Debt crisis, austerity moves, bail outs, political leadership changes, markets on a pogo stick – these are the “new normal” in a “new economy.”

As I find update myself with the world economic events, it makes me think I am in some bizarre new world order. Time was we only concentrate on the economic impact of the warring Middle East but it seems that the four corners of the globe have been sucked up by some economic tornado. In the western hemisphere, the U.S. in a lopsided battle against a sluggish economy still reeling from the devastating effects of the sub-prime crisis.

It appears that the astonishing amount of bailouts has not done much for the world’s largest economy and there has been political pressure on the Obama government. The Wall Street protests are an indication of the sentiment of many Americans and their nation is polarized.

Macroeconomic indices has not been rosy for the American front either – lackluster economic growth plus high unemployment rate is a recipe for economic disaster. On the European front, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain with their debt scares continues to give a lot of people sleepless nights (most of them bankers). Changes in political leadership in Greece and Italy might turn the tides to their favor but that remains to be seen.

Watching the developments in that region is akin to watching our “telenovelas” – lots of action, cliff hangers and more so, drama. Moving to the Far East – one the world’s largest economy, Japan, can’t seem to wake up from economic slumber. The once mighty Japanese economic empire is slowly losing preeminence with virtually no economic growth for many years and the recent devastating earth quakes puts a heavy toll on an already burdened economy.

Pockets of economic upheavals also erupted in many areas … the ongoing strife in the Middle East keeps the price of oil up further giving inflationary upward pressure on the world. The ever precarious Israel-Palestine relationship is a time bomb waiting to explode. National disasters are erupting more frequently and cuts across the globe, leaving untold physical and economic damages. China and India are strong economies but one would be foolish to think they will not be affected by the economic slowdown of the Euro-American economy – their biggest market.

What then of the Philippines? How do we fit in this “new normal” or the “new economy”? If first world countries are in a rut, what then for a country like ours? Aren’t we also struggling with a debt issue? Aren’t we also struggling with poor economic growth?

Firstly, let me ease the reader’s concern with our debt issue. The US, Italy, France, Spain, Greece and many others have an extremely high percentage of their debt payments as against their GDP – over 90% and some close to 100%. By comparison, the Philippines debt payment to GDP ratio is only a little over 50%. While we are still at risk in the global economic skirmish, I believe the present situation also opens up a lot of opportunities for us to take advantage of. In the arena of outsourcing, we have a big talent pool of skilled Pinoys who can do the job and do it well at cheaper costs. Our heroes, the Overseas Filipino Workers are ready to take on any job at any given time and in any place. Our banking system remains to be a stable one with good check and balance measures thanks to the Central Bank and surprisingly good legislation. I believe that the whole economic situation created some vacuums and voids a nation like the Philippines can fill, own and thrive at. This is clearly an example of the many advantages of being small, if only we rid ourselves of small mind thinking. In a new economy, one can get lost and forgotten – yet one can find a place to achieve many of her aspirations and goals.

I am generally a positive thinker and not fond of gloom and doom predictions; yet if I am to be objective and if I am to read the writings on the wall, I say that man’s economy is not going anywhere north anytime soon. How do I get to sleep with all these knowledge and understanding? My answer is very simple: I chose to subscribe to God’s economy instead.  Amidst all these, my faith in my creator gives me all the hope and security I need and my personal experiences have validated that I was correct in my subscription. In His presence, I fear no recession, no inflation, no debt crisis, no unemployment – all I experience is peace.

“Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands give me delight.”  – Psalm 119:143, NIV.

* Also appears in Moneysense November-December 2011 issue

The day after Christmas. We see a lot of wrappers, boxes and loads and loads of toys. Then we notice that our kids have more and more toys — so much more than what they can play with. This is an opportune time for us to teach our kids about generosity and what we should put value on.

Prior to Christmas, we have taught our kids that Christmas is not about receiving or even giving presents, its about a testament of God’s love by sending Jesus into our lives. Christmas is really about Christ and as parents we felt we needed to constantly remind them.

Jesus is the Lord of generosity too and I believe that whenever we are generous, it is an act of worship. We can teach kids to start being truly generous at an early age and after Christmas is a great way to do it. Usually, we teach our kids to give away old toys, stuff they don’t like to play with and after sometime of doing it, our kids find joy in giving away their old toys. Sometime ago, we slowly tried to teach them about sacrificial giving… generosity is not just about giving away things you don’t want anymore. We encouraged them start giving even new and unopened toys to bless others.

This morning, I got an sms from my mentor and dear friend Cito Beltran who is currently in Cagayan de Oro helping with relief operations. Cito asked me to create awareness in the viral world on sending toys and crafts to help relieve the affected children from a lot of stress. With a few text messages, posts in Facebook and Twitter, it was a joy to see people already responding. A short text message to my good buddy Paulo Tibig of V Cargo resulted to them agreeing to pick up and bring the toys and crafts to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan for Free!

