Befuddlement

Thanks to a flu-shot resistant flu bug that is going round our office, I am megaly-befuddled.

When my lawyers talk about statutes and sections, I think scripture and verses.

When my business people talk about unit price, I think they are saying,"You need Christ". When they go on about share price, I think they are urging,"Share Christ".

I'm going home!

Lemon Cheesecake Kitkat, ACM, John the Baptist and Pastor-Teachers

So Kitkat in Lemon Cheesecake flavour arrived on our shores in time for last Sunday's ARPC's meeting with the cheesy acronym ("ACM" for Annual Congregational Meeting: the Presbyterian practice which includes amongst other things, the voting in by the congregation of those pastors, elders and deacons who are up for re-election).

Sim Boon Yong gave a quick sermon on John 1:19-51 at the Combined Service before the ACM. Almost in passing, he observed that John the Baptist, who came as the messenger to prepare the way for Jesus, was not shy to point people to Jesus.

Pointing People to Jesus
Duh! We might say, of course John the B should direct people to Jesus. After all, he wasn't the Christ (1:20), nor Elijah come again (1:21a), nor the Prophet (1:21b), nor the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (1:29).

And double duh! Who was John the B in relation to Jesus? John baptised with mere river water , but Jesus would baptise with the Holy Spirit. Jesus existed waaay before John, and so Jesus of course ranked far above John (1:30). Jesus was so much more than John that John would not even be worthy to untie a strap on Jesus' dirty sandy sandal (1:27). For Jesus was nothing less than the Son of God (1:34).

So what's the big fat hairy deal about him witnessing about Jesus? The deal is sinfulness, the problem that besets all people here on earth.

See what happened when he pointed Jesus out to his disciples:

John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,"Behold, the Lamb of God!" The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. (1:35-37)

By witnessing about Jesus, John lost his disciples. They upped and left possibly without so much as a thank you.

Our minds tell us that we are not bigger than Jesus, that we are nothing compared to the Christ, the Elijah, the Prophet, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, the Son of God himself. Yet our sinful pride often stings when people leave our local churches or our bible study groups for another one that also faithfully teaches the gospel. Do we really care about pointing out Jesus to those in our care? Do we rejoice that there are other groups of Christians that also teach and shepherd God's people in love and truth? Or do we rankle at this intrusion onto "our turf" and accuse those other people of sheep-stealing or spread nasty rumours about them?

So one goal of a pastor-teacher is to point people to Jesus, to build up the relationship between the sheep and the God of the entire universe; to make them followers of Him, not our disciples.

There is a further goal of the pastor-teacher which is linked to the first, just as the love of God is linked inexorably and irrevocably to the love of neighbour. David Jackman in "Understanding the Church" put it nicely:

Supplies Division
The most well-known parts of the church body are the evangelists and the pastor-teachers. The word "pastor" means shepherd (Latin pāstor = shepherd). Every church needs a shepherd, suggests Ephesians 4. The pastor-teacher (the words come together) is provided to look after and nurture the flock, by feeding them on the pure Word of God's truth.

Pastors and teachers are God's gifts to the church. They are not produced by the church. Nor are they employees of the church. They are given to it by the Head of the church, who is the Lord. The work of these leaders, who are so gifted with pastoring or teaching skills, in the church is never an end to itself. The aim of the pastor-teacher is not just to care for and feed the sheep. The greater goal (Ephesians 4:12) is to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

The point of gifting these pastors and teachers is the whole people of God, the church. Not the personal edification or satisfaction of the people so gifted. The gifts have particular functions in the church and are primarily given so that the whole body may be prepared for its work of service (diakonia. This became the English word "deacon" which we have come to associate with a particular office in the church). The whole church is made up of "deacons"; everyone is to be committed to the work of ministering/serving and the ministry/service of every member of the body is essential if the body is to grow.

The ministry of pastor-teachers is to bring the people of God into a state of readiness so that they are able to do their personal work of ministry, to which every Christian is called and must be committed. They are the supplies division. If you do not have a supplies division, your army cannot advance. On the front, they will be sick and starved.

So it is the job of those who teach and pastor to encourage the body in their connection with the head, and by doing so, also supply what is needed by every Christian for their works of service amongst the different members of the body.

*******************

Sidenote 1: see the unhappy heart-chilling goings-on with RC Sproul Jr and St. Peter Presbyterian Church. I pray this might never happen to our local church. But if it doesn't, it will be by the grace of God alone. For the hearts of men, even reformed evangelical men are deceitful above all.

Sidenote 2: in the zealous folly of youth, in line with the idea that bible study leaders should not be out to gain a following, I decided that the way to prevent people from depending on the leaders for encouragement for continuing in their Christian walk and falling through the cracks if they were shifted from their current group in the biennial (if someone remembers to do it) DG mixer was to consciously leave off the charisma (if any) and be completely disengaged with them relationally, allowing them to stand on their two feet from the beginning. This of course, incurred the opposite error of appearing as if no one loved or cared for them. Somewhere, perhaps Paul of the Many NT Letters may have struck the balance between heavy-handed shepherding and seemingly total bo-chap-ness. But then again he didn't stay with one local church for very long.

