“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
“Now the body is not made up of one part but of many....those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty. ( I Corinthians 13: 14,22-23)
It is always thought provoking to read Miss Lee Wei Ling’s articles. In her column on 24th October 2010, she pays special tributes to our country’s “unsung heroes” who helped to made what the country is today. This reminds me of my own “unsung heroes”, my eldest and second sisters, and my mum who went through severe poverty and hardships especially during the Japanese occupation where they had to hide in a remote place, and been harassed by the communist insurgents looking for food at night.
In our society, we tend to give recognition to those whose works are more glamorous and evident outwardly. Even among Christians, we know who Billy Graham is (who appeared in numerous Christian evangelical crusades) but few even heard about this man, Rev Bob Pierce who founded the well-known World Vision.
On 21st November 2010’s Sunday Times’ Editorial entitled ‘A rare Singaporean’ in which it pays tribute to a Christian couple, Dr Tan Lai Yong, and his wife (formerly an accountancy lecturer with NTU) for their 14-year work in Yunnan. Indeed, their sacrifices are grossly uncommon in our society where rush for material success is a norm. In fact there is a new brand of world class consumerism going on here where people are willing to spend $500 on a gourmet meal without blinking one’s eyes and children started to receive luxury items from their parents.
What drives people like Dr Tan and his wife, or Rev Bob Pierce, or Mother Teresa to their unglamorous charitable works and forego material things? To me, it is only with the divine power that one is driven to carry out these humanly ‘unthinkable’ tasks and find ultimate fulfilments beyond what this earth can gives.
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I was glad to note that you read the report on Dr Tan Lai Yong, a 'Rare Singaporean'. I had the privilege of meeting him a few times, twice in Kunming, China, during two school trips and once in my church in Singapore. In person, he is humble and unassuming, with no airs about him. He seems to have a cheerful disposition, probably an outward manifestation of his inner joy in serving the Lord through the Chinese. I think he deserves MORE than the 2 page publicity in the Straits Times for the work he has done in China for the last 16yrs. It's not only a testimony to the non-Christian readers but also an exhortation of the Matt 6:20 to 'lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.'
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the 'Greek Story' below, I am reminded to Dr Tan, a man who knows what he wants in life and lives a full life without pursuing material gains. This is the story:
A boat docked in a tiny Greek island.
After lunch, a tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took them to catch it.
"Not very long." they answered in unison.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"
The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the afternoons we have a snack at the beach,
or go into the village to see our friends at the Kafenio, drink a little Ouzo and play tavli.
In the evenings we go to a taverna play the bouzouki, drink a little more Ouzo, sing a few songs, and break a plate or two.In other words, we have a full life."
The tourist interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch and with the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."
"And after that?"
"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one, and a third one, and so on until you'll have an entire fleet of trawlers. Then, instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Athens, Paris or even toLondon, from there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?"
"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.
"And after that?"
"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"
"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking Ouzo and enjoying your friends."
"With all due respect Madam, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Greek fishermen.