Lots of talk is going around now about corruption. In fact, such talk has been on everyone’s lips for the past few years. Ever since Our PM Abdullah Badawi pledged to fight corruption, corruption has been a hot topic. Accusations have been flying around, with the public bombarding the government with blistering accusations and condemnations, and the government blatantly denying any and all such statements.
Just recently, the stories of the Malaysian version of the “Desperate Housewives” hit the news. The Balkis RM 9.9m, while perhaps not absconded, was definitely abused. The stories of these wives going globe-trotting with the funds supposedly donated for charity probably aroused a lot of anger amongst the public. “Yet another case of BN corruption,” they say.
Stories of an ex-Finance Minister transferring RM 42 billion out of the country have also been flying around. Not to forget all those high value projects which appear to be mere ‘excuses’ for money to be wrongfully distributed to people who need political payoffs. Land transfer deals. Sky high purchase prices for everyday items like stationery and cameras. The list goes on.
However, I do believe that we’ve overlooked one very key area; us. We point out the government’s corruption but we forget about ourselves. Small amounts, you say? It takes small amounts to make up large amounts. Lets have a hypothetical example.
Let’s say 1,000 people a day pay a bribe of RM 50 to cops to avoid getting summoned. Assuming just a 5 day working week, that amounts to RM 250,000 a week or RM 13,000,000 a year.
And let’s assume another 1,000 people pay a RM 200 bribe to ‘buy’ a driving licence every week. That amounts to another RM 10,400,000.
Just those two add up to RM 23,400,000 a year. And that’s just an estimation, not including other kinds of ‘small’ corruption we indulge in. My point is this; how can we be condemning others when we ourselves are actively involved in our country’s corruption? Yeah, maybe it doesn’t run up to billions. Maybe we’re not stealing taxpayers’ money. But one thing’s for sure, we’re a part of this major industry called corruption.
The police has been voted as one of the least reputable institutions when it comes to corruption. But do we only blame the people who ask for bribes? Don’t the people who PAY them have a part to play? Of course we do! The next time you think of paying a bribe so your kid can pass his/her driving test, think again! Let’s not be pots calling the kettle black!
It starts with you and me. Small gestures like this count. When we, the lay people, make a stand, it counts. The recent elections proved this beyond all doubt! We, the rakyat, CAN make a difference. It doesn’t matter if we’re not in high governmental posts. It doesn’t matter if we don’t have armies or tones of funds to achieve objectives for us. When you and I make the right decision, it makes a difference.
For once, instead of convenience, choose to do what’s right. If our bosses are asking us to do something illegal, to ‘cook the books’, let’s choose not to do it. If we get stopped for speeding, let’s choose to pay the fine and not fuel corruption.
Do you think we can change the nation, change the world? Oh I’m convinced we can. It’s not too difficult after all. It starts with you and me.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Sufiah Issue
By now, probably everyone in Malaysia knows about the Sufiah Story. The maths prodigy turned sultry star. Yes, our little Malaysian star has grown up. And what’s more, many names for her now circulate. The ‘Happy Hooker’, she is to some, and to others, just plain old ‘prostitute’.
The issue has kinda blown over now, hasn’t it? Headlines have a way of becoming obsolete. But before this one expired, many people commented that the Govt should no longer spend Malaysian taxpayers’ money on this girl, whether to help her or whatever. They felt that it was unfair for Malaysians to pay for someone who wasn’t even Malaysian anymore, and to make things worse, on someone like her.
My concern is not so much of the money. My concern is for her. Somehow, we’ve forgotten to be people. We’ve left our souls somewhere distant, haven’t we? Cuz now she’s ‘chosen her way of life’ so we adopt the there’s-nothing-we-can-do attitude. Yeah, she says she’s happy being an escort, but so what? Wrong is wrong. Yes, it’s her choice, but that doesn’t mean let’s all forget about her and leave her to rot for all we care.
What if one of our children turns out that way? What if our daughters become prostitutes and sons gigolos? How do we know many of them aren’t already? Sure we’re quick to condemn but it never really affects us till it hits home, does it? Reading about a family burning to death in the newspaper is so distant. We just shrug and say “Too bad,” and move on to the gossip page. And when one of our own family members burn to death, its then we feel the searing heat, we remember his/her last moments. Yeah, that’s a pretty gross analogy but it applies.
