A. I'm a Unique Person
Every
human being is unique, no one has anything in common with others. Even twins
have differences. In general this difference makes people jealous,
contradictory, and unfriendly. Even though with that difference, people can
enrich each other and complement each other. That difference is the uniqueness
of every human being. The uniqueness can be observed from the physical,
psychological, talents / abilities and experiences they have.
Uniqueness
is a gift that makes someone different and can be known and treated
specifically. To overcome these differences, we need to accept ourselves as we
are. God created every human being with a special task in this world. A
positive person will accept that uniqueness as a gift, he/she is proud that he
is different, he is grateful of whatever she/he has and consider it as a gift
from God and everything is good. Thus, he will not be insecure, he does not
intend to be the same as others, he will not consider himself worthless, he
will not take action against God's will due to dissatisfaction with him, his
life will be calm and able to get along with anyone.
When
people accept themselves as they are, they will be able to develop themselves
and do something with:
·
Self-consciousness
·
Self-acceptance
·
Self-confidence
·
Self High self-assurance. (perasaan aman)
Accepting
yourself is a difficult process. Many young people are often tempted to feel
dissatisfied with themselves. When he saw his friend is richer, there were
teenagers who thought: why was I born in a poor family? When I see other people
who are white, there are teenagers who think: why am I born with dark skin?
When you see a sharp-nosed friend, there is a teenager who thinks: why am I
born with a snub nose? Seeing his friend smart in a particular lesson, there is
a teenager who thinks: why am I not as smart as him?
Those
who still think like that, seemingly have not realized; that for certain things,
especially physically what is inherent in us is strongly influenced by inheritance
and environmental factors. They forget, that many rich people are also unhappy,
many beautiful or handsome people are also not successful; on the contrary,
many people with ordinary faces (even less attractive) from even poor families
can be successful and valued by many people.
The
attitude of not accepting yourself can foster an attitude of envy, want to be
like someone else, and finally rationalize
everything as something good(menghalalkan segala cara).The case of
teenagers in South Korea who carry out plastic surgery is one example. But what
they do is not a guarantee to live happily.
Then
the most basic question to reflect is: what values do you want to pursue that
can determine your happiness? Is someone's value determined by beauty or good
looks? by a sharp nose? or by attitude and behavior and exemplary life?
The
teachings of the Scriptures about the Uniqueness of Humans being.
The
Book of Gen. 1: 26-31!
When
creating humans, God planned and created it in His image and likeness.
According to his image. (Ge 1:26) When creating humans, God seems need to
"work" specifically.
"God formed man from dust and soil and breathed life into his nose"
(Gen. 2: 7). Everything, including the garden of Paradise, was surrendered by
God to humans (Gen. 1:26).
Isn't
human special? God treats humans specifically. Humans have been thought and
planned by God since eternity. The presence of humans on earth has been
carefully prepared and arranged. Humans are really treated as
"people", as individuals, "like" God Himself. How unique we
humans are!
B. Developing God's Gift
According to Aristotle,
"humans will be happy if they actively realize their talents and
potential. Humans are creatures that have a lot of potentials, but those
potentials will become real if we realize them. “Happiness is achieved by using
or activating talents and abilities. The abilities and talents possessed by
someone should be developed and used. Ability and talent are God's gifts, which
in the Scriptures are often called talents.
God wants that talent to be developed and used.
In
the Gospel of Matthew 25: 14-30, it
is told of a master who calls his servants and gives them a number of talents
to "be developed" and "used. As Christian we are called and
demands to develop and use talents. God gives different abilities and talents
to everyone those talents must be used for common good. Jesus gives an example
of a master who gives talents to his servants. (Mt 25:14 - 30). Jesus also encourage
a servant who did not want to develop his talents and only buried them in the
ground.
Realizing Strengths and Limitations
My
Strengths and limitations; Physical Aspects
·
Talent / Ability: there is a gift and there
is none.
·
Material / Economy: Rich and poor
·
Characteristic: there is a good character
and not
·
The dream (success) that I want to
achieve: the future achieved.
Basically,
every human being is given by God with various abilities, although with
different levels between one another. People who are good at math are not
necessarily skilled in sports, people who are good in singing are not
necessarily good at sports. People who are good at science lessons are not
necessarily good at socializing with friends. No one who is smart and skilled
in everything.
This
kind of reality should make everyone aware that on the one hand every human
being has the ability, but on the other hand he has limitations. So everyone's
job is to find what is their ability, as well as find their limitations.
The Scriptural Message About the Call
to Develop talent.
The Parable of Talent (Matt. 25:
14-30)
Everyone
is gifted by God. We must develop and use those talents as they should.
