus without the belief in the age to come. How can we understand blessed are the poor, blessed are the persecuted, blessed are they who cry now? It would be very difficult if we equate heaven with earth and if we view earthly life as the only life. So what do we expect in return? What’s in it for me? Believe in the coming of the new age.
The second answer to what’s in it for us. The Lord assures us we will be given more. In fact a hundred times more. The point here is this, God will not outdone in his generosity to us. Indi sia magpapierdi. God cannot be and will not be outdone in his generosity. If you are generous to God, God will be more generous to you. The word is more, a hundred times more. When will that be? What will that be? I do not know. I am just assured that it will be a hundred times more.
And so I end this reflection with a message of hope. If anything the Christian message is always a message of hope, a hope that enlivens and arouses us to action even though we know that nothing can be truly perfect in this life; a hope and yearning that grants us even now the joy of peering into what we will later become even if it is just a foretaste; a hope that gives us comfort and consoles us in our trials. I would like to end with a song we sing during Advent, a song filled with nostalgia of the things promised us in the age to come. It goes this way.
A time will come for singing
When all your tears are shed,
When sorrows’ chains are broken
And broken hearts shall mend.
The deaf will hear your singing
When silent tongues are freed.
The lame will join your dancing
When blind eyes learn to see.
A time will come for singing
When trees will raise their boughs,
When men lay down their armor,
And hammer their swords into plows,
When beggars live as princes
And orphans find their homes,
When prison cells are emptied
And hatred has grown old.
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