So anyway, why did she turn out that way? What conditioned her to actually enjoy the life of an escort/hooker/prostitute? I don’t know. Perhaps a myriad of different factors. Who could know what kind of home she came from that affected her as a child. Who knows? Maybe she went through a period of emptiness in her teenage life and found that sex is a quick fix, just like alcohol or dope. It could have been a million other factors, but whatever they are, we need to understand that it couldn’t be good. No, she was never meant to turn out like this, and neither are any of us or our children.
What could possibly cause her or anyone for that matter to view our bodies so cheaply that its ok to sell it? It doesn’t matter whether its for a Gucci bag or even a million or billion dollars for that matter? Is that what we’re worth? Sure, its pleasurable, but when did we sink so low? Our dear Sufiah may just wake up someday in the future, and realize how empty her life was. Why empty, you ask me. She had lots of pleasure, and expensive gifts, and probably money too.
It’s a simple answer. All those things are material. And we are more than just material. Materialism never fulfills. We can chase after all the material things in the world, and we can get them, but in the end..so what? So what? So what if I’ve got the new C-Class? So what if I’ve gotten 10 Harvard degrees and a job paying a million a week? So what if I’ve got a house bigger than 5 White Houses and 5 Air Force Ones? So what if I get to fly my own personal helicopter every weekend? So what?
Cuz someday, I’ll lie on my deathbed (assuming I have the privilege to) and inevitably I’ll look back at my life. And everything I’ve done will pass before my mind’s eye. The question is, will I be proud? Or will I be ashamed? Will I wonder why I even lived? Will I feel the pangs of shame and taste the tears of regret? Will I wish I had another 10 years to live how I should have lived?
Maybe I’ll smile. Perhaps I’ll thank God for showing me the way to live. And maybe I’ll be at peace, ready to die and be with God forevermore. It all depends on our choices, doesn’t it?
Sufiah’s made hers. But I will say this; let there be no condemnation. She made mistakes, and so do we. What we should do is not turn our backs on her and let her throw her life away. We need to rally behind her and say “No matter what you’ve done, we’ll always be here.” Can we do that?
Well this blogger has taken a stand to support Sufiah. There is a chance she will come back to the right path. And I will be waiting for that day, along with all who agree with me.
You know what’s more? This doesn’t just go out to Sufiah. This goes out to every young one out there who’s ever made a wrong decision or taken a wrong turn. Come back.
The issue has kinda blown over now, hasn’t it? Headlines have a way of becoming obsolete. But before this one expired, many people commented that the Govt should no longer spend Malaysian taxpayers’ money on this girl, whether to help her or whatever. They felt that it was unfair for Malaysians to pay for someone who wasn’t even Malaysian anymore, and to make things worse, on someone like her.
My concern is not so much of the money. My concern is for her. Somehow, we’ve forgotten to be people. We’ve left our souls somewhere distant, haven’t we? Cuz now she’s ‘chosen her way of life’ so we adopt the there’s-nothing-we-can-do attitude. Yeah, she says she’s happy being an escort, but so what? Wrong is wrong. Yes, it’s her choice, but that doesn’t mean let’s all forget about her and leave her to rot for all we care.
What if one of our children turns out that way? What if our daughters become prostitutes and sons gigolos? How do we know many of them aren’t already? Sure we’re quick to condemn but it never really affects us till it hits home, does it? Reading about a family burning to death in the newspaper is so distant. We just shrug and say “Too bad,” and move on to the gossip page. And when one of our own family members burn to death, its then we feel the searing heat, we remember his/her last moments. Yeah, that’s a pretty gross analogy but it applies.
So anyway, why did she turn out that way? What conditioned her to actually enjoy the life of an escort/hooker/prostitute? I don’t know. Perhaps a myriad of different factors. Who could know what kind of home she came from that affected her as a child. Who knows? Maybe she went through a period of emptiness in her teenage life and found that sex is a quick fix, just like alcohol or dope. It could have been a million other factors, but whatever they are, we need to understand that it couldn’t be good. No, she was never meant to turn out like this, and neither are any of us or our children.
