Yesterday's article was incomplete. Due to time constraints, I failed to provide a homiletical outline. Since the central idea of yesterday's reflection is about the word of God as the antidote to moral decay, the question that Psalm 12 answers is

How does the word of God serve as the antidote to moral decay?

Considering the whole counsel of God revealed in the Bible, there are numerous ways to answer the above question. Even though the vocabulary of the reply differs because of multiple human authors, the essence remains the same. Whether it's from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, the Book of Acts, the Epistles, or the Book of Revelation, the substance of the answer is the same because the Holy Spirit is the Ultimate Author. Now that our basis is Psalm 12, it is appropriate to confine our focus to the chapter in responding to the above question.

One quality of God's word emphasized by the psalmist is its flawlessness and purity; it was refined in a furnace seven times. As such, the solution to moral decay can only be found in the word of God. The psalmist has that kind of confidence, and that's why, during a moral crisis, he appealed to the Lord for help. This tells us that the Lord's help comes to us through the power of his words.

Homiletical Outline of Psalm 12

Based on Psalm 12, the following is the response to the above question:

• The word of God serves as the antidote to moral decay because only God's word can reverse the infidelity wave and restore godliness to society.

• The word of God serves as the antidote to moral decay because only God's word can expose lies and deception.

• Lastly, because the word of God serves as the basis for justice, if implemented, it can put an end to the oppression of the weak and needy.

That completes my homiletical outline. What's missing there are exegesis, illustration, and application. That requires more time.

Source

Three Options

Continuing my mental clarity exercise, my conversation with our office mates yesterday led me to contemplate three options one has to choose to protect himself/herself from a complicated relationship ruined by infidelity and betrayal. Somehow, this is related to the application of Psalm 12 meditation to a more concrete situation.

The three options are as follows:

• To see him/her return to the Lord, to himself/herself, to his/her spouse, and to his/her family. This is the real meaning and application of repentance. Without this change, words and actions are hypocrisy, lies, and deception.

• To live in peace alone.

• To continue living together before the eyes of the public and tolerating lies, deception, and betrayal. This, to me, is lonelier than living alone. Or it is more appropriate to describe it as the loneliest. To quote someone's comment on YouTube:

Sometimes the loneliest and saddest place is being married to a person who resents you, doesn't respect you, and takes you for granted.

Other Activities in the Business Office

As I reviewed my records, the remaining balance that I have to return to the fund as of 14 April 2025 was PHP 9,399.00. Yesterday, I paid back PHP 2,399.00. My current balance is PHP 7,000.00. This kind of on-chain recording is easier to retrieve than browsing the pages of my record book.

As for statements of accounts, I am glad to see that one of my students finally paid his tuition fees through the generosity of the Salt and Light Scholarship. His sponsor supported him with PHP 36,800.00.

What consumed most of my time yesterday was my preparation and reporting of the 1st Quarter 2025 Financial Report to the Board of Trustees. After two years in the business office, we are still not able to reverse the financial direction of the school. We are still operating in the red. I was asked how I was going to address this situation. I updated them about the outcome of the accountant's visit a few months ago. My job becomes lighter and more focused. We are now informed about the zonal and market value of our lots. My priority now is to set the books in order to present them to the banks to avail financing in order to support our solar project. Once realized, this will remove the burden of paying our electric bill.

Grace and peace!

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