FAMILIARITY IS NOT A SIN


 Monday, March 13, 2023

Weekday of Lent 3

First Reading. 2 Kings 5: 1-15
Psalm. 42: 2, 3; 43: 3, 4 (R. 42:3)
Gospel. Luke 4: 24-30

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION

DO NOT TAKE FAMILIARITY FOR GRANTED 


My dear friend, please do not take familiarity for granted. If you are familiar with someone, do not lose your sense of respect for such a person. It is very good to give respect to whom respect is due to. 

It is good to show others the respect we will want them to give to us.

Naturally, each one of us wants people to accord us respect, but why do we find it difficult to accord others the respect they deserve?

More so, if you become great today, you will want people to accord you the respect you desire, deserve, and especially the respect due to the office you occupy. But why do you feel jealous of your friends, mate, family, siblings, etc, if they achieved in life?

The simple reason people take familiarities for granted is that they feel all attention should be given to them alone, and as a result, they look down on others, and when others rise above them, they start to feel uncomfortable.

On the contrary, the fact remains that those who do not value, respect, and accord respect to any higher authority are mostly traced to those who knew the higher authority when he or she was small or nobody.

This is the case of Jesus in today's Gospel, when Jesus had come to Nazareth, he said to the people in the synagogue, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country".

It will be so because they knew Jesus when He was a baby and saw Him grow into adulthood; so, how can He suddenly claim to be the Son of God? Many during His earthly life might have reason in that direction.

This is a lesson that those who knew your humble beginning may find it difficult to respect you when you achieve. One may say it is not their fault, because they have been clouded with your childhood picture in their memory and finds it difficult to replace them with the present status you have achieved.

The same scenario played out in the first reading when Naaman doubted the power of God through the prophet, hence he looks down on the prophet's instruction

Thanks be to God who revealed Himself to him.

In summary, let us try not to look down on anybody. God can raise and use anybody for His glory.

Do not let your familiarities with people be taken for granted, rather let it be taken for greater glory.

COMMAND RESPECT,  BUT NEVER DEMAND RESPECT

Peace ✌️ be with you.

Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.

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