Don’t sell your soul to the devil

Have you sold your soul to the devil? Have you made a deal with Satan? In exchange for power, wealth, youth, a life of luxury, comfort and abundance?

Philip Chard of Shepherd Express in his article, The Cost of Selling Your Soul, wrote: “The most common inner demon is a puffed-up ego that resides in a me-myself-and-I mental bubble, one that strives to elevate its narrow self-interest above all other purposes. Notorious egos run amuck include the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Timothy McVeigh and Osama Bin Laden, to name a few, but there are many others who have sold their souls in ways that attract far less notoriety and attention. The currency in these spiritual transactions can be anything the ego honors above all else – money, power, fame, pleasure and the rest. Bernie Madoff, the disgraced Ponzi scheme perpetrator, is a case in point. He bartered away his integrity and betrayed those who trusted him in exchange for what his ego convinced him was of greater value – wealth.

“What one attempts to gain by selling one’s soul is not so important as the actual decision to do so. This choice represents a pivot point where one turns away from what Lincoln called our ‘better angels’ and becomes a slave to what some gurus term ‘the little tyrant’ – the ego. This inner devil whispers in our ears about how we deserve whatever temptation it dangles in front of us, about how everybody else is doing it and how we have to look out for numero uno. It tells us that nothing else in one’s life – not people or honesty or love – is as important as acquiring the just-gotta-have-it reward to be gained by doing its bidding.

“We find an apt metaphor in the belief by some Christians that the Devil was once a numinous angel named Lucifer who, in seeking to elevate himself to divine status, defied God and fell from grace, becoming the demonic enemy of all that is good. Whatever one’s beliefs in this regard, the analogy holds true. Advancing one’s own importance beyond all others and above all else constitutes a spiritual fall from grace that opens the door to beliefs and actions that create evil in the world.”

These past weeks have just shown the callousness of our leaders. How they will do anything to destroy, to dissuade, to demoralize people. It’s about time for the people to cry foul. As the saying goes, “tama na, sobra na.”

What do Filipinos want? Simple. We want a good and peaceful life. We want to feel safe and protected. We want government to act as a caring and professional institution for the welfare of the people. We demand that our hard-earned tax money is properly used and accounted for.

We are in another lockdown. The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing at an alarming rate. The DOH recorded 13,177 new confirmed COVID-19 cases late last week. This is the second biggest single-day tally since the pandemic began. The April 2021 tally of 12,674 happened on the second COVID-19 surge and when Metro Manila and nearby areas were on a second round of rigid lockdown.

COVID-19 patients are not only suffering physically and emotionally but also financially. The government has not made an effort to put controls on the cost of medicines and COVID-19 related supplies, not to mention the RT-PCR test kits. Amazing!

Last week’s report made by COA was mind boggling. COA said it found “various deficiencies” of about P67.3 billion in the health department’s funds that led to “missed opportunities” in the pandemic response. Sanamagan! How can the DOH sleep on this problem? This inefficiency is way too much for the DOH head to get away again with his lapses.

Every week has been a revelation into the soul of this present administration and their fight to extend their control and power. Why are they too possessive? A democratic state doesn’t work this way. You allow new blood to lead, to clean the old, improve systems and bring in some controls to the spoils of office.

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My cousin, Dr. Juan Soliven, a health care provider in the US, has this to say about the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases that we can relate to: “I have personally observed something which deserves to be brought to everyone’s attention in light of this apparent surge of COVID-19 we are currently experiencing.

“We received a consult from a Long Term Acute Care (LTAC) facility which is a step below a standard hospital for less acute patients. It was for a relatively young patient who suffered a cardiac arrest and was brought to the closest hospital which, unfortunately, was unequipped to care for a case of this acuity. Having neither the specialty services nor the equipment to care for him, he remained in the ER as they tried without success to transfer him to a more appropriate health care setting but could not find a bed anywhere, as all hospitals were completely full. This unfortunate patient did not receive the appropriate level of care. Not because it was the fault of the facility but only because there were no ICU beds and access to appropriate specialists due to the COVID-19 surge.

“This crisis is real. We in the health care community are doing the best we can and have extended ourselves beyond our physical, intellectual and emotional limits. The reports consistently show that more than 90 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated. More importantly, close to 100 percent of those in the ICU, most of whom are on the ventilator, are unvaccinated as well! This is not made up data. It is my personal observation as a health care provider working in an Intensive Care Unit.

“I hope you and your loved ones are never in a position where you were turned away from a facility where you could receive appropriate care only because of the lack of beds, most of which are occupied by unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.

“Please do your part and get vaccinated, if not for yourselves, for the thousands others whose lives are placed in jeopardy over unproven misconceptions.”