"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot.
A profound and inspiring quote that I read today from Jim Elliot. A man who lived and died in the name of his faith. It makes you think very carefully about what truly is important in life and what your priorities are.
I used to ask why is it that we couldn't live forever. Why must we die. Like anyone else, death was something unwelcomed and to be feared.
But as I grow older, I realize that without the knowledge of death, we could never appreciate life the way we do now. What we know will always be there will end up being taken for granted. What we fear to lose, we behold and cherish while still present. The fleetingness of life amplifies the beauty in the things we do.
Have you ever had moments in your life where for a very brief moment, even if it was just a few seconds, you thought you were going to die. It has happened to me a few times while driving and once on a plane. I came out alive (obviously) and kind of laughed about it after that. But in every one of those instances, I felt compelled to call my family and hear their voice. It gave me great joy just hearing their voice or seeing them again because for a brief few moments earlier, the thought of being losing them was very real in my mind. All the other troubles, worries and concerns I had been carrying everywhere with me didn't disappear, but they certainly felt less critical.
I guess in that sense, death is the ultimate reality checker. Just look at what it did for the late Steve Jobs. People are forced thing carefully about what they want to do, knowing the life they have is fleeting. For people like Steve Jobs, it was doing what he loved best, and what amazing things he did indeed for the world of technology.
For Jim Elliot, it was doing the Great Commission, even to the point of death. He will not be as well remembered or as celebrated as Steve Jobs. But for his amazing faith and courage, I do believe he gained something he could never lose.
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
#19 An Insta Society
We live in an 'instant' society.
Just look at the world around us. At work, emails are expected to be read and replied within days if not hours. Deadlines given are short and numerous. People expect information and services to be furnished to them on a plate instantly.
In society, people flock to fast food restaurants Any order taking more than 15 minutes to arrive is too slow. People people feel compelled to share their thoughts (or pictures of their food) on Facebook or Google+ immediately, via their always connected smartphones. Bills are paid, money is transferred, items are purchased all at the click of a button. Everything is instant. Even the latest social media craze is called 'insta'gram.
We now live life at breakneck speed compared to how life was just 10 to 15 years ago.
Ironic that even with all this 'connectedness' and instant responses, many of us (or at least I) hardly have time to meet up with anyone any more. Social media helps people cope with that in some ways. You always have that option of scrolling on your friends Facebook wall to see what has been going on. But I have always been somewhat uncomfortable with that.
We trade in connecting in the flesh with our friends, person by person with 30 minutes of conveniently looking at our newsfeed. It feels like social media has become an inferior supplement to our social needs, in the same way store bought multivitamins have become inferior supplements to our nutritional needs. Ideally, you should derive both the same way - from the real thing. But we don't. We inevitably do what's quickest and most convenient given our busy schedules. We simply cannot afford, or refuse to wait.
That's the thing about waiting isn't it? It feels more like a hindrance instead of a passage. Let me say that again - hindrance instead of passage. 'All good things come to those who wait', people used to quote. I hardly hear anyone say that anymore. Patience has become a rare virtue indeed, if still a virtue at all these days. I hear complements for quality, efficiency and effectiveness. But never a complement for patience.
Is there no place for it in this world anymore in this 'insta-society'?
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
#18 Things You Wish For
I remember not too long ago that I thought to myself :
"I don't want to have any kids yet. I'm still young. I want some time before I start a family."
I didn't really want to be one of those couples who had babies popping out 9 months (or sometimes sooner) after the wedding. I thought that when the time comes, then we'll have one... but for now, let us enjoy things for what it is.
Over time, the more I talked to people, the more I realised that there was a second group of people - people who found it very difficult to conceive at all, despite all their efforts. My heart went out to them. How sad it must feel, how hard it must be watching other people with their babies and children, wishing you have that too.
I always knew I didn't want to be the first group of people. But I didn't know I was already part of the second group.
Sigh.
People always say you should be careful in what you wish for. I guess you never quite get it until it happens to you.
"I don't want to have any kids yet. I'm still young. I want some time before I start a family."
I didn't really want to be one of those couples who had babies popping out 9 months (or sometimes sooner) after the wedding. I thought that when the time comes, then we'll have one... but for now, let us enjoy things for what it is.
Over time, the more I talked to people, the more I realised that there was a second group of people - people who found it very difficult to conceive at all, despite all their efforts. My heart went out to them. How sad it must feel, how hard it must be watching other people with their babies and children, wishing you have that too.
I always knew I didn't want to be the first group of people. But I didn't know I was already part of the second group.
Sigh.
People always say you should be careful in what you wish for. I guess you never quite get it until it happens to you.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
#17 Politics
In a month (or two), 15 million Malaysians will be heading out of their homes to their nearby voting stations to make a decision : who do I want to run my country for the next 4 years? It's a no brainer for some, it's a tough one for others. After all you only have 2 choices - government or opposition.
But politics are one of those things that split people right down the middle. Over the past year, if people are not reminding me that the current government siphons off billions of dollars for themselves and likes blowing up women at golf courses, they are telling me about power crazing opposition people who like sodomizing boys young and old alike and making men and women queue separately at the supermarket.
