Does the Bible have anything to say in response my earlier “guide” on "How to be Unhappy" ?  Here are a few passages which I think are particularly meaningful -

1. Listen uncritically to shit-stirrers

I think the first is that irresponsible talk cause needless strife, is nothing less than evil, and is self-destructive.

"For as churning the milk produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife".  (Proverbs 30 : 33)

"… If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. … [T]he tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the bod.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire …" (James 3 : 2, 5 - 6).

2. Find Contentment in Nothing; Find Fault with Everything

One of the Christian disciplines is to say a little prayer before every meal.  This act of "giving thanks" to God is a reminder that the ability to eat and the provision of food are some of the many things in life to be grateful for. 

In Acts 27, the Apostle Paul and 276 other people were caught in a storm while on the Adriatic Sea for (over) two weeks.  Everyone thought that the ship would sink and that they would die (v 20). Even in the face of potential death, the Apostle Paul took time to thank God for the remaining food and for his ability to eat. Acts 27 : 35 records that Paul "took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all.  Then he broke it and began to eat".  (The ship ultimately sank but everyone was saved).

And in 1 Thessalonians 5 : 18, Paul encourages the Christians in Thessalonica to "give thanks in all circumstances".

3. Blame Everything on Everyone Else

While the Bible advocates social justice (see a previous post here), it also says that individuals must exercise responsibility for their personal well-being, and that of their families.

"A little sleep, a little slumber
a little folding of the hands to rest -
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man." (Proverbs 6 : 10 - 11)

"If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (Paul’s First Letter to Timothy 5 : 8)

"We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it.  On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so tat we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did not, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.  For even when we were with you we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat’.  We hear that some of you are idle.  They are not busy; they are busybodies.  Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread which they eat." (Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians 3 : 6 - 12)

Singaporeans are an unhappy lot, if what I read on Internet blogs and forums and on Facebook is to be believed.  What is somewhat unusual about this outpouring of unhappiness, if I may call it that, is that it appears to have taken place primarily from the time of the recent
General Elections onwards. 

I’m not saying, of course, that people were happy (or that there were not unhappy) before the General Elections, or that life before the General Elections was perfect.  However, it appears that before the General Elections, people could find happiness or contentment in more things. 

Now - nothing.

One reason could be that the General Elections opened the eyes of Singaporeans to the reality that there are many things which are wrong with the country and their individual lives, thereby resulting in a dissatisfaction with the (then) current state of affairs, and an agitation for radical change.

I’m going to offer another three reasons why I think Singaporeans are unhappy.  I will call it a guide on "How to be Unhappy", because I think Singaporeans have almost perfected this to a science.

1.  Listen uncritically to shit-stirrers

Feed your unhappiness by uncritically listening to wild and baseless comments made by others, and pass on that negative sentiment by uncritically supporting those comments.

I have a colleague who jokingly calls himself a "shit stirrer", because he is able to turn relatively innocuous facts about people, into issues which make that person look awful.  It’s all done in good humour as part of lunchtime conversation of course, so we don’t take him seriously.

Unfortunately it appears that many Singaporeans like to listen to shit stirrers on the Internet, are unable to discern between fair and unfair comment, and then uncritically contribute to the shit stirring by either posting negative comments which support the post, or "liking" it on Facebook (or otherwise) and recommending it to their friends.

Some of the more obvious examples, are articles on the Internet (which I believe have since been taken down) alleging that Tin Pei Ling had been promoted at her workplace because she became a member of parliament, and alleging that the PAP was sabotaging the handover of the Aljunied Town Council to the WP.  I recall that the article on Tin Pei Ling even began with the remark that the alleged promotion was based on "unsubstantiated rumours".  Yet netizens repeatedly "liked" the article, uncritically added their comments about how unfair this alleged promotion was, and worked themselves into an unhappy frenzy over nothing.

2.  Find Contentment in Nothing; Find Fault with Everything

Find nothing positive about anyone or anything in your life.  Just complain.

In another recent post I commented that -

Facebook status and wall updates which used to be filled with jokes, well wishes, recommendations of where to dine or take your kids to, are now used to spread invective against the new government, criticise minister’s speeches for apparent lack of "humility", and petition for unpopular elected members of parliament to step down.

I’ve noticed that Facebook friends’ posts have moved a little bit closer to normalcy since that time, but I still see a lot more complaints on the Internet.  Not that legitimate grievances should not be raised and discussed, but surely our lives are not so pathetic that Singaporeans are able to say only mostly negative things about Singapore?

3.  Blame Everything on Everyone Else

Blame everyone else for what is not going right in your life.  Because you have every reason to feel unhappy if something that went wrong was not your fault or within your control.

There are legitimate grievances, but there also appears to be a lack of self-reflection.  For example, Singaporeans have blamed the Sembawang Town Council for failing to promptly inform residents of the dead body of a domestic helper found in the water tank , as a result of which many households unknowingly used water from that tank.  But few have commented on the fact that if the residents who had heard the domestic helper screaming and who saw blood stains on the corridor had notified the police promptly, the murder might have been discovered sooner or that the murder might even have been prevented altogether.

More generally, while we may not be wrong in complaining about expensive healthcare, where are the questions about what we could have done to avoid hospitalisation to begin with ?  While we may not be wrong in complaining about poor paying jobs or financial difficulties, where are the expressions of regret for not having spent more time in school or making a bad investment decision or poor career choice?  Should we also be saying -

"If I had watched my diet more carefully and exercised more, I could have avoided this (medical bill for a) heart attack."

"If I had studied harder and worked towards getting a university education, I would not encounter this dead end to my career progression."

