“GIVE A man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime” is a Taoist proverb often used by various religious leaders to define their task of teaching their flock how to be discerning. Parents will do well to teach their children how to discern wisely and support themselves in time, instead of dictating upon and feeding them for life. As parents, we even yearn to enable our children to surpass our achievements in life. In the Holy Scriptures, Jesus Christ bared such yearning himself when he said, “Truly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…” Since religious leaders are basically parents to their flock, they, too must have the same yearning—for their flock to mature and do greater works.
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt, 4:19). A true church of God is dedicated to making its followers effective fishers of men, who are themselves able to tell good fishes from bad. A flock regarded as unable or unworthy of discerning between good and bad fishes despite a lifetime’s worth of religious teaching is a telltale sign of a failed messiah or, worse, a false one. There’s something terribly fishy within a church or sect that teaches its flock to discern good from bad, but prevents that flock from practicing such discernment especially in the election of leaders who will govern our country. It’s not God but an appetite for power that motivates religious leaders to decide for and dictate upon adequately mature and discerning followers who to vote for. History itself attests to how block-vote toting/wielding/flaunting religious leaders have consistently compelled their flock to vote for too many rotten “trapo” fishes who end up charged with graft and corruption or tallying record numbers of extrajudicial killings under their watch.
Today, we again find our country’s biggest liars, thieves and murderers lining up at the wide gates of opulent mansions of the block-vote “messiahs” for the latter’s coveted political endorsement. And I wonder in what circle of hell did these “evangelists,” “ministers,” and “appointed sons of God” find the gall to compel their flock to elect their choice of mostly corrupt candidates, never mind better judgment, thus turning God’s house into a den of thieves ad nauseam.
Still and all, through the narrow gate and along the path of teaching done well and seeds well-planted, true messiahs come to trust their followers to make the right choices for themselves. True messiahs will not dictate who to vote for, for they gladly trust the judgment of those who have learned how to fish.
—ERNIE LAPUZ, nitelites@rocketmail.com