Sidenote 3: only because of the fever. Happy 250th, Mozart! But we don't know if you're happy where you are or if your music still being played after 200 years means anything to you in light of your eternal future.

Things Undone, Hobbies, Rest and the Successful Christian Life

Tropical Snow Ride, God, Gifts and Giftedness

So we're well into 2006 AD and the excitement from those new year resolutions about knowing God better, godliness, new commitments and ministries still lingers.Some people got a good spurring on last weekend with The Campus Hub Vision Night on Friday and ARPC's Music Camp on Saturday and Sunday.

So while the good people from Red Bull and AXN swore to commandeer Club Street and fill it with fresh snow for snowboarders and their mad runs, big air and sick tricks and bring on Debbie Chia (claim to fame: Singapore's first participant in the Red Bull Music Academy) the night after, the rains came so we sloshed home for dinner. Someone whipped up luscious warm oxtail stew in full veal stock goodness with generous lashings of red wine leftovers from Christmas hampers and someone else brought yummy cupcakes.

And we had CDs from the HMV bargain bin

pots of tea (not beer, as in Chinese restaurants in England), while I opened the last of the Christmas cards and started on the Chinese New Year ones and talked about advertising for friends (here we go me dears. There'll be pre-CNY drinks on Wednesday

)

and about stock-taking, resolutions and ministries.

Every time there is a new evangelistic venture or new ministry set up, or when there is a ministry camp, or when people are making their resolutions for the year, the questions come up:"What are my gifts?", "Where should I serve?" or more basically "Why should I serve?".

Gifts and the Body of Christ
First, most people say, let's talk about gifts. Because we should serve according to our gifts. The popular, oft-quoted gift lists in the Bible are found at Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. But there is no mention that the gifts that are given to the church are limited to these 17-18 types. There are surely many others. More likely, Paul is selecting samples from the different sorts of gifts we might expect to find in any given church, a good cross-section of the skill categories by which the body of Christ is to be built up.

Most people, having lived for a number of years, have some sense of what they are good at or what their skills are. It could be writing, teaching and encouraging, serving, playing a musical instrument or singing, showing mercy or leading.

The World's Value on Gifts:I Am Gifted, So Are You!
Despite very recent reminders about loving truly and not conforming to the ways of the world, it's very easy to slip back into coveting what the world holds dear; adopting the world's view of what is important and its style and methods of getting these things.

The world values skills and exalts those they think are gifted. Giftedness is how the world tells us we find self-worth. If we are good at what we do, we are valuable and should feel good about ourselves. The explicit or implicit point of motivational speakers like Adam Khoo is that one can be lifted out of a meaningless life, lack of motivation for living and cesspit self-esteem by finding and understanding one's gifts, unlocking one's talents and becoming high achievers or geniuses (however defined). We are defined by our skills, talents and gifts and what we do with them.

But not so with us. It's too easy to follow the thinking of the world, especially when we aren't sure how to handle certain situations. With difficult teens for example, Christian parents have been heard to advise each other,"Oh, you must find out what he is good at, then praise him for it. You must tell him you love him very much because he can shoot basketballs/play the guitar well."

We are not to be like the world in valuing people for their gifts. We are to value them as our children and really, as children of God, for whom Christ gave his life, saved by the precious blood of Christ to have relationship with the Maker of the Universe. And it is in that stupendous relationship that we find meaning in life.

God's Purpose for Giving Gifts
Every Christian is given a gift by God. We all have different "gifts of grace" or charismata (Romans 12:6) (so in that sense if we are Christian, we are all "charismatic" Christians, for all Christians are given a gift of God's grace).

God gives us these gifts to equip us to fulfil a particular function within the church. The gift is not given for our own personal enjoyment. The gift is not our personal choice either, nor is it the choice of our parents: it is God who decides what gifts we have and he has given us those gifts in order that we may fulfil the role that he has designed for us within his church.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12:4-5).

Each of our different gifts are important to the church. Not just the more public ones like the pastor-teacher or the evangelist or the musician. For the body is not made up of one part but of many.

If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Corinthians 12:14-26)

So it is silly foolish and destructive to envy someone else's gift. It is a complete waste of time sit around pining away and wishing we had this or that gift, or spending obscene amounts of money, time and energy attempting to acquire the gift that we desire. We need all the different parts of the body, not 1,000 heads.

We must get on with using the gifts that we have and that God has bestowed upon us, do our part in the body of Christ that God specifically designed for us. No one is superfluous. Everybody counts. In that sense, everyone is indispensable because everyone is needed in the body of Christ.

The Use of Gifts
We are also tempted to conform to the pattern of the world and begin to think of our place in the Christian community, the church, in terms of prestige, in terms of personalities and popularity. But as soon as we start doing this, we cease to be the sort of church Jesus Christ wants.

Romans 12:3 exhorts us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought, but with sober judgement. That is, if we are to be part of the body of God, we are to think differently from the world. Our minds must be transformed from the mindset of the world.