What could possibly cause her or anyone for that matter to view our bodies so cheaply that its ok to sell it? It doesn’t matter whether its for a Gucci bag or even a million or billion dollars for that matter? Is that what we’re worth? Sure, its pleasurable, but when did we sink so low? Our dear Sufiah may just wake up someday in the future, and realize how empty her life was. Why empty, you ask me. She had lots of pleasure, and expensive gifts, and probably money too.
It’s a simple answer. All those things are material. And we are more than just material. Materialism never fulfills. We can chase after all the material things in the world, and we can get them, but in the end..so what? So what? So what if I’ve got the new C-Class? So what if I’ve gotten 10 Harvard degrees and a job paying a million a week? So what if I’ve got a house bigger than 5 White Houses and 5 Air Force Ones? So what if I get to fly my own personal helicopter every weekend? So what?
Cuz someday, I’ll lie on my deathbed (assuming I have the privilege to) and inevitably I’ll look back at my life. And everything I’ve done will pass before my mind’s eye. The question is, will I be proud? Or will I be ashamed? Will I wonder why I even lived? Will I feel the pangs of shame and taste the tears of regret? Will I wish I had another 10 years to live how I should have lived?
Maybe I’ll smile. Perhaps I’ll thank God for showing me the way to live. And maybe I’ll be at peace, ready to die and be with God forevermore. It all depends on our choices, doesn’t it?
Sufiah’s made hers. But I will say this; let there be no condemnation. She made mistakes, and so do we. What we should do is not turn our backs on her and let her throw her life away. We need to rally behind her and say “No matter what you’ve done, we’ll always be here.” Can we do that?
Well this blogger has taken a stand to support Sufiah. There is a chance she will come back to the right path. And I will be waiting for that day, along with all who agree with me.
You know what’s more? This doesn’t just go out to Sufiah. This goes out to every young one out there who’s ever made a wrong decision or taken a wrong turn. Come back.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Belief Systems
Phrase of the day : Belief systems..
Humans are no different all over the world. Whether its Lucy in Mexico or Benaiah in Nigeria or Tom in Malaysia or Ahmed from Saudi. We all search for something more. Yeah of course we chase after money and love and all kinds of other things, but deep down, there's a deeper need in all of us.
So what's the new thing on the block? Scientology? Some other new age 'religion' or belief system? We take it all in stride in today's modern society. We've got the ones that have been around since before we learnt to wear clothes and the new ones that sprout up like weeds after rain.
You know what I find weird about a lot of the so called new age beliefs? I mean, no disrespect to them, but, it sure seems like a lot of them believe that after death, we'll become some kinda gods. But then again some of the old age beliefs aren't too far different after all.
The olden days Pharaohs of Egypt were so paranoid of death they built 'palaces' (pyramids) for their deaths. In fact they spent more time preparing for their deaths that they forgot about living. When they died, their wives would also be killed to 'accompany' the king wherever he was. Heck, they even bury the Pharaoh's cats and gold. Good ol' Shi Huang Ti from downtown China wasn't that different. He was the one with the 5000 terracotta warriors wasn't he? Forgive me if I got the names or numbers mixed up by the way.
I find a large similiarity with today's modern Chinese. Oh yes, they're getting VERY modern indeed. When I was a little boy, all they had was paper money to burn for the dead. And now? Mansions and Mercedes, maids and magazines, handphones and so on.. The very latest update I got (no idea how true this is) is that they now have email addresses for the dead, for example MrDead@hell.com.my. The things we think of.
Chinese people are also terribly afraid of death. Hence the numerous superstitions and traditions. It's not 'good' to give a clock to a Chinese apparently. It would be telling him to die or something like that. When someone dies, their family can't be visited or can't visit for 100 days because there's some 'uncleanness'. Would you believe that when my father's dad died one day on the kitchen floor, none of his children dared to go near the body? "Unclean". Well thats the belief system for you.
Why do we fear death so much? It's simply because no one knows what comes next. Why do we have so many conversions or sudden religious urges on deathbeds? Simply because in the face of death, we don't know what we're gonna face. Are we going to the Chinese 'hell' where you can get mansions your relatives burnt for you in your mail? Will it be the Muslim heaven where you get 4 wives or something like that? Will it be the Christian heaven where you get to be with God forever, or the hell where you are tormented forever? Will you be reincarnated as a pig or a horse or a king or a worm or a papaya? Ah, we don't know do we?
