Jesus talks with my mum on the pursuit of pleasure
has anyone read the book by the great apologist, Ravi Zacharias? in "Sense and Sensuality", Jesus holds an imaginary conversation with Oscar Wilde, who was well-known not only for his genius in his writings but also for his obsession with art and pleasure for their own sakes. his duplicity and narcissistic ways mangled his mind and led him to a premature and painful death at age 46.
could you imagine Jesus having a similar conversation with someone close to you in your family, such as your mum or dad? i can.
Y (my mother): Hey, watch it you idiot! You almost stepped on my new shoes!
Ferragamo, you know, not cheap! Can you afford to pay me back if you damaged them or not?
Jesus: Oh, I'm so sorry...here, let me wipe that for you...How much are your shoes? Maybe I can get you another pair...
Y: Get your dirty hands off! And watch my Louis Vuitton handbag! Grubby looking people like you should never be allowed on the streets!
Jesus: How do you define grubby looking?
Y: Aiyoh, don't you know anything about Singapore high culture! I was married to some of the most powerful and wealthy men on this island you know. That's why I can afford to buy nice dresses like these
(twirls her Valentino gown) and diamonds as big as these!
(tweaks the gargantuan mondial jewel on her finger) What can you afford to pay me if you had to compensate me, beggar?
Jesus: I can give you something much more valuable than your entire wardrobe.....
Y: Oh yeah, what's that? Your father's inheritance?
(laughs)
Jesus: Actually, yes...that is, if you're willing to follow me.....
Y: Aiyoh, here you are talking like one of my ex-lovers! They always promise me the world, but as soon as I drop all to follow them, there's only betrayal and hatred and lies.....
Jesus: But did you really drop all to follow them, or were they just a means to an end for you?
Y: Young man, don't you know anything! In this world, there is no such thing as "true love" or "true friendship" or "family values". Only money talks. You hear that? Money is to be savoured, to be spent and used and enjoyed until the very last penny! There is nothing else as important as getting your hands on as much money as possible and then spending it all before you die...
Jesus: But if you spend everything that you have, there'll be nothing left for your children...
Y: Children? I hate them! They are such a burden. One of the greatest obstacles to the absolute enjoyment of life and money.
Jesus: You have a daughter. Perhaps even two, if not for.....
Y: Stop! Don't remind me! Yes...maybe that was a mistake. Maybe it was not. Anyway, I don't want to be reminded of the past. I have my hands full enough as it is already, what with my irritating stepson and daughter-in-law who never buy me any presents when they visit me...
Jesus: Why do you have such a love-hate relationship with your husband and stepson?
Y: The turning point came when I realised that no matter how much priority I gave them, even at the expense of my own daughter, my husband could never put me in place of his son in his own heart....and that's what made me jealous. Ooh! I wish everyday that he would die before I do.
Jesus: Maybe if you and your husband could put God first, you might find it easier to love each other day by day...as well as come to an acceptance of your children's individual characters and positions...
Y: Nah, why would I bother myself with all that trouble? I'm happy enough as I am! I play mahjong with my friends at least once a week, attend line-dancing classes to keep my figure in check and visit the hairdresser and manicurist once every few days to make sure my appearance is always in pristine condition...use your physical appearance to your every advantage, that's what I always say. Why should I bother about anyone else's life, unless it would benefit me in some way? I don't even bother much about my own daughter except when I feel like it.....
Jesus: Well, my Father loved you, that’s for a start, That’s why He hopes that everyone who has ever experienced His love would do the same to others around them.
Y: Oh yeah? What has your father ever done for me? Built me a house?
Jesus: Well, have you ever considered why even during the Asian financial crisis in 1998-1999 your husband still did well in his business and could afford to upkeep your high standard of living? Or why even though your daughter went through depression and various health problems in school she still managed to honour you by getting good grades and a respectable career?
Y: Come to think of it, you’re right, so many of my friends have been disgraced by their children, and they’re not even divorced!