We are tempted to conform to the pattern of the world in many ways. 3 obvious ones are:
Fun-loving
The world tells us that we should do what we enjoy and be with people we like. So in church we flirt from ministry to ministry, always moving with our clique to the newest/most "in"/coolest ministry where everyone is fun to be with.

Apathy
or we might be apathetic and lazy; bo chap; not caring less about the contribution we are making (or rather, are not making) in the body of Christ. It often masquerades as a form of humility,"Oh, I don't have any gifts; don't ask me to do lah". It may be that we aren't interested in doing the job because we are not prepared to give some of our time or energy on a regular basis, or that it is boring or low profile work. Perhaps we like our freedom to do what we want to do when we feel like it and don't want to be tied down by any responsibility or commitment.

But Romans 12:6 tells us that the authentic Christian response is just the opposite:"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us". And every Christian is gifted by God to fulfil a role that he or she has been alloted by God in the church. So we are not to let the world squeeze us into its way of apathy; whether you do the job or not does matter to God. And it matters to his body.

The body of Christ is not a cruiseliner where only a few work the ship while the rest lounge around sunbathing. It is a sail boat weathering a storm and trying to get to its destination and all hands have to be on deck. There is no place for stragglers.

Carnal Pride
the opposite error to apathy is that of carnal pride. We say,"If I don't do it, it won't be done properly". If we have responsibilities, we are tempted to take on more of them ourselves. In the world, we use our talents and skills to win power, promotion, popularity or status, to build ourselves up to No.1. Too often, we alert others to the work we are doing by complaining incessantly:"Oh...that secretary (or insert relevant employee or professional adviser) is so stupid/incompetent. What are we paying them for? In the end, I had to do this [insert task] myself! I have so much to do already. I'm sooo tired. I have to do [insert list of tasks]."

But in the church, we are not building ourselves up. We are using the talents and gifts which God has given us to build up others. It is a fundamentally different concept. We are not to use our gifts to minister to ourselves or build up our power, prestige or credentials.

An easy way to tell whether we are using our gifts in the wrong way is this: when we have done something "for the LORD" or "for the church", and we are not recognised by people for what we are doing, we hurt:"They didn't even have the decency to thank me", we think. That is a good sign that we are using our gifts to minister to ourselves rather than to the LORD, to inflate ourselves rather than equip his body.

The sober judgement that Romans 12:3 is talking about means choosing not to strive to be everything, nor sit back and let everyone else doing all things. It is recognising that there is a unique task that each of us has to accomplish for Christ within his body.

If we have a right estimate of ourselves, then we realise that all that we have are gifts from God. And it is our great privilege to be faithful stewards of everything God has given us. When we have a right estimate of ourselves, we realise that any gift we have is not due to our merit, but to God's grace and therefore we are to use those gifts as such.

Commitment and Balance
Notably, on the last night of his earthly life, Jesus was able to say to his Father in haven,"I have finished the work you gave me to do" (John 17:4); no more and no less. What a testimony of commitment and balance. Sober judgement means saying,"I am just a member of this body, and however multi-gifted I may be, whatever my gifts may be, however seemingly great or small my task may be, I am and always will be supremely merely one of many members of the body."

It is not my church. It is not your church. It is not our pastors' or leaders' church. It is the church of Christ. Therefore, I am not the head and you are not the head and the pastors and leaders are not the head, only Christ.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

See also David Jackman's good but somewhat scattered "Understanding the Church" for more useful thoughts.

Bono: On Grace

You know that *ahem* transgenerational rock band, U2? Then you'll know Bono, their lead vocals.

So some think that he might not be all there in terms of theology or even music, but he had this to say in his not-so-new biography:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that's normal. It's a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Assayas: I haven't heard you talk about that.

Bono: I really believe we've moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn't make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics—in physical laws—every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It's clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I'm absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that "as you reap, so you will sow" stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I've done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I'd be interested to hear that.

Bono: That's between me and God. But I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I'd be in deep s---. It doesn't excuse my mistakes, but I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don't have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there's a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let's face it, you're not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That's the point. It should keep us humbled… . It's not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?
Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched …

It's always encouraging to hear people speak passionately about most important people in the world in their own words, aging rocker or not, salty language or none. ;-)

Depressing Bangkok

Bangkok is depressing. Along a busy street, gold-plated metal statues, some protected from the elements by cling-wrap ("clings tight to help keep food fresh"), spill out onto the pavement.

Further on, with the same material that is used to make these statues, shops make cheap golden trophies for athletic competitions yet unnamed and unwon.

Yet further on, these statues conceived by the minds of men, made by human hands, stored in cling-wrap to protect them from the rain and dust, transported by mechanical means, are worshipped as gods.
Why worship a thing that cannot even take care of itself, that cannot even prevent itself from being tarnished by the common weather? How can anyone expect it to help them if it cannot even feed or clothe itself?

The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says,"Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!" And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says,"Deliver me, for you are my god!"

