What to attend to

You know there’s that common idiom already adopted into most languages which is: Mind your own business. Some are so dissipated or proud in mind or heart to think they ought to meddle in all of others’ affairs as if they know everything to be able to solve all of society’s problems. But if we are not responsible for such particular matter, we might just be adding unnecessary burdens or annoyances on our neighbor by our interventions even if we are not obliged to do so by the concerns of charity or justice.

That seems to be the mind of Jesus when He advices us in Mt. 7:1-5: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, ‘:Let me tale the splinter out of your eye,’ when all the time there is plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye” (Mt. 7:1-5).

It is important then to attend to what you are supposed to attend to. But when you pretend to be a meddlesome busybody even in impertinent affairs, people will term that in Tagalog: pakialamero (male) or pakialamera (for the female). It does seem from the words of Jesus that we are to take care of what we are supposed to be or to do instead of pretending to be what we are not supposed to be or to do. Attend to your own imperfections and endeavor to correct them instead of minding others’ faults or imperfections. Thus we can hope for your certain success. Hope in God, which is surest.