“… ngunit kung ang bayang ito na nagtataglay ng aking karangalan ay magpakumbabá, manalangin, hanapin ako at talikuran ang kanilang kasamaan, papakinggan ko sila mula sa langit. Patatawarin ko sila sa kanilang mga kasalanan at muli kong pasasaganain ang kanilang lupain.”

2 Mga  Cronica 7:14

In his painting, My Sad Republic, Filipino National Artist Ben Cab depicted the state of our country as a drooping person draped in wrinkled, faded Philippine flag. It is an image that evokes sorrow.

When you think of our country, what feelings are evoked in you? Is it sadness? Because many things about our country are grievous. The continuing rising of poverty, for example. According to World Bank estimates, two million more Filipinos became poor in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Or is it anger? When billions of tax money are lost to corruption in government, it’s just right for us to be angry! Or is it pity for many of our kababayans who needed to work overseas to give a better life for their families? Or anxiety over the uncertainty of the future of our children?

Our Creator-God gave us a beautiful country — rich in natural resources like land, mountains, forests, and seas. Our people are creative, hard-working, and fun-loving. Why then have we not managed to free our country from the chains of poverty?

The state of our nation should bring us down to our knees. It should humble us. It should cause us to ask the hard question, “What’s wrong with us?” And move us to repentance for our sins as a people — the sins that have made us a broken nation.

On behalf of our nation, we need to confess to God our sins: Corruption in every unit of our society, idolatry of our people, inequality between the rich and the poor, greed of those who are rich, pride of those in power, apathy of those who are comfortable, infidelity of our public servants, neglect of our environment. We need to confess all these to God and turn away from them.

When we do this, God will hear us, forgive our sins, and heal our land. That’s a promise He will keep because He is faithful.