They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?" He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" (Isaiah 44:12-20)

But there is one true and living God not conceived by human minds or made by human hands who is worthy of worship:

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
"I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any." (Isaiah 44:6-8)

Freezing Offices, Hot Chocolate and Christian Bosses

Hail the return of those indoor winter days so unique to Singapore. If one could actually freeze one's butt off, the office floor would have been littered with discarded rumps, and all before lunch break.

The way to not have to pick through the scattered glories (or gories) is this: liberate some good quality half-eaten chocolate from the office fridge, melt them in a bain-marie of hot water, add brown sugar courtesy of an overcharging coffee outlet, whip in hot thick creamy milk gently zapped in the microwave and top with marshmellows rescued from a colleague's desk. Hot chocolate. Mmmhmmm.

And why it is good to be a Christian boss is this: you find out which days your secretaries/subordinates have bible study/cell group/discipleship group. You demand quality and efficiency and meeting deadlines. However, on those bible study days, you demand leaving the office in time for their groups. If deadlines are not met, you will meet it for them. If they linger, you will throw them out by the scruff of their necks. Because the most important things are God's Word and fellowship with God's people.

Love, True Love

The week-long wetness and drains-turned-waterfalls found some solace in hot handmade noodles

and no drinks at One Rochester because we wanted real red meat

and so trekking past vast alien distilleries

to Botak Jones for Bernie ("Thinks He's The Boss") and Zee ("The Boss")'s red meat steak and burgers [though they have this week gotten themselves a spanking new outlet at AMK Ave 5]

and also the happy Ben & Jerry's, because ice-creams are best in (1) whipping winters in Leicester Square, (2) tropical monsoons crawling along highways at 20km/h, seeing only the hazard lights of the vehicle in front of you and (3) love.

Love, True Love...
not soppy, airy, dreamy, mistletoe-y and seasonal.

not quite the sham marriage between the unfortunately but aptly named Prince Humperdinck and the heroine, Buttercup in "The Princess Bride", where the Impressive Clergyman with half a brain, impressive whiskers and an unfortunate speech impediment memorably intoned:"wuv, twoo wuv, wiw fowwow you fowever...".

not quite the wimpy hero song that is still taking my office by storm; 光良's 童话:

忘了有多久 再没听到你对我说你最爱的故事
我想了很久 我开始慌了 是不是我又做错了什么
你哭着对我说 童话里都是骗人的 我不可能是你的王子
也许你不会懂 从你说爱我以后 我的天空 星星都亮了
我愿变成童话里 你爱的那个天使 张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信 相信我们会像童话故事里 幸福和快乐是结局
我要变成童话里 你爱的那个天使 张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信 相信我们会像童话故事里 幸福和快乐是结局
我会变成童话里 你爱的那个天使 张开双手变成翅膀守护你
你要相信 相信我们会像童话故事里 幸福和快乐是结局
一起写我们的结局

but in tough love in that 1 Corinthians 13 (I Can't Believe It's Love!™) way.

Chris Chia's useful sermon last weekend elucidated some aspects of this tuff luff stuff. A very good way to start the new year:

The Corinthian World and Value System
Caesar stuffed Corinth with retired soldiers and old politicians. They were fairly well-to-do people with no need to work, loads of leisure and spent their money supporting patronage systems. Corinthian goals were all for (1) making money; (2) winning power; and (3) gaining honour. And so the accompanying Corinthian value system was all for (1) status and winning at all costs; (2) reputation and looking good at all costs; and (3) ambition and climbing the ranks at all costs.

The Corinthian Christians
When some Corinthians became Christian, they assumed that they had changed from their pagan ways. But what had actually happened was that they had rebaptised their old Corinthian value system into Christian terms. One expression of these unchanged selves was the obsession with spiritual gifts: who has the most gifts? Who has the best gifts? Who is most spiritual?

The Supremacy of Love
Let me show you, said Paul, not more excellent gifts but a more excellent way (12:31): the way of love.

The Corinthians thought that the measure of a Christian was their spirituality: measured by spectacular gifts, absolute philanthropy, great sacrifices.

Paul emphasises, not the type of gifts, but the use of those gifts. Both the gift and the person who exercises that gift are useless without love. If a Christian dispenses his duty without love, both the act and the person are worthless! Some divine mathematical formula renders an act without love and a person without love as valueless. (13:1-3).

The Character of Love
So what does this love look like?

Love, true love, is the love that God shows us. Love for the unlovely and unloveable.

Love is patient (13:4). Patience doesn't just mean tolerating a horrible situation or a unpleasant person (usually because we can't do anything about it or him/her). Patience is about long-suffering, the same long-suffering of God towards us. It is an active decision not to retaliate, even though we have the ability to.

Love is kind (13:4). Kindness is not just the willingness but the quickness to do what is kind, even towards those who hurt us or unjustly accuse us. As we minister to others, as we pray for the sick, comfort the dying, teach and shepherd others, we will be hurt. So it's not that we won't be hurt or that we don't acknowledge our hurt, but that our hurt does not matter anymore. (Assumedly because only love matters.)

Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way (13:4-5). Love is not self-centered and self-interested. Rather than being empty and devoid of others and their best interests, love is all about others and doing what is best for them.

Love is not irritable or resentful (13:5). Love doesn't lie in wait for an opportunity to jump at people, to fly off the handle, to see wrong in others or in situations.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth (13:6). More than not delighting in obvious sins, Don Carson suggests that this means not being happy and quick to poke holes in things, or point out the faults of others, or endulge almost as a hobby, in endless discussions on what is wrong with the local church, other churches, various ministries, leaders...

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (NIV, 13:7). Love always gives people the benefit of the doubt, even in the face of repeated failures or disappointments. It is not cynical. It does not sneer at people's efforts (no matter how cannot-make-it they may seem). It doesn't give up on difficult people and move on to the more interesting or easier to handle or less demanding. It wants very much to present everyone, that is, everyone, perfect in Christ.

The Permanence of Love
God is love. Love is the ultimate characteristic of God. Therefore, as God is from eternity to eternity, as God is forever more, so is love. It will never fail (13:8). It will never pass away.

Do We Love?
Jonathan Edwards has said that what makes a church like heaven is the love that is given and received between God's precious people.

Like the Corinthians, we too live in a world that values status, reputation and ambition. Maybe that's why our marriages, our families, and even our ministries tend to have as their goal status, reputation and ambition.

If an outsider walks into the midst of our church family, will he notice not the leaders, nor the teaching, nor the gifts, but love?

If he does not, then we are worthless in God's eyes.

Travel and the Christian

Extremely long post follows. And I'm happy to share the blame. ;-)

Preparing to leave for Indonesia, went for a final run in the Singapore Botanic Gardens in the evening. Note to self: pounding the footpaths in the blustery storm and drenching rain at night, embracing the shedding of inhibitive dryness, delighting in the washing away of the day's toilsome sweat and office dust...requires a change of dry underwear for a comfortable journey home.

After a hot bath, clear(er) lungs wanted clean food like cold juicy slices of roast beef, chunks of creamy goat camembert, hunks of brown bread, little piles of applesauce and dots of horseradish and a handful of mesclun anointed with red wine vinegar and virgin olive oil, all eaten neatly with quick efficient fingers, a thick white napkin over the lap and washed down with Signor Pellegrino's Aranciata Rossa.

And furious lightning threatened to crack open the thick blackness outside, and the rain still beat sharply against the windowpanes and the cold wind howled through the eaves, but we were snug and smug and warm with a gentle sweet Asti curling its way through our blood as the air filled with apple crumble baking in the oven. And someone sighed comfortably, stretched his legs out and wondered why anyone would ever ever want to leave the comfort of home for the sake of Travel.

(But it is not true that similar comforts cannot be found on travels; like the little ski trip we took in Finland, with a Finnish friend: very blonde, with the confident cheekbones of a Viking descendant whose girlfriend was even blonder with the height and figure that so outrivalled Pamela Anderson even the militant gay boy in our midst thought his professed sexuality a bit suspect (which is another story altogether). Where, after several days of blinding white cold, severe pine trees and icy wind that went straight to our bones as we flew down powdery runs, slalomming and outmanoeuvering snotty snowboarders, we cross-countried to a cosy logcabin whose enticing warm orange light shone like a beacon of hope in the bleak snow-covered countryside, in which we took off our rapidly drying ski jackets, had akvavit with smoked herring and lukefisk by the cracklingly hot fire and then tucked in the wonderful spit-roasted wild boar and bear and reindeer with sweet tart cranberry and lingonberry sauce and steaming creamy mash and sipped vodka afterwards with generous slices of blueberry tart and still after, café au lait for the road. More please. To quote the trash poetry wag,"So much snow, so little dough".)
What pushes and pulls and spurs men and women to traverse vast distances, with no hope or promise of such comfort, sometimes without a place of intended disembarkation, braving strange countries and people and tongues and diseases, risking headhunters and cannibals and horrible ways of dying yet unknown to and unsuspected by them even in their most sweaty nightmares?

Interestingly,"travel" is a word that owes its history to to the root word "travail" (trouble, toil, labour) and the Latin "trepalium" (a three-pronged instrument of torture), perhaps reflective of the difficulty of getting anywhere in the Middle Ages when, so etymologists tell us, the word first evolved.

Historically, motives for travel/tourism can be made to fall into the two general categories of pull and push factors.

