Reflection Paper Nature Of Human Being Reason For Being Article 1

Reflection Paper:
Nature of Human Being, Reason for Being

I. What is the Nature of Human Being?

I was brought up in a small barangay where many people are deprived of decent homes and regular profession to pay for their needs. Only few houses are blessed of having television sets or radios for pastime, and it is typical to have a live drama as source of entertainment, from a couple who are shouting to and hitting each other, or a mother who is scolding her ill-disciplined children. I remember using the phrase “Animal ka!” as a mean of expressing disgust to the other person who is supposed to be the one who committed a misbehavior.

Being asked what the nature of human being is lead me to thinking “What is our difference from animals?” Or “How are we compared to other creation? In short, to answer this, we might think about the distinct characteristics that make human beings human independent of the culture which we are exposed to.

For me, the best source of answer is the book of Genesis, when God started everything. God’s work is completed with the creation of humanity. On the 6th day, God said, “Let us make man in our image, to our likeness”. Therefore, God being the source of goodness created man as good, in righteousness.

After God created Man, He said “It is not good for a man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.” And so He created the Woman from his bone and flesh. This proves that human beings by nature need companionship in order to live.

God then said “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the seas and the birds of the sky, over every living creature that moves on the ground. From this we can tell that being created in the image of God, man has the ability to think, make decisions and rule. God gave to man the entire universe and we as human beings are tasked to use them in order to grow and mature until we return to our Creator. Therefore, we can say that Man being able to think naturally would always aim to be better. Thus, he has the ability to set goals and move toward them.

II. What is our Reason for Being

I have asked this many times to myself and it was not easy to find answer. Based on my experience, whenever I try to escape from doing my purpose, I always end up finding myself into a difficult situation. I guess that is the universe way of letting me know.

I believe that we are all created for a purpose, and that each one has a role in this universe.

The first purpose of our being was told to us by God when He created us, to be fruitful, increase in number.

The 2nd purpose is to be steward of His other creation. He provides us everything, including our talents. The Parable of the Talents struck me one Sunday morning when I had these questions in my mind before I went to church: Why others are born rich and why others are born poor? Why others have the ability to get to the top of their career fast while others are slow-paced. The Parable of Talents tells of a master who was leaving his home to travel, and before doing so, he entrusted his property to his servants. One servant receives five talents, the second one received two talents, and the third received only one talent. That is according to their respective abilities. When he returned after a long absence, the master gathered his servants and asked for an accounting. The first two servants explained that each of them have put their money to work and doubled the value of the property they were entrusted with. The master was happy and so each of them was rewarded. The third servant, however, confessed, that he has merely hidden his talent in a hole in the ground. The master was disappointed and so he punished the third servant. On the last part of the parable, I quote "For everyone who has will be given, and he will have abundance, but from him who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away".

This parable taught me that we are not all created equal. The master gives to each servant talents, “…each according to his ability.” The master understood that the one-talent servant was not capable of producing as much as the five-talent servant. We may think that it is not fair, but come to think of it, it takes just as much work for the five-talent servant to produce five more talents as it does the two-talent servant to produce two more talents. This is why the reward given by the master is the same. The master measures success by degrees of effort, as should we.

Another reason for our being is to fulfill our roles and responsibilities to ourselves, our family, and society. God gave us talents and it is our responsibility to nurture it and be better person in the eyes of God. We also play different roles as part of the family, as a son and daughter to our parents, as a father to our son. There are also different issues in our society and being part of it means we need to do our share to make it better.

Ultimately, I believe that we are here to serve God, fulfill our mission until we return to Him.