Developing talent as it should be is the call and demand of Christian
believers.
We
must develop the talents we have, because God has given talents to humans His
creation, in accordance with the capabilities of each human being.
We
must be like the first servants and the second servants who develop the talents
they have well. We must not follow the third servant, who only buried his
talent, without trying to develop it.
God
will be sad and disappointed because we only harbor(memendamkan) the talents we
have. Moreover, we feel jealous of the abilities that other people have. God
gives each talent to His people, and we have to be grateful for that talent,
and we develop it.
C. Equality of Men and Women
Men
and women are created as dignified(semartabat) and equal. Both are created in
the image of God: created in the image and likeness of one and the same God
(Genesis 1, 26-27). Besides, they are blessed with trust and equal opportunity
to take part in His great work. They are called to build communion and work
together in the management of the world and everything in it and the protection
of the generation of mankind (Genesis 1, 31). Men and women complement each
other. The correlative nature is very clear in the form of men and women. But
it also appears in all its humanity, such as: feelings, ways of thinking, and
ways of dealing with reality, including with God. God said: "It's not
good, if humans are alone. I will make a helper for him, who is worthy of him
"(Gen. 2:18). Men and women are created not first as masters and servants
or superiors and dependents, but partners who are corresponding (rekan yang
sepadan). Duties and responsibilities
given to both are the same. The value of their work and their role in the work
of God are generally no different: nothing is higher and nothing is inferior.
The Word of God which reads: "Let us make man in our image and likeness
..." (Genesis 1, 26) and "... what He made was very good"
(Genesis 1, 31) shows the difference between humans and other creations. The
word shows their privilege as men and
women among all creations, not their differences as men and women. In the
Book of Genesis it is also told that men and women are God's most beautiful
creations.
Men
and women are created by God to complement each other, to become life partners.
Men alone are not complete. God himself said: "It is not good, if man is
alone. I will make a helper for him, who is worthy of him "(Gen. 2:18). To
declare that a woman is truly a unity with a man, God created the woman not
from another material, but from the man's rib. So the man then said about this
woman: "Here he is, the bones of my bones and the flesh of my flesh"
(Gen. 2:23). From the quote of this Scripture it is clear that the relationship
between men and women is a sacred and commensurate relationship.
The
teachings of the Scriptures about the Equality of Men and Women
Genesis
2: 18-23
Question
analysis: Who wants humans (men) not to be alone? Why? Who makes help for men?
Is one higher than the other? See verse 20, are cows, birds one with humans?
See also verse 23, is this equal recognition or consider one to be the superior
to another?
The Equality of Men and Women.
Many
people when talking about equality between women and men, are often limited to
the problem of division of tasks or functions. So many people were convinced
that the head of the family must be a father. Even though the father is
unemployed and the one who struggles desperately to make a living is his wife,
still the father who is the head of the family.
Many
men when talking about equality, focus more on what a woman should do for her.
And on the contrary, women think what men should do for them. As long as humans
think like that, equality is difficult
to be realized.
Instead
equality will come true if people will renew their way of thinking. This new
thought is when a man is able to say: a woman was created by God as my helper,
meaning she (woman) is proof of God's love for me. God wants me to develop
through his help, so I will respect and do whatever is best for him. If I
respect and love him, I love God too. Likewise the opposite: women say: I have
been created by God as a helper to him, so I will respect and do whatever is
best for him, because it is my manifestation of loving God.
The
thought like that can be realized through the following example: Young men will
not feel proud if they are familiar to help families washing dishes or cook.
God's calling for men or women is: each one must develops himself into a real
man and a true woman.
D. The dignity(keluhuran) of Human As
God's Image
As
a fellow image of God, every human being is a brother. But in various places
there is still violence causing from fanatic and intolerant attitudes because of
race, ethnicity, religion, culture, and social groups. This attitude is as
described by Jesus in the parable of the generous Samaritan. In the parable it
is told how the good Samaritan had treated Jews(Yahudi) like their own
brothers, even more than that.
The
word image is more exactly defined as a description. Creatures called humans are
said to be images of the creator, which is God himself. Because man is created
as the image of God, man has dignity as a person: he is not just something, but someone. He knows himself, becomes a
master of himself, dedicates himself to freedom, and lives in togetherness with
others, and is called to build relationships with God, his creator.
Humans
are given the power to overpower other creatures. Mastering nature means arranging, protective, developing, and using
it responsibly.
True brotherhood means
is a friendship that lived on the base on the natural equality as a the same
creature of God and the same equality as God's image. True brotherhood does not
distinguish people based on religion, ethnicity, race, or class, because all
humans are both God's people and are equally
loved by God. So everyone who hates one another hates God.