Some pull factors might include:
visitation of family and friends: tearful reunions with loved ones, joyful renewal of bonds of companionship, kinship and blood, catch-ups and updates, hugs and kisses, dutiful visits home;

political travel: handshakes and smiles for the international media, carefully-prepared statements and speeches on trade and friendship, state dinners, government interpreters, boosting ties with other nations, maintaining relations between countries and states;

conquest travel/colonialism: a terribly un-PC motive for travel nowadays when people spit out "imperalist" and "slave trader" as insults, but in the past when conquest travel was all the rage, Christopher Columbus, James Cook, Francis Drake, foreign lands claimed, indigenous people subdued and plunder seized, status of conquerors enhanced nationally, material rewards bestowed on them for their success and public holidays named in their honour;

commercial/business travel: weary seedy travelling salesman, centuries old ubiquitous overseas Chinese merchants, high-flying, frequent-flying contemporary investment bankers and business consultants;

exploration: Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Zheng He, Ferdinand Magellan, long sea voyages, circumnavigating the world, soft silk, white ivory, red rubies, deep emeralds, green jade, precious porcelain, precocious paper money, strange spices, holy men, royal caravans, Mecca, faraway islands, Chinese princesses and Malayan sultans, dying in foreign countries;

scientific study: sometimes, completely unintended like the HMS Beagle which completed extensive surveys of South America and returned to England via New Zealand, and which suffered to have on board a bored young man named Charles Darwin who had gone along for the ride;

artistic inspiration: leary Flaubert believed that travel served to enliven his writing; giggling Mozart gathered inspiration for his music on his freakshow musical travels; Tahitian women (and also medieval stained glass and Japanese prints) inspired Gaugin, as the Balinese chicks did many pioneering Singaporean painters;

educative tourism: Thomas Coryat's "Coryat's Crudities" started it all, then in the 1800s, wealthy Brit young men undertook the Grand Tour as a sort of finishing school for their classical education learning about culture, art and antiquities. Nowadays students have exchange programmes and field trips abroad;

moralistic tourism: the fight for human rights, gender equality, animal rights, environmental protection, and all other variations of moralistic politics or as the French say, le droit de l'hommeism, travels to coincide with the meetings of key leaders for sensitive political negotiations, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, NATO, the focus of the global media on these events, the raising of profile of protestors at these events, the usual "Repent, Return to Christ" placardholders around the edges of the Mardis Gras;

pietistic/religious tourism: crusades, pilgrimages, Mecca, Fátima, Chaucer's travellers to Canterbury, King Arthur's Knights of the Roundtable, mass climbs of Mount Fuji led by Buddhist monks;

ecotourism: responsible travel to natural areas, conservation of the environment, promotion of the welfare of the indigenous population, white man's/developed man's burden, cultural awareness and respect, empowerment of the locals;

sports tourism: world championships, European competitions, ASEAN games, international tournaments, the Olymics, sports in different climates, landscapes and terrain;

sex tourism: young Gustave Flaubert in Egypt, dirty old men in Thailand and Cambodia;

adventure-seeking: spontaneous or planned, seeking new and usually dangerous exploits, expeditions and activities, Theodore Roosevelt going into the Amazon to hunt in areas "utterly unknown to topographers";

prestige: obscure exotic destinations;

pure consumerism: rational consumption with expectations commensurate with cost and an appreciation of that entirely functional index of potential pleasure, travelling voyeurism without the ideological baggage or physical discomforts that encumber traditional ideas of travel;

pure aestheticism: Victor Segalen's le Divers, everything foreign, strange, unexpected, surprising, mysterious, amorous, superhuman, heroic, and even divine, everything that is Other, the feeling which le Divers stirs in us is l'exotisme, an aesthetic experience, a vision of the world...

ad nauseum

The current 1000 Places to See Before You Die mindset suggests that if you haven't travelled widely, you haven't truly lived.

Some push factors might include war, hunger, oppression, or
escape from alienation: having no real centre to life, feeling of alienation, work being boring and repetitive done purely to earn money, having no particular attachment to the job or the organisation, travel as brief escape from tedium and routine, soothing of nerves that makes alienation endurable;

escape from inauthenticity: perception of lives being unstable and inauthentic, seeking of authenticity and mythical structures on holidays, creating and recreating those structures which modernity has demolished and caused to vanish elsewhere, belief that in some other lifestyle, social class or country there is a more genuine way to live;

escape from own lifestyle: feeling no particular loyalty to any one way of life, tending to equivocate between a number of them, experimenting with other cultures and religions, trying out drugs or mysticism or some cult religion, searching for something that will strike a chord, complete immersion in the new place or culture - going to an ashram or joining a work camp, fully immersed but not permanently committed.

Side Effects of Travel
One of the widely acknowledged side effects of travel is decouverte; self-discovery both on the part of the tourist and the host. Through acceptance and exchange with others, one becomes aware of one's own rich resources. Understanding others promotes self-identification of one's gender, race, ethnicity, class and worldview.

Failure of Travel
To some degree, all expectations of the pleasure or satisfaction to be derived from travel fail. As a romantic escape from the industrial world, following the romantic images of untouched nature and untouched history, it is bound to fail because tourism has established itself as an industry. The journey out of the sphere of commodities has itself become a commodity. Like all industrial production, it has become standardised, assembled and produced in series. Since Karl Baedeker and Thomas Cook, guidebooks standardise the sights, the sights are being assembled to package tourists. Tourism business is about a dream factory, churning out dreams with emotive marketing and glossy brochures for would-be travellers to consume.

Travel as Social Construct
Perhaps in any case, all the perceived pleasure and satisfaction to be derived from travel and the value of tourism as a phenomenon and activity is merely culturally produced, as are certain representations of specific destination (eg. the Maldives as a luxurious relaxing beach destination).

