Is there more to Life than this?
*warning for Jen: the following is bible.com-ish. heh.*
the toastmasters party yesterday went really well.
Like what PC the organising chairperson wrote in her email,
every time there was a need for something, someone would step up somehow.
And it's not just for this party, she found this spirit to be always in the club on the whole.
the members brought their family members along,
so it was like a kids party with kids running wild everywhere.
the food was great.
some were bought,
some were cooked.
and the president is a nonya so everyone's teasing her about the Nonya show and food tasting to find a wife.
she's a 40+ year old HR director in "real life",
and was telling us 20+ newbies that she found out while she was single that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
so she took up cooking and even has a diploma in cooking.
we had carolling ("no need conductor. we'll sing out of tune anyway")
spanish bullfight dances where the guys sportingly became the bulls,
ball room dances,
and SK did a really cool guitar instrumental piece.
I was quite mesmerised.
watching him play makes me want to learn the guitar.
i did a juggling demo that quite bombed cos it was completely impromptu,
but it was alright.
Vani was slated on the program sheet to do a skit.
"hey what skit are you doing?" i asked
"impromptu skit. All i did was email and ask if there was a skit, and suddenly my name is on the programme saying i'll be doing a skit!"
-------------------------------
Gerald kindly offered to give us a ride to the MRT,
and along the way i asked where he was staying.
Turned out all 3 of us stayed within walking distance of each other.
the coincidence was amazing.
--------------------------------
there was a gift exchange,
and after i opened the wrapper,
i still didn't know what the gift was.
Truly mysterious gift.
had to come home and tear the box apart to find out.
----------------------------------
While SK was serenading us with the guitar,
i suddenly became very filled with gratitude and love for all the people i'm surrounded with.
not just the toastmasters in the room,
but all the people around me.
Years ago when i was digging around for the secret to happiness,
i found one line.
"the secret to happiness is gratitude"
:)
-----------------------------------
We had a good sermon today.
I like it.
the title is "Is there more to Life than this?"
1) Life is more than our possessions.
Possessions do not last forever, do not make us secure, and do not make us contented or happy.
2) Life is more than our self centred pursuits.
it's more than just I.
Live life with an appreciation that our life is fragile and uncertain.
Invest your life in people.
Live out our destiny and purpose. God will help make us the best we can be.
and well, have a good relationship with God. Then He can guide you.
~~~~~
The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
----------------------------------------
(Poot i gotta share this to blow my own trumpet a bit.)
we were having another one of those catch up talks,
and I mentioned something about how she shouldn't choose to do so and so because it's wrong in principle. ("and i don't care if the other person doesn't have principle, but you must have your standards")
"wah you've become a better person!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"i last time very bad meh?"
"no la, but last time you won't talk and ask so much"
then after that it degenerated into "you've become a better person!" teasing battle everytime someone says something.
----------------------------------
Have a good one all.
Happy birthday baby Jesus.
*warning for Jen: the following is bible.com-ish. heh.*
the toastmasters party yesterday went really well.
Like what PC the organising chairperson wrote in her email,
every time there was a need for something, someone would step up somehow.
And it's not just for this party, she found this spirit to be always in the club on the whole.
the members brought their family members along,
so it was like a kids party with kids running wild everywhere.
the food was great.
some were bought,
some were cooked.
and the president is a nonya so everyone's teasing her about the Nonya show and food tasting to find a wife.
she's a 40+ year old HR director in "real life",
and was telling us 20+ newbies that she found out while she was single that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
so she took up cooking and even has a diploma in cooking.
we had carolling ("no need conductor. we'll sing out of tune anyway")
spanish bullfight dances where the guys sportingly became the bulls,
ball room dances,
and SK did a really cool guitar instrumental piece.
I was quite mesmerised.
watching him play makes me want to learn the guitar.
i did a juggling demo that quite bombed cos it was completely impromptu,
but it was alright.
Vani was slated on the program sheet to do a skit.
"hey what skit are you doing?" i asked
"impromptu skit. All i did was email and ask if there was a skit, and suddenly my name is on the programme saying i'll be doing a skit!"
-------------------------------
Gerald kindly offered to give us a ride to the MRT,
and along the way i asked where he was staying.
Turned out all 3 of us stayed within walking distance of each other.
the coincidence was amazing.
--------------------------------
there was a gift exchange,
and after i opened the wrapper,
i still didn't know what the gift was.
Truly mysterious gift.
had to come home and tear the box apart to find out.
----------------------------------
While SK was serenading us with the guitar,
i suddenly became very filled with gratitude and love for all the people i'm surrounded with.
not just the toastmasters in the room,
but all the people around me.
Years ago when i was digging around for the secret to happiness,
i found one line.
"the secret to happiness is gratitude"
:)
-----------------------------------
We had a good sermon today.
I like it.
the title is "Is there more to Life than this?"
1) Life is more than our possessions.
Possessions do not last forever, do not make us secure, and do not make us contented or happy.
2) Life is more than our self centred pursuits.
it's more than just I.
Live life with an appreciation that our life is fragile and uncertain.
Invest your life in people.
Live out our destiny and purpose. God will help make us the best we can be.
and well, have a good relationship with God. Then He can guide you.
~~~~~
The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.
