It was in Taiwan, in December of 2018, that we first learned that Rolly had liver cancer. It was a Friday when we landed back in Cebu. That Sunday, I went to church alone because Rolly was too weak to leave the house.
After the service, while driving the car home, I was crying and talking to God. In my mind, I asked him why he would take my husband away. My husband was the best husband in the world, and I wanted to understand why God would take him away after only seven years of marriage.
Almost immediately, I heard God talk to me. He said:
"May, do you give life? I give life, and I take it back. I do not have to explain."
I did not publicly tell this story before because those of you who have never heard God speak will think I am crazy, or that I am making things up. But I am sharing this now because after so much meditation and introspection, I realized it also means something else, something that we have taken for granted.
Only God gives life, so only God has the right to take it away. It means that because we do not give life, we have no right to take it away.
This is easy to understand when we think of human beings. We would never deliberately kill anyone, not even in our thoughts. But what about other creation? It is easy for us to kill a dog, a bird, a fish, a butterfly, a flower, a tree, thinking that we have the right to do so. But do we?
If you detach yourself from your selfish reason for one moment and look at things from the position of the CREATOR, which of these things did you create? And if you did not create any of these things, what right do you have to take them out?
I am not saying we should never kill anything. God told us that we can take his creation to feed ourselves. That is elementary. But when we kill something, do we recognize that what we have is a PRIVILEGE and NOT A RIGHT? And that because it is a privilege, we are not supposed to abuse it, or do it indiscrimanately, and that if we must do it, it must only be because it is necessary for our personal survival?
We used to kill only for food. Today, we kill for just about any reason. Sometimes, even without reason. We have overstepped our boundaries. As God's stewards, we have miserably failed in our jobs.
The movie 'Avatar' showed us the right attitude when it comes to treating other living beings. Before they killed anything, even for food, they would pray and ask for permission AND FORGIVENESS. And after the killing, they would say thanks. Such huge difference from the wanton way we deal with creation in our world today.
The next time you raise your hand to strike at any living creature, remember to ask the question: 'DO I GIVE LIFE?' As the answer will be NO, ask yourself if you really have to kill.