As if acknowledging that pleasure to be derived from travel is a state of mind (and more likely because he was under house arrest for duelling), in 1790, Xavier de Maitre undertook travels around his bedroom, noted down as Voyage Around My Room, which was followed up with Nocturnal Expedition Around My Room in his favourite pink and blue jammies.

Should a Christian travel?
In some circles, travel for leisure (and sometimes business and missionary work) is seen as being representative of ungodly priorities, being irresponsible to the Christian community back home and utterly worthless.

However, there is no direct Biblical right or wrong in relation to travel. Travelling is not worthless or ungodly per se. People in the Bible travelled for all sorts of reasons: Adam and Eve were thrown out of Eden, Cain was sent away for killing Abel, Haggah was running away from Sarah, Jacob and his family moved to Egypt because of the famine, Moses headed towards the Promised Land, Joseph went to Bethlehem because of the census, Jesus travelled around the region preaching, early Christians fled from persecution etc.

As with so much other living out of the Christian life, it is not usually the action itself that is the issue, but the mindset, the worldview, the perception of God, others and self that is on view:

Why are we travelling? Are we running away from ourselves, the church or God? Is this a Sabbath from work and toil? Are we idolising another lifestyle? Are we searching for meaning in life?

How long are we travelling for and where are we going? We don't have to go only to places where there are Christians or good churches. It really depends what is most helpful for the individual's godliness. Some who find that without being surrounded by other Christians even for a short period of time, they quickly forget God. Others find that their relationship with God develops as they learn to rely on him for everything on their travels. In any case, being too long away from a Christian community is to stay away from the method by which God has ordained we be encouraged and in turn encourage others to persevere. And there is much danger in that.

What is most helpful for us? Travelling may present temptations to the Christian that he might not otherwise face at home. Will he have trouble being alone and lonely in a hotel room with free porn on the telly, or perhaps too bored, with too much to drink and surrounded by willing members of the opposite sex? Certain destinations known for its free sex, rampant drug use, or fashion idolising cultures may have different effects on different individuals so while one could live a godly life for years in the heart of the redlight district in Amsterdam, another might find himself stumbling on his first night there.

When are we doing it? Leaving co-leaders, fellow Sunday school teachers, music team members in the lurch by vacating our position? But no one is indispensible and it is likely that with enough notice, someone can be found to cover our responsibilities.

How much are we spending on it? Is it good stewardship of money, not in terms of percentage of salary but in terms of what it could have been used for in terms of the building of God's kingdom?

And all that hooha about the impact of tourism on local cultures and indigenous populations? It's an opportunity for them to hear the gospel, from us. A Vietnamese chap who was attempting to translate a sermon for me in a Hanoi church said he used to be a tour guide down in Ho Chi Minh. On one tour he was leading, an Aussie lady shared the gospel with him. He believed in Jesus and was saved.

Because being a child of God is who we are. All the time. And telling people the good news is our lifestyle. Because our inherent value system does not go on holiday when we do.

:-)

New Year and Shopping in Bangkok

Picking our way through the pitch-blackness of Seletar camp through the pouring rain to Sunset Grill & Pub, there was Jerry squigging the tables under the great angsana. Then there was first soup and garlic bread for the cold, then nachos and cheese dip and salsa and cola and hot heavenly buffalo wings and carrot sticks and ribs and thick fries until closing time, after which there was huddling under brollies and skipping over puddles, when it was decided that the new year in Bangkok should be chronicled for future reference.

Right then:
New Year in Bangkok
During which there were bunches of other ARPC people faffing about town, enormous amounts of eating off pavement hawkers: chicken deep-fried with salt and pepper in great woks of oil (probably heirloom; as in: reused for generations), locusts and other unidentifiable crunchy insects, steaming bowls of noodles, fat sausages on sticks (constituent meat indeterminate), plates of pad thai under frangipani trees; stretchy massages by slim giggly girls; prodigeous amounts of fruit juice, sweet coconuts, iced milk coffees and teas, Singha and Kloster; a never-ending flow of ices for the heat; crazy tuk-tuk rides flying against traffic; the pharmacist in our midst first giving us her germs then attempting to dispense drugs like so many after-dinner mints; long discussions between the pharmacist and the doctors about oncological drug-patient responses; people getting hit on by the biologically same-sexed; the doctors regaling us with patient histories that were good contenders for the Darwin Awards; the engineer explaining the gear system for hand-powered tricycles; and a good yabber on evangelism and the effective use of the Alpha course outside go-go bars in Patpong.

Pity we missed the flightless parties (pix look great though and I hear Chris Chia's New Year sermon on the Lord's Prayer was marvellous too!). Oh well:

New Year countdown: partying on the streets, beer garden season around Central World Plaza awash with tipples from Heineken, Singha, Asahi and Beer Chang, live bands, fireworks.

The MRTA: round-the-clock service and anywhere in Bangkok for 10B.

