By: Jeremiah Longaquit

     In coverage of the Papal Trip to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI was quoted as saying that there is a lot of emphasis in the world today on the problem of temporal poverty but hardly any discussion on the greater, deeper problem of moral poverty. The Pontiff was right. If you get down to the roots of the problem of the world’s temporal poverty, you will find that it is caused by moral poverty.
     The Philippine social situation is a good case in point where moral poverty causes temporal poverty. The insatiable greed (moral poverty) of the few oligarchs causes the miserable, hand-to-mouth, sub-human existence (temporal poverty) of many.
     Temporal poverty caused by moral poverty is not only limited to the people with power. And when we say people of power, it is not limited to the ones that hold office in the political arena but also those who are in the elite class of the society. This is also rampant in all levels of society even among the “common people” (students, teachers, laborers, farmers, urban poor, vendors, drivers, professionals and others.) These can’t only be blamed to the people in power or “power people”.
     Moral poverty in “common people” can cause the same disaster by the “power people”. “Power people” may be few but their immoral acts affect a greater degree in breadth and width of the society. “Common people” may affect only on a very little degree or may not be affecting directly at all but they compensate in their numbers and also have a compounding effect to the people in power.
     One of the most rampant forms of moral poverty in the Philippines is corruption. “Others, even leaders, do it, so why not me?” People make excuses to justify the little “kupit” here and little “kupit” there that they commit.
     Corruption in the Philippines has become a lifestyle.
     Let us not limit the word corruption to the abuse of public offices for personal gain or other illegal or immoral benefit. Corruption in its strictest sense is being dishonest and immoral. Dishonesty is not just limited to stealing things, getting kickbacks and misappropriating funds, rather, it’s illustrated in even the simplest things like bribing people to work in your advantage like getting fixers to do your transactions faster, paying someone to let you pass certain exams or test, cheating during exams in school, cheating on one’s time in the office and giving unjust benefits to the workers, among others. Big problems come from smaller ones.
     These are all forms of corruption. The common denominator to all these is to gain something through dishonest or immoral act.
     Corruption is not just some other crime that when the culprit is caught, the crime will end. You may catch the culprit and end the evil doings but corruption is found in the heart of the offender. How can you stop something already deeply-rooted in the heart and mind?
     We must see corruption as deterioration of values. These very values that each one of us hold are taught first at home. We must protect these values.
     We must uphold the values of integrity, honor, honesty, temperance, justice and many other values that we can use against the corruption of our hearts.
     Where can we find anchorage of these values? Where can we find inspiration?
     For us Christians, our best and greatest teacher of these values is Jesus Christ.  We can get inspirations in the Bible from the life of the prophets who lived miserably at the expense of telling and living the good news they preach.
     During Jesus times moral poverty and temporal poverty were also rampant. In His time, He addressed these problems by becoming an example and by teaching moral values.  He is the inspiration of what a true human should be.
     We are all capable of doing what is taught to us by Jesus Christ. We just have to look back at our faith and believe. Let us reflect on what we really need in life. Or more appropriately, who and what really make us happy? Who and what really are important to us?
     Let us ask ourselves: Do being corrupt, and greedy for wealth, fame and power make us happy? Does having less make us lesser human? As persons, are we measured by how much power, wealth and fame we have? Are we justifying the things we do that are not morally right because we intend that something good will result from it?  Do we not have enough faith in God and ourselves that we choose these options?
As a final note, let me quote from the bible: “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” John 3:16.
     The temporal poverty caused by moral poverty is all about our relationship with God. If we really trust God and follow what Jesus Christ has taught us, there is really nothing to fear.