In one of the episodes of the BBC documentary on children, Child of Our Times, several children are put through an experiment where their parents withdraw while playing with them for a time.  Some of the children cry when their parents go away, while others simply continue playing on their own.

I initially thought that the children who were independent and self-confident were those who did not cry when their parents left.  Child psychologists, however, reached the opposite conclusion.  Their view was that the children who cried or who showed some discomfort at their parents’ absence are the ones that were truly secure.  The insecure children were the ones who continued playing as if their parents never existed.

And of course, a host of anti-social problems in adulthood can spring from insecurity - possessiveness (of friends or partners), bullying, the need to control, the need to put others down, the need to show off, the need to win all the time, the inability to lose graciously and to accept failure, the inability to share, the willingness to do even foolish things to gain acceptance, etc.

I think our relationship with God is sometimes like this.  Some of us we think we are getting on fine despite keeping God at arm’s length - opening Bibles only on Sundays (or alternate Sundays or less), praying only in emergencies, and limiting our involvement in the Christian community and ministries.  In fact, we are insecure, and seeking assurance in things that may not ultimately matter - whether it is a highly successful career or the next expensive gadget. 

In reality, this is what really matters -

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

- Matthew 6 : 19 - 20

And this is the promise for those who set their hearts on and hands to what really matters -

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’.  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

- Matthew 6 : 31 - 33

Singaporean elite, Wee Shu-Min, and to a lesser extent her father, have received a lot of flak recently over her insensitive comments in response to letter by one Derek Wee. 

I think enough has been said about her.  What I want to ask is whether Christians in Singapore are also guilty of elitism, and driving a chasm between themselves and non-Christians.  There is no doubt as to the fact that a good number of Christians in Singapore hail from English-speaking, middle and upper income families.  I for one have to confess that while I don’t think I’m in the ranks of the "elite", I grew up in an English/Malay-speaking middle income family, largely unaware of and unsympathetic towards other Singaporeans who had to struggle to get by.

Do our nice clothes, big cars, huge houses, and expensive tastes in food make it difficult for us to identify with the majority of non-Christians who are not like us, and for these non-Christians to feel comfortable amongst us ?  Have we, consciously or unconsciously, allowed the church to be divided along the same lines as society ?  Let this not be, for the ideal standard that the Bible exhorts Christians to live by is this -

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.  To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."  (1 Corinthians 9 : 20 - 22)

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, [rich nor poor,] for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3 : 28)

YouTube is amazing. You can find almost anything on it. After putting up the Simple Plan MTV in my last post, I found the MTV of Joyce’s favourite wuxia novel and TV show (and actor) (man in chicken suit notwithstanding). Since it’s a story that has a happy ending, decided to moderate the current angsty-ness by putting it up.

And to my ex-colleagues, if you happen to be reading this post - this wuxia novel happens to be the one that uses the red dot on the wrist as a device to indicate the chastity of the heroine.