Be active and creative: live!

Everyone excels at something. No one is incapable or destined to remain passive all his life. The black plague for anyone with any savings is the loss of value of money. High amounts in Excel spreadsheets are not a win if you can buy less and less with them.

Inflation is the scourge of economists and ordinary people alike. We have vivid memories of the shock of looking at the price tags of basic foodstuffs a few months ago. Those not indifferent to this are looking for a banking product or an investment to ensure that their financial assets’ value stays the same. With activity and creativity, it is possible to think about the future.

Jesus tells a story about three servants entrusted with money by the owner, trusting that they will use it well and increase their wealth. Traders and financiers know proper alchemy is turning money around to yield the highest return.

Success requires knowledge, experience, intuition, and the proverbial luck. In the abovementioned story, the first two showed the owner a 100% return. The last one behaved conservatively and adopted a “sock” tactic. He put the money aside and, being afraid to do anything with it, returned it to the owner, for which, of course, he did not praise him. Few people like this: they don’t trust banks and prefer to keep their cash under their pillow or in a sock. They may have no interest, but they have cash within their reach.

Everyone has some challenges in life. They depend on his age, life situation, and other circumstances. A child is a pupil and has to fulfill his school duties. At least try to. The teacher usually appreciates the effort but will not feel sorry for the pupil if he does not see the interest. Activity with creativity distinguished the two servants in the gospel from the third.

Each was given a certain amount of money commensurate with his experience and was to evaluate it somehow. Each could be active and wrestle with this task. Two tried and passed; the third didn’t even try.

“He could have at least done something, at least tried to do something, but he didn’t do anything.”
Life is God’s gift, but it is unpredictable. We are still determining what will happen an hour or a month from now. But we have our little tasks in life as fathers, mothers, priests, children, students, employees, parishioners, and citizens. We are to do our best to stand in them. Everyone is irreplaceable, and we can do a lot of good. Those roles change over time.

We begin as children and students, continue as parents and employees, and later become retirees and grandparents. Those who take their “role” as a pupil seriously are usually also responsible as an employee. If we have treated our parents with respect and love as children, we can pass these attitudes on to our children and raise them well.

Everything has its time and sequence. In Parliament, those citizens’ representatives who have already been active as MPs at local or regional level inspire more confidence.

One thing is sure. Coping with any task in life requires activity and creativity. Not to be just a passive recipient. In evaluating the first two servants, the owner in Jesus’ story highlighted that they were “faithful in a small way,” caring, responsible, active, and creative. Therefore, he offered them more responsibility.

The third one failed all along the line. That he lacked courage is understandable. He could have at least done or tried to do something, but he did nothing. Such passivity in dealing with the gift was rejected.

There is only a man with talents and a life task. We may live in different circumstances, and some may be difficult, but that can’t stop us from trying to do something with our life, our ‘task.’ Everyone excels at something.

No one is incapable or destined to remain in passivity all his life. Yet even those who, for objective reasons, cannot produce material values for society can be active and creative in imparting so many spiritual goods.

To live is a call to activity and creativity. Minor earthly tasks are not only for temporal career advancement. If we live bravely and godly, each mastered life role is a means to a definitive end: an encounter with the Lord.