So then, why do we need belief systems? That's simple too. Don't need to be an Angkasawan to figure it out. Cuz deep down inside under all those layers we've put on top, is an innate need for something spiritual. We have our physical needs, our emotional needs, and last but not least, our spiritual needs. A writer put it this way: "There is a God-shaped hole in each of us that nothing and no one else can fill"
That's it. Our spirits long and crave for something spiritual. We can chase materialism all we want. We can indulge in everything the world has to offer but deep down there will be this empty place in our hearts that none of that can fill. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon (reputedly the wisest man on earth at that time), drew away from his relationship with God. And instead, he pursued worldly things. he surrounded himself with gold and riches, with love and laughter, with wine and good food. And you know what he concluded after he had tasted everything good this world has to offer? He concluded that everything, yes you heard me, EVERYTHING was meaningless. It didn't matter he had everything, they were meaningless. Worthless. Guess that's a case of his God-shaped hole-in-the-heart not being filled.
So we search. We place our belief in idols, in different gods, some of us in our own selves. We place our faith in nothing (atheists). Interestingly, even atheists believe in something. They believe that there is nothing or no God.
So which is right? Is there a one true way to a one true God or is every God the same? does it matter if you pray to an idol or to a picture or to the sun or to some (God forbid!) teapot? Here's an easy way to tell. Have you found yourself in whatever you believe? I'm not asking you whether it works for you. I mean have you found your meaning in life? A purpose for living? Can you answer the question "Why am I here"? And do you know where you're headed when our short little candle of life blows out? it could be today, you know. We could all die today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe we'll live to see and experience the joys of the rocking chair.
Do you know who you are? Is life just a tiresome vicious cycle or boring routine? Has life lost its flavour? Are you just living from day to day, life an endless blur? Are you heartbroken and thirsty? Are you an outcast in your own home and community? Are you lost and searching? Wandering, perhaps? Blindly trying different things hoping you'll find something? Are you struggling with addiction or some other kind of chains? Are you empty? Sounds depressing, doesn't it? But if we examine our hearts, a lot of us fall into one of those categories up there.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Let Me have control and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul" - Matthew 11:28-29
Keep searching, dear brothers and dear sisters. You will find.
Humans are no different all over the world. Whether its Lucy in Mexico or Benaiah in Nigeria or Tom in Malaysia or Ahmed from Saudi. We all search for something more. Yeah of course we chase after money and love and all kinds of other things, but deep down, there's a deeper need in all of us.
So what's the new thing on the block? Scientology? Some other new age 'religion' or belief system? We take it all in stride in today's modern society. We've got the ones that have been around since before we learnt to wear clothes and the new ones that sprout up like weeds after rain.
You know what I find weird about a lot of the so called new age beliefs? I mean, no disrespect to them, but, it sure seems like a lot of them believe that after death, we'll become some kinda gods. But then again some of the old age beliefs aren't too far different after all.
The olden days Pharaohs of Egypt were so paranoid of death they built 'palaces' (pyramids) for their deaths. In fact they spent more time preparing for their deaths that they forgot about living. When they died, their wives would also be killed to 'accompany' the king wherever he was. Heck, they even bury the Pharaoh's cats and gold. Good ol' Shi Huang Ti from downtown China wasn't that different. He was the one with the 5000 terracotta warriors wasn't he? Forgive me if I got the names or numbers mixed up by the way.
I find a large similiarity with today's modern Chinese. Oh yes, they're getting VERY modern indeed. When I was a little boy, all they had was paper money to burn for the dead. And now? Mansions and Mercedes, maids and magazines, handphones and so on.. The very latest update I got (no idea how true this is) is that they now have email addresses for the dead, for example MrDead@hell.com.my. The things we think of.
Chinese people are also terribly afraid of death. Hence the numerous superstitions and traditions. It's not 'good' to give a clock to a Chinese apparently. It would be telling him to die or something like that. When someone dies, their family can't be visited or can't visit for 100 days because there's some 'uncleanness'. Would you believe that when my father's dad died one day on the kitchen floor, none of his children dared to go near the body? "Unclean". Well thats the belief system for you.