He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
----------------------------------------
(Poot i gotta share this to blow my own trumpet a bit.)
we were having another one of those catch up talks,
and I mentioned something about how she shouldn't choose to do so and so because it's wrong in principle. ("and i don't care if the other person doesn't have principle, but you must have your standards")
"wah you've become a better person!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"i last time very bad meh?"
"no la, but last time you won't talk and ask so much"
then after that it degenerated into "you've become a better person!" teasing battle everytime someone says something.
----------------------------------
Have a good one all.
Happy birthday baby Jesus.
4 Comments:
At 10:57 AM,
Anonymous said…
Actually, this story is not as immoral as it seems to be. After all, all the rich 'fool' is doing, is to plan, and save, and invest for tomorrow. I don't see how he is being immoral in anyway. The story of the Ant and the Grasshopper from Aesop fables demonstrates my point.
The story might be moral if the the rich 'fool' believes that his life is coming to an end that very night, as God said. However, the rich 'fool' can still build the barn for his family and loved ones to provide them with food when God demands his life.
At 1:38 AM,
Anonymous said…
i see what you're saying. but there's another way of looking at it.
the problem with the guy is that his plan is entirely self centred. There are 7 "I"-s in the 4 lines of him thinking to himself of his grand plans.
A life revolved around one-self is not worth it because once "I" is gone then what is left?
(take family and loved ones out of the equation for the moment. because it's ambiguous. Family is "others" and yet it's MY family so still inherently selfish)
One thing that is important to God is people, and one way of being "rich toward God" is to invest in people. When you invest in people, you leave your mark and legacy even when the "I" is gone.
---------------
i love this quote from Patch Adams:
"you treat the disease, you win or lose. You treat the patient, you win, no matter what the outcome"
-------------
And if you believe in salvation/heaven/rebirth/after life, then there is even more to gain there. Even if you don't, and only believe in present existence, there is still inherent happiness in helping others.
I don't think God is against wealth. it's what you do with the wealth that matters. Would you use it to bless others, or just for your own (and family's) enjoyment?
An interesting question would be to ask onself if you want to be rich. if yes, why?
and then start counting the number of "I"s in the answer. :)
At 9:54 AM,
Anonymous said…
I remembered Jesus saying that it is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. The bible is certainty against wealth, no doubt about it. Yet I do not think wealth is inherently wrong, I have been to Indian villages and urban slums and it would be condescending to say blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rather it is the abuse of wealth that is sinful. Mahatma Gandhi says it best.
"The things that will destroy us are:
politics without principle;
pleasure without conscience;
wealth without work;
knowledge without character;
business without morality;
science without humanity;
and worship without sacrifice."
And I think you have not solved the selfishness problem. Rather you have shifted the problem from my barn to MY mark, MY legacy and MY inherent happiness. It is impossible not to think about me, as this trait is inherent in all humans. The designer seems very sloppy to leave this trait in his design and yet seems very capricious to demand that we do not display this trait.
“And if you believe in salvation/heaven/rebirth/after life, then there is even more to gain there.”
And the real irony of religion is that on one hand it demands that we do not be selfish, and yet on the other hand, offers us afterlife incentives to exploit our selfishness to do good in this life. My argument is demonstrated by the following poem by Richard Fulke Greville.
Oh, wearisome condition of humanity.
Borne under one Law, to another bound.
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity.
Created sick, commanded to be sound.
Instead of fighting selfishness like what religion and communism tried to do and failed, we should do what capitalism and Adam Smith tries to do, which is to exploit people’s selfishness for the better good. While I admit this system isn’t perfect, it is the best we have thus far.
At 10:44 PM,
Anonymous said…
oh for the rich man thing, i interpreted it quite differently. I saw it this way:
It is more difficult for a rich man to enter heaven, not because God makes it more difficult, but because the rich man, or rather his circumstance, makes things difficult for himself.
There is less desire for spirituality when things are comfy. There is also a lot more distractions and more things to lose for the rich man. The rich world is likely to be a dog eat dog complicated world too. Hence the rich are less likely to seek God.
I haven't gotten the impression yet that God is against wealth. It is after all just an object. Rather it's always the heart's intention that He warns about.
He does warn us not to idolise objects, and that includes money i guess. :)
------------------------
it's a good point you raised abt the selfishness part. It didn't cross my mind until you pointed it out.
so i spent time thinking abt it during lunch instead of eat my apple. And i now have a constipated answer.
the problem now is that if you include MY happiness under "selfishness", then there will be no more such thing as a "selfless" act.
If someone donates a kidney to a stranger, it could be for less guilt, for more peace, for happiness etc. Everything can be brought back to "MY" something.
so selflessness has lost its meaning.
Perhaps selfishness can be defined as solely concerned for oneself, while selflessness is something that benefits others, even though there is still an element of self benefit.
--------------------
And since now selflessness has two components -self and others, i think the percentage matters too.
If i donate money to charity and makes sure everyone knows abt it, then it's prob not as selfless as someone who donates anonymously and dwells in the peace of the Lord.
At the end of the day it's still the heart's intention that matters i think. :) Not really supposed to do things and expect to be rewarded. the rewards are 可欲不可求.
selfless acts seem to tie with good feelings and selfish pursuits seem to end with emptiness, so that may be God's inner siren for us. :)
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