zealous for better gifts - 24th week wednesday 2014

Yesterday in our reflection we said that St. Paul never meant that being contended with what we have we should no longer strive to become better.  In fact we ended yesterday’s reading and begin today’s reading with the same injunction: to strive eagerly for greater things, to be zealous for the better gifts.

And in order to attain greater excellence, in order to greater perfection it is important to enter first and learn the way of love.  Many of us do things because it needs to be done, it is a requirement, it is something that I should finish on a deadline.  Many of us do things because we were told to do so and we go through the function, we go through the routine of doing as we were told.  But for something to be done with greater perfection you have to put on love.  For something to reach greater excellence you have to love what you do.

Many times we do not love naturally.  A responsibility may be received with timidity and even with aversion.   We may not like what we are doing or we would have preferred doing something else.  Love does not always happen at first sight.  It can be learned.  We can learn to love our work, we can learn to love our responsibility and later we may even learn to enjoy doing them.  But my point it, learn to love what you do.  Only through this that we can attain greater excellence and perfection.  Love is patient, Paul says.  When you put on love you can endure, you would not drag your feet, you would face obstacles and hardships with courage.  Love may not make things easy, neither will it make things lighter to carry.  But love can make you more resolute.