SCRIPTURE CORNER

ON THE DUTIES OF THE STATEPart 1

It is God's will that we all should work - In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken. Gen 3, 19.
Our well being and satisfaction depend on the work done -The life of a labourer that is content with what he hath, shall be sweet, and in it thou shalt find a treasure. Ecclessiasticus 40, 18.
Since Our Lord Jesus sanctified work through His own labour, work then will give us eternal reward as promised Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. Mt 20, 4.
Sense of duty is to be the leading force in our lives. For example, God wants us to be pious, which in latin is devotio, or devotion to God. Remembering Him joyfully in morning and evening prayers, blessings before and after meal, saying Angelus, keeping Sunday holy, taking regular Communions, these are the duties of Christian life which will be greatly rewarded The generation of the righteous shall be blessed Ps 111, 2
Another example - God told us to respect and love our parentsHonour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. Ex 20, 12 . This is natural law, for after God we owe to them a lot. To ensure God's blessing we should love and respect them, in particular in their old age when they become weak and vulnerableThat you may approve the better things, that you may be sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ. Ph 1, 10