by Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado
During the Season of Lent, we remember prayer as an act of surrender and submission to God, as we pray, acknowledging that the spiritual is the strongest foundation and best guidance for doing business, even the business of living well!
Last Wednesday, February 17, the Christian world celebrated Ash Wednesday, a reminder of our human earthly character, meaning, that we are temporal, we are finite and our time on earth is limited and we will sooner or later die.
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, a 40-day celebration to remind Christians of the eternal character of life and relationship, meaning, that there is a God in whom we live and move and have our being, that life in this world is not the end and our accountability beyond the human.
This accountability is not only about temporal business, but about the foundation of business, the foundation of life, the foundation of what is right and wrong, the foundation of peace and order.
During the season of Lent, we are reminded that informed business decisions, which this paper is pledged to provide Davaoenos, is not only about profit and making money, but about what makes a business decision right and profitable.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money, the excessive desire for money, the insatiable craving for money is.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that making profits alone is not the right motivation for business. We are reminded that there is a spiritual dimension of life and that the spiritual has a claim for our life.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that there is a Christian dimension to doing business. We are reminded that the main reason we do business is because there is a Christ to whom business is ultimately accountable. We do business so that we can gain resources to help one another.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded of Christ’s teaching that the business of life is more than simply the acquisition of wealth, but about how one uses wealth to help the poor and needy, about caring for the sick, about helping cloth the naked and about giving food to the hungry.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that the business of living is not simply the acquisition of wealth and riches in this world where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves and robbers rush in and steal.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that the business of living is to store treasures in heaven, where moth and rust are not able to go and thieves and robbers cannot go in and steal.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that good business is neither limited to planning and practicing the vantage points, nor aiming for the competitive edge but being reminded that the spiritual is the foundation of vantage points and the practice of prayer is the competitive edge.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that fasting, when we go on spiritual retreats to pray and reflect upon the deeper foundation of life and trim down the excessive human greed and personal craving for profit, is not only a good business practice, but a necessary practice.
During the Season of Lent, we are reminded that the best information for business decisions and the sharpest competitive edge is to reflect upon and be guided by the biblical question, “What does it profit a man when he gains the whole world and loses his soul?”
During the Season of Lent, let us go on retreats and reflect upon prayer as an act of surrender and submission to God, petitioning God for instructions, acknowledging that the spiritual is the strongest foundation and prayer is best guidance for doing business, even the business of living well!
