Lenten Reflection for March 6th

Years ago a friend of mine got a job working at a front desk for a sales company, she would take calls from customers and forward them to the sales people in order of seniority and down. The business was quite competitive and the sales staff were always trying to figure out ways to get more contacts for sales before any of their co-workers could take the calls. 

More than once she was offered bribes of cash by some of the less senior sales staff if she would give them the next few calls rather than distributing them in the order she was instructed to. She said she would just laugh and shake her head, treating it like a joke.

She could have decided to take the money, treating it as a sort of ‘finders fee’. There were gray areas which could have made it seem a justifiable decision, but she knew that wouldn’t be doing right by the other sales people. What was apparent is that she valued acting with integrity higher than any price that could be bought with money.

I can see this as one example of the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Right Judgment, also called Counsel. As we have seen with the other Gifts of the Spirit, in my reflections I can see at least two ways to experience the Gift of Counsel. An inward growth and outward in the way it affects the world around us.

When we are faced with a difficult decision which may fall into that ‘gray’ area, we can call upon the Lord for guidance and discernment on how to proceed. In Saint Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, he offers these words of encouragement, “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.” (Hebrews 2:18), reminding us of when Christ was faced with temptations, he relied on the foundation of Scripture and on the Lord to stand in strength. 

Let’s pray that the Gift of the Spirit of Counsel and Right Judgement will continue to guide us though any decisions we are faced with.

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

When I was in elementary school I remember there was a girl in my class who seemed to have trouble fitting in. Every day she came to school she dressed really nicely, wearing nice dresses, pristine white stockings and her shoes were always polished and shiny. 

She tried hard to make friends but for some reason, many of the other children would make fun of her, ignoring her attempts to join in. I would see her stand near groups of other girls and smile, waiting to be included. This made me sad, she tried so hard and was very nice. One recess I asked if she would like to skip rope with me and her face lit up with a smile. My other friends made fun of me too for being her friend, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

For me, this was a small example of the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Right Judgement. When we are faced with a hard decision, the Holy Spirit can help us figure out if it is a good decision or bad.

We may feel tempted to make a choice we feel is wrong, and in those times we can pray and ask for Jesus’ help to make the right choice. Jesus knows how we feel when we are tempted and we read in the Bible that “He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18 ICB Translation) So we can know when we ask Him, He will help us too!

God bless you!