We’re going to need an army

This week, Jan. 6 to 10, was “Prayer & Fasting Week” for several Evangelical Christian churches all over the Philippines. As I write this article, I have managed to attend the first two nights of prayer at Victory Estancia, but I must confess that my fasting has been hit or miss.

Last Monday, my wife Karen, who is from the Netherlands, was asked by our pastors to lead in prayer for the Netherlands and the establishment of Every Nation Church there. Part of her prayer expressed that despite being a rich developed nation, there are so many lonely people suffering in isolation.

It was a sobering reminder that wealthy people and nations can be “so full and yet so empty.” People often use currency and comfort as metrics to measure prosperity of a country but the “Happiness Index” is rarely thrown in the mix.

Aside from the very high cost of living and housing, loneliness is a real concern, especially for the elderly. This why more and more foreigners are coming to the Philippines and parts of Asia. Here, we have family, we have community and we still celebrate every chance we get.

Filipinos aspire to migrate to Spain, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, etc. purely for economic reasons, but in the growing global anti-migration reality, more than half will end up returning poorer if not depressed and defeated.

In the meantime, we scoff or scratch our heads when foreign digital nomads talk about how great the Philippines is. We don’t just take it for granted, we even cast doubts on their motives and think it’s all click bait.

The following evening, I was asked to pray for the Philippines because of my involvement in media and awareness of issues. But instead of praying for the economy, the political crisis, etc., I shared a “realization” if not a gentle rebuke from the Lord that I realized quite recently.

While we Filipinos automatically point fingers at corruption and the corrupt, we are the source of our own misery because of the things that consistently come out of our mouths. As the Lord teaches us through the book of James, we give life through what comes out of our mouths, both blessings and curses.

I wrote about it in a previous column where I wrote that we are the ones who call, label and accuse Filipinos of all sorts of sins, shortcomings, etc. We have taken ownership of the label “crab mentality,” “mga walang disiplina” (having no discipline), calling bad drivers “kamotes.” We talk or even brag about how we “did” a short cut or used fixers to process documents.

Whenever some foreign survey or study comes out that places the Philippines in last place among performers and first place in corruption, we instantly talk about it, write about it, broadcast it and use it to justify our criticisms and attacks against institutions, politicians and government, even if it is not our job or immediate concern.

If we are honest enough, we may not be all “lawbreakers” in terms of driving, zoning, taxes or petty corruption, but many Filipinos have become arrogant by “osmosis” or constant exposure to films and TV where foreign influences highlight rights and the right to defend rights but not responsibilities we each must maintain. We lay claim to sidewalks, place roadblocks and institute self-made rules to accommodate our desired comfort and security.

We call it “colonial mentality,” but we just won’t admit that we would rather spend P7,000 to P50,000 to watch a foreign copycat group or Taylor Swift in a concert in Manila or Singapore instead of local performers. Many Filipinos even bash or predict if a Filipina beauty pageant representative will make it to the top 10 but not be the winner. Thank God that we at least support Gilas Pilipinas.

Unfortunately, our political system and government simply provide us with enough distraction to blame everything on politics and government and not force us to face the fact that if we want a better Philippines, we need to start at home and maybe in our barangay and on the road.

I can almost hear some people say, it’s hopeless. The politicians have full control of government and politics, even the few good men and women who tried have failed or been overwhelmed. To be honest, even Opinion writers and leaders are already exasperated and feeling hopeless.

But let me ask you, have you ever found yourself in a seemingly hopeless situation where you were powerless and helpless? Where everything you did simply did not move or improve the situation? Maybe disease, losing a loved one, losing a job?

We all have. And what did we do? Do Filipinos simply throw in the towel, raise their hands and say I give up? Do Filipinos clench their fist and curse the heavens?

Nope! We often stay standing, or we go down on hands and knees in desperate prayers! Yes, in our desperation we automatically pray the most sincere and fervent prayers, completely overlooking that “Prayer” has been our most powerful weapon and highest privilege; the means to call God into the battle. It is our secret weapon, so secret we forget we have it.

Rather than mock or scoff at such a suggestion, I invite you as well as those you have influence over – your family, spouse, BFF, even employees – to join us and commit the next 30 days in solemn prayer for the Philippines and for God’s to will be done in our country. Just 30 days. If we want a superpower to intervene then call on God – and recruit others because we’re going to need an army of prayer warriors. God bless y’all.

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