The world is so interconnected that we always need the help of others to be successful or live a happy life. When it is our turn to help others, do we brag or publicise it?
In their journey to the Promised Land, the Israelites often complained of starvation in the wilderness (Exodus 14:11; 15:24; 16:2; 17:3). By complaining against Moses, they murmured against God who sent Moses on this mission to liberate the people from Egypt.
However, God did not respond directly to be people because they could not stand signs accompanying God’s voice (Exodus 20: 18-19). Instead, God spoke only to Moses who then relayed God’s information to the people. When the people complained that they were hungry, God sent manna and quail to them. When the people asked about the manna, Moses said “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat” (Exodus 16:15).
Interestingly, when the discussion about manna came up in the gospel, the Jews attributed the miracle to Moses. The Jews said to Jesus:
“Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:30-32).
Indeed, Moses did the right thing, however, he could not control how the Jews perceived the miracle.
My dear friends, we need to realise that helping others is a response to their prayer point, and therefore, God can use anyone to respond to that prayer. As some people wish to help but cannot, we need to realise that it is even a privilege to help others. If God has destined that we should be a helper to someone, we cannot resist the divine urge to help.
Even those who do good simply on a humanitarian basis or fight to save the environment indirectly attribute their efforts to God. How? By desiring to help save humanity or save those in need, they demonstrate that they cannot live alone in this life—the creatures of God ought to be protected.
This idea also plays out in the vocation to the priesthood and religious life. It is not the bishop or the superior general that called the candidate, but God. The ordaining bishop and the superior general are mere instruments through which God called a son or daughter. Therefore, if God has called someone, God will ensure the person arrives, irrespective of the challenges on the way.
Of course, we are satisfied when we help others because it improves our self-esteem. It becomes a problem when we mock those we helped and when we brag that people’s lives are in our hands, forgetting that our own lives are in the hands of others. It was not Moses who gave the people manna in the desert.
May God continue to help us.🙏🏾
K’ọdị🙋🏾♂️
Beautiful reflection.