I was on a bus bound to the north a couple of hours to rush hour, contending with the traffic and the heat and smoke of the city. I had already developed an utter distaste for this side of the earth. But I had to endure them since I couldn't afford the expensive taxi rides. I couldn't even afford to buy a new cellphone unit I had to be contented with my very outmoded 3315 Nokia which I considered a family legacy. Sometimes I felt awkward using it. But at that time, the passenger next to me borrowed it. She ran out of battery and needed to contact a relative where she was heading to. She was exactly new to the north. I prayed my own phone would not run its battery out while making the call. She finished the call and the phone didn't display its "low battery" warning as I had expected. That was one of my worries when I traveled. I must save my battery for emergency use.     

              But my cellphone's own dilemma wasn't my concern for the moment. A man, decently dressed, got into the bus. He stood and got his bible. He was preaching. Or at least that was my first impression. I thought to myself, "Well, nobody will be listening to you."  But I listened even with the loud noise coming from everywhere. While listening to him, my thoughts wandered off everywhere. Reflecting.        

Approaching Balintawak, the bus stopped. Then I saw a bunch of badges (I don't know if they really are). A pair of old folks went into the other side of the street, begging from car to car. Sadly, nobody pitied them. My heart went out to them. The man stopped his preaching and now rendered a song. Then he asked for donations! I was surprised. I wondered what happened to real religious zeal. Today it's all about business and money-making. Whether we admit it or not, money has become the vital force that gravitates us into ugly downfall. Whoa, don't ask me if I don't need money because I badly do as everyone else does. But what we miss here is that money isn't everything. Money is good but too much love of it makes it worse. For the love of money is the root of all evil: while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10, KJV). It may sound cold but it's the plain and sad reality. We depend so much on the money for our happiness. We fail to see that real happiness comes in emptying oneself for another. Isn't it what Jesus teaches us - to love one another... to be of service to our fellowmen? Now, that's the true religion. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father are this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world (James 1:27, KJV).     

              As the preacher walked down the aisle to collect money, I pretended not to see him. I was arguing with myself whether I'd give some coins or not. I didn't. I asked myself why would some use the name of the Lord to make money? The shabbily-clothed beggars outside needed my spare coins more than this respectably-dressed man in front of me. The man got out without money from me. I could have said to him he should not do it again. But I could not summon much strength to say it nor did I feel much peace afterward.      

              Now, I have become so cruel. I realized if that man was being bad because of his "ingenuity" I was worse than him because I was so coldly judgmental of him. What he did might have put some moral constraints but I still didn't have the right to judge him because only God knew the true intentions of his heart in what he was doing. The Holy Scripture says " Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam [is] in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5, KJV)       

We entered the NLEX tollgate and it was like entering into a whole new world as the bus ran at high speed. My thoughts were like a speedy race. The strong rush of wind seemed to dissolve them like bubbles into thin air as I was lulled into sleep.