Here’s what me and my kids got busy with earlier. We sorted out their new toys, mostly unopened still and I asked them the pray and seek what the Lord is telling them — if they want to give new toys and which of their new toys. My wife and I was overwhelmed when they wanted to give more than half of their new gifts. We also asked them to check their toys and start deciding which to give away. Again, we were delighted that our kids decided to give even toys they like to play with. At ages 9 and 6, it is such a blessing for parents like us to see how Jesus has touched their hearts and move in the spirit of generosity.

My boys story was picked up by Gerald Dela Pena of TV 5 and you can catch their short feature tomorrow (tuesday) at TV 5, 11:30am.

If you would like to move in generosity along with your children, please do so and send toys and crafts to the children of CDO and Iligan. Again, may we reiterate to send toys that are in good condition, not those that demean the dignity of our brothers and sisters. We suggest that you consolidate toys and crafts from your friends and family and V Cargo will pick them up for delivery to CDO and Iligan, free of charge. To arrange for pick up, please call or sms Nerz of V Cargo at 0927-7008059.

God bless you.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14, NIV

For the last 3 weeks, our church (Victory Green Hills) ran a series on manhood. It has been eye opener to many of us who have been attending the services and a more focused big group discussion for the last 3 weeks.

Today’s perception on what a real man is so obscure because of culture and media. When you talk about a real man, one would think of a typical half naked and unbelievably buffed model you see in EDSA billboards (are they really men to start with, me thinks). To others, the picture of a real man is one who is fierce, stoic, can take in a lot of alcohol and ready to jump into a brawl. Whether the image of a real man is one who has sculpted abs or a beer belly, our society has a twisted image of what a man should be and for us men, we seem to be clueless on how we should act, think and behave.

In a radio show I co-hosted (as a fill-in), we had a guest who had an incredible story. He is your classic rags to riches story and against allodds, even on the brink of death, our guest survived, thrived and became very successful. He seems to be a nice person, kind, generous and willing to share his knowledge and even his wealth to better the lives of those around him. He truly is an admirable fellow and it was really a pleasure conversing with him. No person, no matter what he has achieved is perfect. This nice guest of ours has an incredible story, besides his rise to success. He is a father of 14 children with 14 different women. While many were amazed at his life story, more were impressed upon his virility and people started to call him ‘idol’. While I do not judge our guest, I am saddened that many will find his ‘adventurous romantic episodes’ as something to be admired and worse, emulated. Well, I guess it’s ‘to each his own’, I suppose.

If society has conflicting views and many of us have settled for less than what a man ought to be, the last 3 weeks have made me realize that God expects his men to be more than what society can ever define. Here are 3 critical learning on the role of real men I picked up from our Pastor Dennis Sy:

1) Provider: lead financially. While there is nothing wrong with women working and helping their family financially, the role of the man of the house is to provide for the needs of his loved ones. Man should go out and work for a living and provide a comfortable life for his family as best as he can. Providing doesn’t mean that men should give his family an ostentatious lifestyle that will make him a slave to work and be an absentee father as a result. Having a stable home and providing for such a home will always be the responsibility of the men. It is sad to see many women work hard and their husbands are left at home. Call it the modern family and call me old-fashioned but I believe there should not be reversal of roles in this case. I wrote about my thoughts on this in an earlier blog.

2) Warrior: lead physically and emotionally. In the family, the man is the head of the family and he should act as such. There is a reason that the men were created to be sturdier, stronger and maybe even less emotional as the women. Men should not abdicate his role as the leader and hold the family together. Being a warrior does not mean he canbe insensitive and push his weight around, that’s a sign of weakness. A real man would know when he should acknowledge the wisdom of his wife, accept his limitations and yet stand firm for his decisions. I don’t think women would like their men to be a push-over, indecisive or cannot take his responsibilities seriously.

3) Pastor: lead spiritually. While our faith in the Lord is an individual concern, the real man should act as the spiritual head of the family. As a husband and a father, the Lord has bestowed upon me the spiritual covering for my family. It is imminent for us men to pray for our loved ones regularly and with intensity. Our faith in the Lord is something our children can emulate, not from lengthy sermons but from what they actually see in us. I once had a friend who got concerned that his young children decided not to go to church; I gently reminded him his children only copies what they see from him and since he is infrequent in going to the church, they started to think they shouldn’t as well. The good news is my friend started going back to church regularly and is now walking with Christ. Our children read their bibles not so much because we tell them so, but more so because they see us read, especially me.  Filipina women have traditionally been more pious but let me tell you that when the men exhibit a close relationship with the Lord, it is a totally different ball game. As the spiritual head, we can actually intercede for our loved ones and I am certain the good Lord listens to all our prayers.

Further, and more importantly, the real man submits to the real authority. He submits to the authority of Jesus Christ who is the real master of his life.

Whew, writing this blog has overwhelmed me if I am to be totally honest. The burdens of being a man, and a godly man at that, is not easy task nor for the faint hearted. However, it is also only by the grace of God can we do all these. Apart from Him, I can’t really do much. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13, NLT

Be a man according to culture or society? Or be a real man in the image and likeness of the Lord? The choice is ours to make.

To learn more on being a real man, check out Act Like a Man