Permutations of Love by Doris Trinidad

Author:Doris Trinidad [Trinidad, Doris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Essays
ISBN: 9786214200528
Google: 70KWDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Anvil Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2017-11-22T05:30:24+00:00

June 12, 1991

Our Habit of Thanking God

Has anyone taken note of one unique aspect of the Filipino psyche which differentiates him from the rest of the world? This is our habit or penchant or simply second nature of citing God or giving Him credit in moments of achievement, triumph or joy. Just watch that PLDT sponsored series about small and medium business entrepreneurs who have made good in their respective endeavors. Asked about their formula for success they invariably mention God’s help as foremost among the factors. I have yet to hear even one forget to credit God (“ang sa ‘taas”) if not at the beginning then as the clincher in a list that includes tiyaga (persistence, determination), pag-iimpok (thrift) and hard work. Watch anyone being handed a plaque, a medal or trophy and hear the awardee, as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, often with teary eyes and shaky voice, attribute the success first to The One Above.

If you had watched Lea Salonga receiving her Tony Award as Best Actress in a Broadway musical, you would have noted that among all the awardees, she alone proffered thanks to God before acknowledging everyone else, from her family to her co-workers in Miss Saigon. Everyone else thanked his or her director, producer, co-stars, husband, wife, hairdresser, etc., but it was only our little Lea who remembered to thank the Prime Producers of it all.

What does it mean, this s.o.p. on our part of pointing to divine assistance as part of all personal (and national) achievements? Farther back than Lea’s victory there was EDSA, surely the greatest example of this national addiction. President Cory would not be herself if she did not invoke God’s name in all her major speeches. Even the ex-FL herself is not one to be outdone in the habitual practice of divine name-calling. So what lies beneath our common skin of verbal religiosity? I’d like to think that what is ever at the tip of the tongue must have its root deeper down in the heart. Perhaps we are just plain close to God, closer obviously than the Western tribes who are more bilib sa sarili than we are. Perhaps being poor, being deprived and having to fight more assiduously for our toehold on this planet, and indeed often finding ourselves on the delicate brink between life and death, we have more opportunity to recognize God’s working in our everyday lives. Some pundits might see this as a negative trait, as over-dependence on God’s help, which could keep our countrymen from exerting efforts to the hilt because, as they say, “God provides.” It depends on one’s viewpoint. But the fact remains, at the end of every successful episode in a Filipino’s life, the top of the credits always goes to God.

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