Regardless of which camp you are, you always think the guy on the other side is a dirty, lying, corrupt bastard. Then you hear other people talk about your guy, and you realize perhaps he isn't quite as perfect as you thought he was. Suddenly, this isn't about choosing between whose better anymore. It's about figuring out whose worse. In the end, we all throw our hands up in the air and declare the honest truth - all politicians are liars.
But of course they are liars. What did you expect? After all, we are the ones that make them liars in the first place.
Holding our vote ransom, it is the people who often demand promises of better roads and infrastructure, free education and healthcare, higher income and high employment rates, while at the same time keeping taxes low and inflation at bay. We want government to be transparent, efficient and benevolent with no corruption. We expect competent and qualified people to be put in charge of our country and bring it to greater heights, but we insist they must be selfless and noble, taking home an income no more than what an ordinary employee should. These demands are normal. But what's normal isn't always reasonable. Better education, infrastructure and good governance cost money, which means more taxes. Better business and economic prospects always come with inflation. Hiring good and qualified people is always going to be expensive.
And that's where the lying often starts. A man lies when he realizes he needs to in order to achieve his goal. And in the case of politicians, the people he is trying to serve becomes the people he needs to lie to. People make unreasonable demands in exchange for their votes, and politicians give them unreasonable promises to secure it. Later, when reality comes crashing down on everyone, we crucify the politician - the liar who duped us all into thinking he could make a change. But it was us who put him there in the first place. We chose him over that other guy - the one with the unconvincing campaign who promised higher taxes, lower wages and inflation through the roof.
We often feel like its an impossible choice - choosing between politicians. We hate that we have to choose between two liars. But even if there was such thing as an honest politician, we have given them a hard choice too - tell the truth and be shown the exit, or lie and then do your best later. If all politicians are liars, it is because the ones that were honest have all been booted out by us for saying the wrong thing - the truth.
I admit this cannot just be broadly applied to all politicians. There are those who go into politics for the money and power, there are those that are genuinely trying to make a difference in society. There are those who will grab, cheat, lie, steal and loot the country the first chance they get. And there are those who feel the burden of service in their hearts and act upon them, trying their best to do what's right for their homeland. At least that's what I would like to believe.
It will always take a bit of crazy for people to believe they can do great things. Climbing Mount Everest, running a 100km marathon, and yes, even running for public office. You need to believe that something can be done through you while all others have failed. You need to believe that you have something extra that others don't. Some people consider that 'extra something' confidence, some consider it talent and some consider it charisma.
This election, I hope the people elected into office will all have a different kind of extra something in them - integrity. Or maybe that's too much to ask...
But politics are one of those things that split people right down the middle. Over the past year, if people are not reminding me that the current government siphons off billions of dollars for themselves and likes blowing up women at golf courses, they are telling me about power crazing opposition people who like sodomizing boys young and old alike and making men and women queue separately at the supermarket.
Regardless of which camp you are, you always think the guy on the other side is a dirty, lying, corrupt bastard. Then you hear other people talk about your guy, and you realize perhaps he isn't quite as perfect as you thought he was. Suddenly, this isn't about choosing between whose better anymore. It's about figuring out whose worse. In the end, we all throw our hands up in the air and declare the honest truth - all politicians are liars.
But of course they are liars. What did you expect? After all, we are the ones that make them liars in the first place.
Holding our vote ransom, it is the people who often demand promises of better roads and infrastructure, free education and healthcare, higher income and high employment rates, while at the same time keeping taxes low and inflation at bay. We want government to be transparent, efficient and benevolent with no corruption. We expect competent and qualified people to be put in charge of our country and bring it to greater heights, but we insist they must be selfless and noble, taking home an income no more than what an ordinary employee should. These demands are normal. But what's normal isn't always reasonable. Better education, infrastructure and good governance cost money, which means more taxes. Better business and economic prospects always come with inflation. Hiring good and qualified people is always going to be expensive.
And that's where the lying often starts. A man lies when he realizes he needs to in order to achieve his goal. And in the case of politicians, the people he is trying to serve becomes the people he needs to lie to. People make unreasonable demands in exchange for their votes, and politicians give them unreasonable promises to secure it. Later, when reality comes crashing down on everyone, we crucify the politician - the liar who duped us all into thinking he could make a change. But it was us who put him there in the first place. We chose him over that other guy - the one with the unconvincing campaign who promised higher taxes, lower wages and inflation through the roof.
We often feel like its an impossible choice - choosing between politicians. We hate that we have to choose between two liars. But even if there was such thing as an honest politician, we have given them a hard choice too - tell the truth and be shown the exit, or lie and then do your best later. If all politicians are liars, it is because the ones that were honest have all been booted out by us for saying the wrong thing - the truth.
I admit this cannot just be broadly applied to all politicians. There are those who go into politics for the money and power, there are those that are genuinely trying to make a difference in society. There are those who will grab, cheat, lie, steal and loot the country the first chance they get. And there are those who feel the burden of service in their hearts and act upon them, trying their best to do what's right for their homeland. At least that's what I would like to believe.
It will always take a bit of crazy for people to believe they can do great things. Climbing Mount Everest, running a 100km marathon, and yes, even running for public office. You need to believe that something can be done through you while all others have failed. You need to believe that you have something extra that others don't. Some people consider that 'extra something' confidence, some consider it talent and some consider it charisma.
This election, I hope the people elected into office will all have a different kind of extra something in them - integrity. Or maybe that's too much to ask...
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