“Utang na loob, sometimes translated as “debt of gratitude,” refers to a widely recognized Filipino cultural value in which one is obliged to reciprocate a significant assistance received in times of great need.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
While it sounds good on the surface, it becomes the basis of unethical behavior.<\/p>\n
“It is also said to be one of the root causes of wrongdoing and social evil. Having a sense of it is said to incline people to evil deeds, such as condoning unethical behaviors and practices, participating in collective wrongdoings, and supporting corrupt officials. Furthermore, it makes people vulnerable to the manipulation of ill-intentioned individuals, such as forcing them to give in to morally compromising demands.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In other words, corrupt individuals look for opportunities to create an obligation and then demand that it be repaid in morally wrong ways.<\/p>\n
Christians are expected to do good\u00a0without<\/em> any expectation of repayment. “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return<\/strong>; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men<\/em>” (Luke 6:35). Where a “debt of gratitude” creates a societal pressure to repay, Christian are told to do good quietly, thus removing knowledge of who had performed the good deed. “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you<\/em>” (Matthew 6:3-4). The lack of knowledge hinders feelings of obligation to repay or being pressured into repaying by others. For Christians, doing good is what God asks of us. We do good because it is right. There is no consideration of what we might get out of the situation.<\/p>\nThis doesn’t mean returning kindness in response to another’s kindness is wrong. What is wrong is the expectation that it is required or must be of similar value.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Dear Minister, In our country, there has been a recent conversation on social media regarding the concept of “Utang na Loob” – translated into English as “Debt of Gratitude or Goodwill.” What place does this virtue or moral have in the life of a Christian, or what are its ethical implications? What could be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1543,1668],"class_list":["post-70231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-good-works","tag-obligation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39645,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/recent-evidence-shows\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":0},"title":"Recent Evidence Shows?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Warren E. Berkley Several years ago scientists (especially in the behavior field) formed a research team. The simple question to be studied was: What can be done for people who are depressed? Not severe depression that has some physiological cause. Just people who visit a therapist and they present\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-church-ask-its-members-to-borrow-money-for-its-building-project\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":1},"title":"Should the church ask its members to borrow money for its building project?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, Is right to borrow money for the sake of contributing to building a worship hall for the church? We are encouraged by our minister, as individual brethren, to do so since it is an important project of the church. Answer: The Bible teaches that being in debt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84162,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thanks-for-holding-firmly-to-the-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":2},"title":"Thanks for holding firmly to the truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good afternoon, I wanted to send a quick word of thanks to you for your website. Over the past few years, two conservative churches of Christ I attended have progressively moved toward using their buildings for social activities, food pantries, etc. In both cases, it resulted in splitting the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-law-of-moses-applicable-to-gentiles\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":3},"title":"Was the Law of Moses applicable to Gentiles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about the passage in Colossians 2:11-14: \"In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-credit-cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":4},"title":"What does the Bible say about credit cards?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What the Bible said about credit cards, especially for the Christian? I cannot understand people using a credit card to give to the Lord. It brings many problems when you have no control over your spending. I cannot understand this. It is my belief that this is not God's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18752,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-christian-must-file-for-bankruptcy-is-he-still-obligated-to-pay-off-his-debts\/","url_meta":{"origin":70231,"position":5},"title":"If a Christian must file for bankruptcy, is he still obligated to pay off his debts?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If one borrows money and they get behind the eight-ball, if you will, so they file bankruptcy, are they morally responsible to pay the borrowed amount back? I said if they did it with the intent of trying to rip someone off that was a sin, but I didn't\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}