Why do we fear death so much? It's simply because no one knows what comes next. Why do we have so many conversions or sudden religious urges on deathbeds? Simply because in the face of death, we don't know what we're gonna face. Are we going to the Chinese 'hell' where you can get mansions your relatives burnt for you in your mail? Will it be the Muslim heaven where you get 4 wives or something like that? Will it be the Christian heaven where you get to be with God forever, or the hell where you are tormented forever? Will you be reincarnated as a pig or a horse or a king or a worm or a papaya? Ah, we don't know do we?
So then, why do we need belief systems? That's simple too. Don't need to be an Angkasawan to figure it out. Cuz deep down inside under all those layers we've put on top, is an innate need for something spiritual. We have our physical needs, our emotional needs, and last but not least, our spiritual needs. A writer put it this way: "There is a God-shaped hole in each of us that nothing and no one else can fill"
That's it. Our spirits long and crave for something spiritual. We can chase materialism all we want. We can indulge in everything the world has to offer but deep down there will be this empty place in our hearts that none of that can fill. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon (reputedly the wisest man on earth at that time), drew away from his relationship with God. And instead, he pursued worldly things. he surrounded himself with gold and riches, with love and laughter, with wine and good food. And you know what he concluded after he had tasted everything good this world has to offer? He concluded that everything, yes you heard me, EVERYTHING was meaningless. It didn't matter he had everything, they were meaningless. Worthless. Guess that's a case of his God-shaped hole-in-the-heart not being filled.
So we search. We place our belief in idols, in different gods, some of us in our own selves. We place our faith in nothing (atheists). Interestingly, even atheists believe in something. They believe that there is nothing or no God.
So which is right? Is there a one true way to a one true God or is every God the same? does it matter if you pray to an idol or to a picture or to the sun or to some (God forbid!) teapot? Here's an easy way to tell. Have you found yourself in whatever you believe? I'm not asking you whether it works for you. I mean have you found your meaning in life? A purpose for living? Can you answer the question "Why am I here"? And do you know where you're headed when our short little candle of life blows out? it could be today, you know. We could all die today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe we'll live to see and experience the joys of the rocking chair.
Do you know who you are? Is life just a tiresome vicious cycle or boring routine? Has life lost its flavour? Are you just living from day to day, life an endless blur? Are you heartbroken and thirsty? Are you an outcast in your own home and community? Are you lost and searching? Wandering, perhaps? Blindly trying different things hoping you'll find something? Are you struggling with addiction or some other kind of chains? Are you empty? Sounds depressing, doesn't it? But if we examine our hearts, a lot of us fall into one of those categories up there.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Let Me have control and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul" - Matthew 11:28-29
Keep searching, dear brothers and dear sisters. You will find.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Of the Love of Money
So who doesn’t love money, right? That’s why we work. It’s why we study. To get a good job that pays well. And of course the “paying well” part is more important than the “good job” part, right? Money is the good stuff that makes our month’s work all worth it at the end of the month. But where do we draw the line when it comes to loving money?
Of course there’s a difference between loving money and having money. No one can deny that money is important. It’s a basic and a core necessity. Without it, we wouldn’t have food on the table. Heck, we wouldn’t even have the table in fact. We wouldn’t have roofs over us, or beds under us. We wouldn’t have education. Yeah, money is important.
And yet some of us idolize money don’t we? We start measuring people by how much money they have. To us, success = excess. We envy the rich and famous. We chase money, believing it to be the most important thing in life. We chase money, for the future, both for ourselves and for our children, so they can get a good education, and we can get a comfortable life. We soak up the culture of expensive = good.
We think about money. We wonder how to make more money. We grumble that our paychecks aren’t large enough. We wish we had a fatter bank account. We think we’d be so much happier and better off if we had more money. Really? Would we really be better off with more?
Here are a few facts about the Love of Money. The Bible states that money is the root of all evil. What’s that supposed to mean? That we should give all our money away and become monks? Certainly not. It means that money ENSLAVES. It gains enough power over us that money controls us instead of the other way around as it should be. How do we know when we’re being enslaved by money? It’s when we’re never satisfied with what we have. It’s when we long and yearn for more, and yet when we get that more, when we achieve that “if only”, it never seems quite enough.