"If I had not impulsively bought a car using my first bonus, I would not be saddled with this debt which I’m struggling to cope with."

"If we had not rushed into marriage, I would not be struggling with financial and parenting responsibilities that we are not ready to cope with."

Guess which celebrities dropped by Sunday School today ?  Mr Giraffe and
the Mr Red Angry Bird !

Train journey from Zurich to Brienz (Interlaken area, Switzerland).

I travelled to Europe recently for vacation and business.  The first stop was Zurich, Switzerland, which turned out to be a lot smaller and less exciting than I expected.  Once again, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

A couple of days ago I had lunch with a friend.  He talked about some of his dad’s recent medical problems, and mentioned that doctors were concerned about excessive calcium levels in his dad’s blood.  In my mind I asked if it had anything to do with multiple myeloma, the cancer which my dad suffered from.  Multiple myeloma is relatively rare and I did not want to cause unnecessary panic.

A few sentences later he mentioned the dreaded word as a possible diagnosis, and I told him about what my experience and what my dad went through, to the best of my recollection.

The next day the diagnosis was confirmed, and I gave to my friend a copy of David’s book ("Talking the Walk - A Pastor’s Walk with God Through Cancer"), and pointed him to David’s website.  David is a pastor and friend of my dad who also suffered but who has since recovered from multiple myeloma.

It is still too early to say how this story will end in medical terms.  However, I am certain that my friend has found some comfort and assurance that he and his dad are not the first to have walked this difficult journey, and to discover that God has most unexpectedly arranged part of it through the unlikeliest of persons.

"Quite incredible that we just spoke abt myeloma out of the blue", he mentioned over instant messaging, while expressing appreciation for what I had shared in the past few days.

I replied that I didn’t do anything, but that "it is God who has placed the right people to meet our different needs at different times in our lives".

The Singapore General Elections ended on 8 May 2011.  For the first time in Singapore’s history, almost all the Parliamentary seats were contested, and many of the candidates — from both the incumbent party and the opposition parties — appeared highly qualified.  As a result, this was also the first time, or the first time in a long time, that many Singaporeans (including myself) had a chance to vote, or could exercise a real choice between two highly qualified political candidates, instead of a highly qualified candidate and a looney.

There is, understandably, still a lot of excitement over its outcome.  In the pantry and over lunch with colleagues, in the car with my wife and over dinner with the family, discussions on what the General Elections means for Singapore continue to dominate.  The Internet community (see for example The Singapore Daily and The Temasek Review) also remains abuzz with excitement. 

Excitement over the fact that Singapore is not only a democracy, but is also beginning to feel like one.  (Readers from foreign countries, please try not to snigger).  I think this is positive.

Excitement over the fact that Singaporeans can finally slam (or screw) the ruling party — which continues to dominate by retaining an impressive 81 out of 87 sets — real good. 

"It is not the people that should be afraid of the government, the government should be afraid of the people" (from V for Vendetta) has been a popular status update on friends’ Facebook pages in recent days.

What I find troubling is that the negative sentiment appears to feeding off itself, and generating more negative sentiment.  Facebook status and wall updates which used to be filled with jokes, well wishes, recommendations of where to dine or take your kids to, are now used to spread invective against the new government, criticise minister’s speeches for apparent lack of "humility", and petition for unpopular elected members of parliament to step down.

I question if this is healthy, for both society and the individuals.  Do we really want to spend the next 5 years (or maybe even the rest) of our lives making and passing negative comments from person to person?  What sort of "democracy" are we turning into, if citizens instead of engaging the government in constructive debate, subvert any genuine attempt by the government to reach out to the electorate by immediately shooting down or undermining what it has to say?  What are we teaching our children, about having a healthy respect for authority?

——-

In the next few paragraphs I will offer my personal views as a Christian, because I note that I have a good number of Christian friends who appear to be dwelling excessively on the negative.

In his letter to the Christians in Rome (ie. Romans), the apostle Paul touched on the issue of Government.  The Government of the day was the Roman Empire, and Rome was not a democracy; it had a senate but was very much a dictatorship under the Roman Emperor.  Jewish Christians at that time were possibly agitating other believers not to pay taxes, or maybe to even rebel against the Roman government to restore the kingdom of Israel.

Against this backdrop, the Apostle Paul wrote that :

"… there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God." (Romans 13 : 1 - 2)

"For he [ie. the Government ] is God’s servant to do you good." (Romans 13 : 3)

"This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants who give their full time to governing.  Give everyone what you owe him : if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, the respect; if honour, then honour." (Romans 13 : 6 - 7)

(I have quoted only a few verses which I wish to focus on.  You should read the whole of chapter 13 and in fact the whole of Romans in full to better understand the context of Paul’s letter.)

The principles which I draw from the above are that governments (including modern democracies) are established by God to do good for the people whom they govern, and that governments which do good deserve an appropriate measure of respect and support from Christians.  (If a Government is clearly "bad" because it perpetuates injustice and brutalises its people, I think that a different principle would apply.)

In the case of Singapore, I think there is no question that the present Government does what is generally good, and intends to do what is generally good, for its people.  The question which the electorate was asked to decide in the recent elections, and which it will again be asked to decide in the next elections in about 5 years time, is whether there is some group of people who can govern better than the present, incumbent Government.  And because the Government is generally good, it deserves our respect and support (though not mindless obedience).  This is notwithstanding its imperfections and the possibility that there may be some other political party which is able to govern more capably.

So my appeal based on Romans is this : let us engage the new government in respectful and constructive criticism and debate, let us continue to speak out against and correct that which we observe to be unfair and unjust, whether through the government or by charitable work, and let us steer away from loose and irresponsible talk which breeds unnecessary resentment and disunity.