Beware of Our Unholy Curiosities

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

WE have to be guarded against this danger that is becoming more common, especially considering that we are now having practically a bombardment of new things that can easily trigger our curiosity.

We are reminded of this danger in that gospel episode where Herod was curious about Christ after hearing so much about him, and was eager to see him. (cfr. Lk 9,7-9) We know that his curiosity was motivated more by fear and envy than by anything else.

We have to see to it that our curiosity should be anchored on knowing God more and more and on how we can follow his will and ways. Outside of that motive, we can only be playing with fire.

We know that we are by nature curious. That’s how we start our quest for knowledge. Let us just remember that there are two basic kinds of curiosity, the good one and the bad one, the healthy one and the unhealthy one, one that is inspired by love for God and others and another that is simply driven by self-love and self-indulgence.

We need to examine ourselves as to the kind of curiosity we have, and let us try to choose the right one. The good one will always bring us closer to God and to others. It will increase our love for them and our willingness to serve them, regardless of the effort and cost it may involve.

The bad one usually can give us instant perks but in the end traps us in a very subjective, self-indulgent world. It is prone to be simply idle, since it would lead us to be oblivious to our duty towards God and others. In a sense, it is like a sweet poison.

To have curiosities is a normal thing to have. But we just have to see to it that our curiosities are purified and properly directed. That way we would know whether to pursue them or not. And if we have to pursue them, we also would know how to do it. We just cannot allow our curiosities to lead us by mere spontaneous and mindless reactions.

Let’s always keep in mind that our curiosities usually start at the sensible level. What we see, hear or feel would provoke us to be curious about a certain thing. Or they can start also at the intellectual level. What we already know and understand can trigger further curiosities.

It’s good to be continually curious, since that is how we grow in the different aspects of our life. We just have to make sure that they are properly managed. And even before managing them, that they are properly motivated and derived.

Yes, there are curiosities that just break into our consciousness by accident. These happen more often among the young. But as we grow older and accumulate more knowledge and experience, we will realize that our curiosities become more intentional than accidental.

What we need to do is to see to it that our curiosities are always referred to God. They should not be allowed to follow a Godless path. That would be inviting danger.

With God, we would know if our curiosities have a valid reason to be pursued. We would know where these curiosities originated, whether from him, or from our flesh, the world, or the devil.

With God, we would know what proper resources we can use to pursue these curiosities, as well as how to handle the other weaknesses that may be triggered and stirred because of them. These can be our weaknesses of pride, vanity, lust, greed, etc.

In other words, we would be exercising the virtue of prudence in dealing with our curiosities. We would tame them, purifying and directing them to our proper end.