We think it’d be great to be a millionaire, but somehow when we do become millionaires, there’s not much joy or enthusiasm in that. At least nothing close to what we expected. How do I know? It’s simple. Think of all those Richie riches. Do note, however, that I’m not saying being rich is bad. How many of the super-rich are really happy? Yeah, they can buy whatever they want. They can go for holidays in the Caribbean every week. They can afford limos and jets. They have yachts named after themselves. They have their own islands. They have mansions the size of Singapore. They could probably afford a pet elephant if they felt like it. They can afford to drink champagne instead of water. They’re waited on hand and foot. They’re given preferential treatment and elevated to ‘demigod’ status.
But at the end of the day, does that really satisfy them? Does it fill the emptiness we’re all born with? Can you fill it with money?
If you can, then explain why so many of these Richie riches lead such broken lives (albeit luxurious ones). There’s no denying that abundance of money provides a luxurious life. And yet, why are there so many broken families, broken lives and emptiness? Just take a look at Hollywood for example. Those guys earn collectively probably as much as a small country. Look at the news of divorces, drug abuses and law breaking. The affairs and scandals. The broken hearts. Is that what we want?
Where we are now is a good indicator of where we will be in future. Already we’re complaining we don’t have enough money. Already we dream of enriching ourselves. What makes us think we’ll be fulfilled if we achieve all of that? So what if we can drive Lamborghinis and afford diamonds the size of a whale?
Does money give us security? To a certain extent, yes, but beyond that, no.. Yeah, it assures our children will have a good education and a good future in general. But that’s all. We all die someday. It’s a fact. We’ll never take anything with us. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 5000 terracotta warriors or a pyramid to boot. So what if you’re buried with half a tonne of gold? We enter eternity naked, just as how we entered this world naked. So why do we insist on spending our lives chasing something that only lasts us a few meager years? We sacrifice our time, our lives, our health for this. We neglect our children in order to provide a future for them. That doesn’t make sense to me.
“Yes we know Daddy is busy at work, but can’t he even spend some time with us? Just a little everyday?”. Maybe our kids don’t say that, but don’t you think we should be spending more time with them? In a world of decadence, the role of parents becomes ever more important. Without that firm grounding, who knows what could happen to our children? Do we want our future generation to be a broken generation who grew up without their fathers? Of course there are effects!! Children get their affirmation from their dads. By affirmation, I mean gender wise. I’ll be talking about that more in my next article, but this suffices for now. A child with an absent or almost-always-absent father can experience severe negative effects! Do we want that for our children for the lame excuse of providing a future for them?
We live in the information age, but do we really know what life is? Life is more than hundred dollar bills. Life is more than cars and girls. Life is so much more than sex, drugs and rock and roll. Life is more than high paying corporate jobs. Deep down we know all that but we can’t pull ourselves away from our self-absorbed lifestyle. We can’t change the attitude of “better me than anyone else”. We can’t tear ourselves away from our materialistic thinking.
Life is more than material things. Life was never meant to be about us. I end by quoting the chorus of one of Switchfoot’s songs, This is Your Life:
This is your life, are you who you wanna be,
This is your life, are you who you wanna be,
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be,
When the world was younger, and you had everything to lose.
If you are living for nothing more than material things, remember that our souls are not made of sticks and stones. We’re meant to live for so much more. If your life now is not what you dreamed that it would be, it’s time to seriously sit down and think. Think whether you really know what life is. And if you find that you don’t, it’s time to start searching for the truth.
God bless you all
Of course there’s a difference between loving money and having money. No one can deny that money is important. It’s a basic and a core necessity. Without it, we wouldn’t have food on the table. Heck, we wouldn’t even have the table in fact. We wouldn’t have roofs over us, or beds under us. We wouldn’t have education. Yeah, money is important.
And yet some of us idolize money don’t we? We start measuring people by how much money they have. To us, success = excess. We envy the rich and famous. We chase money, believing it to be the most important thing in life. We chase money, for the future, both for ourselves and for our children, so they can get a good education, and we can get a comfortable life. We soak up the culture of expensive = good.
