Monday of Week 31 Year 2

In this world, we are often encouraged by our family, teachers, lecturers and peers to be the best we can be. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with being the best you can be, the danger is we could become self-centered, proud, conceited or ruthless in our efforts. Instead of giving glory to God during the process of being the best one could be, a person may instead begin to glorify oneself, thinking that he or she achieved without any outside help, or as some may say, the person begins to think that he or she is self-made.

In today's reading, St. Paul reminds us: "be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind... There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, So that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead." What St. Paul tells us is in contrast with the ways of the world, where me, myself and I is more important. When we only think of our needs, we begin to pursue only that which is for our success and happiness, and eventually there is no place for others, even no place for God in our lives. In the end, we may be building our own kingdom, instead of God's Kingdom.