LIFE MATTERS: The Parable of the Man Who Became Addicted to Worldly Ambition

By COL Dencio S. Acop (Ret), PhD

There was a boy who was born into a poor family. But while they were poor, the parents of the boy were good and honest. There were times when their honesty was tested but neither parent gave in to the temptations. It came to a point when even the relatives rebuked the parents for being too honest. But despite the undeserved criticisms, the boy’s parents went on with their lives with quiet dignity enduring the challenges of daily life cheerfully. The father would tell his son that no matter the enticements of worldly living, there was no substitute for a peaceful conscience at home with God and his fellowmen. He would say: “Son, we may not be rich in material things, but our wealth lies in knowing God smiles kindly upon us each day for aspiring to be his sons and daughters which we are”. 

The son was a good boy but as he grew up, he began to be attracted by the allures of this world. While he constantly witnessed the examples of his parents and regularly went to Mass with them on Sundays, the boy was also torn between that and what he saw in school and the larger world. There was a time through late elementary and early high school when he thought he’d enter the Seminary. But he had since felt somewhat confused and distracted. He also felt some sort of depression which distracted him from his usual self. His grades began to suffer but he made up for it by being more active in extracurricular activities. He discovered he had a gift for leadership.

The twin attractions of free scholarship and possible career in the military landed him at the premiere military academy following his graduation from high school. While some of his classmates were sons of colonels and generals out to prove themselves as worthy heirs, a great many others were like him – sons of poor parents out to climb the ladder of worldly ambition “outdoing” their parents. Four years at that institution were enough to mold one into a creature who will stop at nothing towards reaching his ultimate goal of becoming a general or its civilian equivalent. That became the singular aspiration of the boy who was now a man. Thus, life in active duty as an officer in the armed forces seemed to fly by quickly as if he was riding in a train and seeing the events of his life whoosh by. 

There was the commission as a regular officer in his country’s standing army. There were the slow promotions at first, which became superseded by faster ones later through his almost forty-year career. Of course, there was also the becoming a husband and father part where raising a family coincided with building up a military career. Life with your boots on was hard, and like he’d say he would have been lying if he said it wasn’t. To begin with, the pay was low. It seemed impossible to raise a family just being a soldier. There were also the moral dilemmas. While soldiers are not mandated to follow illegal orders from superiors, for instance, such is always easier said than done in reality. Then there was the corruption. In his country, corruption had become a way of life. That it was embedded more in the upper echelons of the command chain created an even bigger dilemma for him. As he rose through the upper levels, he felt it more and more. At the crucial juncture, there was only one decision that had to be made: To stay or to leave. 

Ultimately, the allure of worldly ambition was too strong for him to resist. He had come such a long way to now quit. Hailing from humble beginnings, to not finally join the ranks of the “haves” and domestic elite of his society felt like turning his back on what he sacrificed so much for. The weeks leading up to his final decision tormented him. Within himself, he rationalized that in civilian life his conscience would be clear and he would be earning an honest living benefiting his wife and children. On the other hand, staying in government would allow him to consummate his ambition to the full along with all its accompanying accolades. Except that it could also compromise his soul, or whatever’s left of it. But then again, he felt that he was already “compromised” in some way or the other anyway. His academy classmates, too many of them to count, further weighed in on his decision convincing him that he was making the wrong decision by quitting. That they were all in it together. They would tell him: “Everyone is doing it; It is not your fault. It is how things are which cannot be changed. You did not invent this systemic corruption. You merely walked into it.”   

So, our boy who is now in his fifties eventually makes it to the topmost position in the armed forces and even beyond active-duty retirement. He gets other civilian posts in government as well. His original dilemma is still there, as corruption in the system is still there. But his dilemma is no longer as strong as it used to be. He had gotten used to the compromises as his way of life as well. The public honors lavished him felt great. The unaccounted money kept pouring in even when he didn’t specifically ask for it. Now, he was a “somebody” – a far cry from the “nobody’s” his parents were – or so he thought. When he finally passed on from this life, he was buried in a national cemetery for heroes with full public honors. Resting in a plot bigger and more lavish than most. 

There were opportunities to repent and convert late in life. Even publicly, but mostly privately. I guess it is here where his dilemmas continued. There were days when he could see clearly the ideals of his parents. But then on other days, especially those spent with worldly friends and classmates, the exact opposite felt true too. For how can the reaching of the pinnacle of one’s career be sinful? It was his whole life! It seems hardest for the high and mighty of this world to bow down before God. To whom much is given, much also is expected. And there is so much to repent for among leaders. The private moments were more honest and revealing. People who’ve been to holy hours of adoration describe the experience as a one on one with God himself. They’d say how the hour was like having a cup of coffee with the Lord and chatting with him. That the Lord could see through them even when they weren’t saying anything at all. While there is nothing to repent for in the world of men, even among the worst of sinners, that is a paradox in the eyes of God who knows and sees all. While some say there wasn’t, there are those who say that our boy had the chance to come clean before God prior to cleaning out.