We think about money. We wonder how to make more money. We grumble that our paychecks aren’t large enough. We wish we had a fatter bank account. We think we’d be so much happier and better off if we had more money. Really? Would we really be better off with more?
Here are a few facts about the Love of Money. The Bible states that money is the root of all evil. What’s that supposed to mean? That we should give all our money away and become monks? Certainly not. It means that money ENSLAVES. It gains enough power over us that money controls us instead of the other way around as it should be. How do we know when we’re being enslaved by money? It’s when we’re never satisfied with what we have. It’s when we long and yearn for more, and yet when we get that more, when we achieve that “if only”, it never seems quite enough.
We think it’d be great to be a millionaire, but somehow when we do become millionaires, there’s not much joy or enthusiasm in that. At least nothing close to what we expected. How do I know? It’s simple. Think of all those Richie riches. Do note, however, that I’m not saying being rich is bad. How many of the super-rich are really happy? Yeah, they can buy whatever they want. They can go for holidays in the Caribbean every week. They can afford limos and jets. They have yachts named after themselves. They have their own islands. They have mansions the size of Singapore. They could probably afford a pet elephant if they felt like it. They can afford to drink champagne instead of water. They’re waited on hand and foot. They’re given preferential treatment and elevated to ‘demigod’ status.
But at the end of the day, does that really satisfy them? Does it fill the emptiness we’re all born with? Can you fill it with money?
If you can, then explain why so many of these Richie riches lead such broken lives (albeit luxurious ones). There’s no denying that abundance of money provides a luxurious life. And yet, why are there so many broken families, broken lives and emptiness? Just take a look at Hollywood for example. Those guys earn collectively probably as much as a small country. Look at the news of divorces, drug abuses and law breaking. The affairs and scandals. The broken hearts. Is that what we want?
Where we are now is a good indicator of where we will be in future. Already we’re complaining we don’t have enough money. Already we dream of enriching ourselves. What makes us think we’ll be fulfilled if we achieve all of that? So what if we can drive Lamborghinis and afford diamonds the size of a whale?
Does money give us security? To a certain extent, yes, but beyond that, no.. Yeah, it assures our children will have a good education and a good future in general. But that’s all. We all die someday. It’s a fact. We’ll never take anything with us. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 5000 terracotta warriors or a pyramid to boot. So what if you’re buried with half a tonne of gold? We enter eternity naked, just as how we entered this world naked. So why do we insist on spending our lives chasing something that only lasts us a few meager years? We sacrifice our time, our lives, our health for this. We neglect our children in order to provide a future for them. That doesn’t make sense to me.
“Yes we know Daddy is busy at work, but can’t he even spend some time with us? Just a little everyday?”. Maybe our kids don’t say that, but don’t you think we should be spending more time with them? In a world of decadence, the role of parents becomes ever more important. Without that firm grounding, who knows what could happen to our children? Do we want our future generation to be a broken generation who grew up without their fathers? Of course there are effects!! Children get their affirmation from their dads. By affirmation, I mean gender wise. I’ll be talking about that more in my next article, but this suffices for now. A child with an absent or almost-always-absent father can experience severe negative effects! Do we want that for our children for the lame excuse of providing a future for them?
We live in the information age, but do we really know what life is? Life is more than hundred dollar bills. Life is more than cars and girls. Life is so much more than sex, drugs and rock and roll. Life is more than high paying corporate jobs. Deep down we know all that but we can’t pull ourselves away from our self-absorbed lifestyle. We can’t change the attitude of “better me than anyone else”. We can’t tear ourselves away from our materialistic thinking.
Life is more than material things. Life was never meant to be about us. I end by quoting the chorus of one of Switchfoot’s songs, This is Your Life:
This is your life, are you who you wanna be,
This is your life, are you who you wanna be,
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be,
When the world was younger, and you had everything to lose.
If you are living for nothing more than material things, remember that our souls are not made of sticks and stones. We’re meant to live for so much more. If your life now is not what you dreamed that it would be, it’s time to seriously sit down and think. Think whether you really know what life is. And if you find that you don’t, it’s time to start searching for the truth.
God bless you all
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