Jesus: All these and more, My Father did for you and your daughter’s sake, so that one day you might come to a realisation of His love for you and reconcile with Him…
Y:
Reconcile? Eh, you’re getting pretty irritating now, aren’t you? Reconciliation is not a word in my dictionary…I never apologise to anyone because I am never wrong and owe nobody anything in my life!
Jesus: Try and think of all those times you hurt your mother, husband, stepson or daughter with the things you said or did…or when you promised them something which you did not do…
Y: Don’t be ridiculous. They’re just being too sensitive, that’s all.
Jesus: I don’t think contemplating suicide is a sign of sheer sensitivity, Y. Your family – including your ex-husband – have been unimaginably hurt by your bad temper and callous words. Don’t you think –
Y: Enough! Shut up! You’re getting on my nerves. I’m on my way to a very important dinner at the Ritz-Carlton and I’ve still got to pick up my new shoes from Chanel before I go. Give me your namecard. I’ll call you when I need you.
Jesus:
(sighs)The only namecard I have is that which is in your heart. Here, take this gift from my Father. It’s the best namecard you could ever receive.
Jesus hands her a book and disappears. Y stuffs the book hurriedly into her shopping bag and makes her way to her car. Before she drives off, she takes a brief look at the book:
Y: Da****! A bible! I have soo many of these ugly things at home already which I never read…..
The Top 10 Great Singapore Mysteries (by Colin Goh)
some of my personal favourites:
#1 Why 'BreadTalk'? Can bread talk?
#2 Why is it AYE, BKE and TPE instead of ARE, BTE and TE?
#8 How did the tissue paper packet become Singapore's de facto symbol for 'chope-ing' seats?
#10 What possessed a lion and a fish to get it on, let alone have offspring?
Sense God, Feel Heaven
i did it. finally. after months of deliberating over which charity or which ministry to plunge into, i finally stepped into the grounds of where i would spend many afternoons and evenings teaching, coaching, coaxing and guiding primary school children towards christ and - hopefully - show them a glimpse of what christ's love is like. after a few phone calls and emails, i finally got to meet the lady in charge of one of the children's ministries under the umbrella of methodist welfare services (being an old mgs girl, i have strong emotional attachments to the methodist family! :) - the "iConnect Student Care Centre". not in the most hippiest or urban of places, i had difficulty finding the place in toa payoh and if not for my uncle's driver who kindly agreed to give me a ride there, i would have gotten lost!
robert kee's book, "A Sense of God and a Feeling of Heaven" was pivotal in helping me come to this decision - which i see as a very small step in my journey to find christ and emulate him in more aspects of my life. initially, i had wanted to plunge into overseas missionary work straightaway - but i had just gotten married and this obviously wouldn't be a good idea, especially since my husband had just nobly uprooted himself from england to settle in singapore and a permanent job here. i then considered taking theological courses in various bible colleges - but cost was an issue and i wanted to become useful to society immediately rather than pay somebody to teach me how to read the bible rather than practise it. but which ministry or charity would God want me to make myself useful in? i prayed to God to open the doors for me.......
in my conversations with people from various institutions and churches, i felt that i was either too new, or too inexperienced, or too insecure to deal with the types of people in that particular institution...so i searched...robert kee wrote about how "as a Christian, we may believe much and do little". he found that over the years, even though he had a group of church friends who ate, holidayed and even played golf and tennis with him, their lives changed little - they were basically still engrossed with their health, families, careers or businesses. "The food was good, the fellowship warm, but deep inside, the still small voice asked: Is this it? Is this all there is to following Christ?"
robert's quest for a more meaningful and practical faith led him to the poorest parts of cambodia, philippines, thailand, vietnam and nepal. his work with orphans and abandoned children in cambodia touched me the most; and inspired me to the same. since i could not really venture outside of singapore (for now at least), i decided to search for a christian organisation which worked with disadvantaged children here in a similar way. and that's what brought me to the methodist welfare services (www.mws.org.sg, www.methodistvolunteers.org.sg).
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." - Luke 18:16