In
Gen. 1: 26-27 it is said: God said: "Let us make man in our image and
likeness so that they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the
air and of the cattle and over the whole earth and all the animals
creeping(melata)that creeps(merayap) on the earth. So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them
". in Gen. 1: 26-27 it is clearly stated that humans were created in the
image and likeness of God.
The Cases of Violations Against Human
Dignity
We
already know that humans are not something, but a unique person who has value.
A person's value is not determined by wealth, by beauty or good looks, not by
culture, ethnicity, race or nationality. Then why do we still find many cases
of violations of human dignity? Why is there still slavery? Why is there still
a massacre?
Behind
the violations of the dignity of human beings, we are grateful because there
are also figures who gave their thoughts and services to defend and fight for
the nobility(keluhuran) of human dignity. They are:
1). Mahatma Gandi
is
a spiritual leader and politician from India. Gandhi was one of the most
important people involved in the Indian Independence movement. He is an
activist who does not use violence, which promotes the independence movement
through peaceful demonstrations. As a teenager, Gandhi moved to England to
study law. After he became a lawyer, he went to South Africa, a British colony,
where he experienced ethnic discrimination called apartheid. He then decided to
become a political activist in order to be able to change the discriminatory
laws. Gandhi also formed a nonviolent movement. When he returned to India, he
helped in the process of India's independence from the British colony; this
inspired people in other colonies to fight for their independence.
2) Mother Teresa of calcuta
is
an Albanian Roman Catholic nun and an Indian citizen who founded the
Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950. For more than 45 years, she
served the poor, sick, orphaned and dying. while guiding the expansion of the
first Charity Missionaries in all of India and beyond in other countries. After
her death, she was blessed by Pope John Paul II and was given the title Blessed
Teresa of Calcutta. In the 1970s, she became internationally renowned for
humanitarian work and advocating for the rights of the poor and helpless. The
Missionaries of Charity continued to grow throughout her life and at the time
of her death, she had run 610 missions in 123 countries, including shelter and
homes for people with HIV / AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, counseling programs
for children and families, orphanages and schools. The government, social
organizations and prominent figures have been inspired by her work, but not a
bit of the philosophy and implementation of Mother Teresa have faced a lot of
criticism. She received numerous awards, including the Indian government award,
Bharat Ratna (1980) and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She is one of the most
admired figures in history.
3). YB. Mangunwijaya
Is
a religious leader who cares about the destiny of poor people, he is not tired
of defending the rights of the oppressed. Like when the people of Kedungombo was
accused because of the removal of their land without suggestive payment. On
July 5, 1994, the Highest Law court finally granted the petition of 34
residents of Kedungombo with large reward. But good intentions don't always
respond well. Romo Mangun, who has been faithful in providing assistance since
1986, was accused of trying to do Christianization. Receiving this accusation,
the man who had attended a brief lecture on humanity in the United States was
silent. In addition to paying high attention to the fate of the poor, Romo
Mangun is also known as a person who is very concerned with the world of
education. "Poor children who are unknowingly thrown are born in slums,(kumuh)
that's what really needs help.
4). Munir Munir Said Thalib
is
a man of Arab originally who is also an Indonesian human rights activist. His
last position was the Executive Director of the Indonesian Human Rights
Monitoring Agency Imparsial. While serving on the Council of Contrast his name so
familiar as a fighter for missing people kidnapped at that time. At that time
he defended the activists who were victims of kidnapping the Rose Team from
Kopassus. After Suharto's fall, the kidnapping was the reason for the removal
of Kopassus Danjen Prabowo Subianto and the trial of members of the Mawar team.
Munir's body was buried in the Batu City Public Cemetery.
The teachings of the Church about the
Nobleness of Human Dignity as God's Image
·
KGK (Catechism of the Catholic Church) 357
Because it was created in the image of God, man has dignity as a person: he is
not just something, but a person. He is able to know himself, become a master
of himself, devote himself to freedom and live together with others, and
because of mercy he has been called into agreement with his Creator, to give
Him the answer to faith and love, which cannot be given other creatures as a
replacement.
·
KGK 358 God created everything for humans
(cf. GS 12,1; 24,2; 39,1), but humans but man was created to serve God, to love
Him and to offer all creation to Him.
·
KGK 361 "The law of solidarity and love" confirms to us, that despite
the diversity of individuals, cultures and nations, all humans are truly
brothers and sisters.
KGK 362 The human
person created in God's image is both physical and spiritual. The Scriptures
reveals it in figurative language, when it says: "God formed man from the
dust of the ground and breathed life into his nose; thus the man became a living
being ”(Gen 2: 7).(By. Sr.Emelyn Tea, C.M)