Music for aural taste-testing:

they can be borrowed.

Bummer about missing Bangkok 100. And Sembawang Fest doesn't even look half as promising. However CS may borrow Modern Dog if CS wants.

(Further down in Kuala Lumpur, folks at a New Year's Eve punk rock concert at Paul's Place were detained by Malaysian police apparently for indecent behaviour, "Black Mental" (sic), Satanism and the presence of a kambing, dealing a blow to live indie music in that city (no matter how bad).)

Shopping:

Picture from bangkokbob.com

Platinum Fashion Mall: newly opened, lian as the name suggests, independent boutiques proffering rags of clashing colours, retro stripes, curtain castoffs, sequins, feather trimmings, fur trimmings, bizarre embroidery, bohemian gypsy styles, grungy tie-dye, hill-tribe weaves, goth edgings, sometimes all on the same piece.

Central World Plaza: name changed from World Trade Centre after acquisition by Central, anchored by Isetan and Zen, many middle-aged Singaporeans buying cheaper underwear and carrying their backpacks on their chests, a multiplex, furniture, wood and lacquer. In Beer Garden Season, beer gardens up front.

Big C Supercentre: megacineplex, hypermall with requisite dull factory outlets and foot massage touts.

Gaysorn: not what it suggests in English, white on white interior, usual designer brands (real licensed LV, Gucci, Ferragamo and posh friends), amazingly old mate Thomas Pink, local designers (Fly Now by Chamnan Phakdeesuk who opened London Fashion Week twice, Tango, Kloset which was showcased at Milan's White Fair, Senada Theory, Sretsis, Cloud 9, Fashion Society - a clearing house of pay and work clothes mixing leading Thai and up-and-comers). Thai fashion was happenin'. Bangkok Fashion Week was happenin'. The yummy Greyhound café showed that edible fusion was still happenin' served by wait staff with T-shirt quips in bold pink:"I may not look cute but I can recommend dishes", " Live dangerously, try our special of the month" and "Life is short. Dessert anyone?"

Amarin Plaza: slated to be a design hub, currently smells of old wet cigarettes and dried urine on linoleum flooring, full of 24-hour tailors.

Erawan Plaza: home to mid-class international brands, Singapore representatives like Club 21, Bakerzin and Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao, Tour de France by prodigal son Veerapremon, Bangkok's most photographed shrine and a glam tea room over looking it where you can have scones and tea while watching worshippers do their thing.

Siam Paragon: very newly opened megamall attempting to cater to diverse societal strata, complete with huge aquarium, cavernous food court, gourmet supermarket, opera house, cineplex, IMAX cinema, 50-lane bowling alley, Thailand's largest bookstore, doggie clothes and accessories, Lamborghini and Ferrari showrooms, make-up and skincare brands Paul & Joe, Philosophy and made-for-Asian RMK (stop hyperventilating. Remember its just for information.), and a section for quirky local product designers called be-trend: gugu, Human Touch, Propaganda, take a luxe, we, why..?, gumption, swinger, zenithpaper, mola...

Over at Siam Discovery Centre, interior designs with Gilles Caffier for the luxey and Elle Decoration-y, anyroom for ceramics, Panta for experimental furniture made from natural materials, Habitat (yes the UK one!), LOFT for one-stop gift-shopping for kawai-ophiles, roominteriorproducts for kitschy inflatable plastic stuff, E.G.G. for nippy accessories.
Siam Square: rows of streets of young designer start-ups, recently graduated hairdressers, used books stacks and indie music shops helmed by bandmembers and aunties alike; own radio station and magazine; luscious mango desserts at Mango Tango on Soi 4; God's Absent goth, girly himma, Hybrid Outfitters and It's Happened to be a Closet faux-vintage on Soi 3, Dressed to Kill 50s-inspired dresses, Cafe Inn and she@mood on Soi 2, Vanilla Industry with its cutesy bakery store selling sugar bits, café and baking school on Soi 11 and UFM Baking and Cooking School on Soi 1.

Mahboonkrong (MBK): boisterous, overcrowded, colossal, stacked, more than 1000 shops and stall flog gold, footwear, PJs, electronics, cameras, lukchup, dining chairs, donuts... Famously, a massive jeans bazaar on the ground floor and fake watches and bootleg skincare from Philosophy, Bath and Body Works and Garnier, and foreign films and TV miniseries watchables on the third floor.

Elsewhere along Sukhumvit, Soi 55 (Thonglor) spots outbreaks of stylistic loveliness with J Avenue for Japanese expats, H1 - glassboxes for design, lifestyle and dining, and Playground! attempting some hip amalgamation of fashion, home decor, music and food with the outrageously nice Belle & Bunty, the fresh Lara Bohinc, sleek Bomus, the useful Perigot and the..oi! Jonathan Seow's Woods & Woods.

Then, of course, there was always Chatuchak...

...and many good massages (did we say that already?), many meals of good cheap food, good company and the futuristic Bed Supperclub with reservations online. Best.

'nof said. ;-)

Court to Decide If Jesus Existed

In other news, an Italian court is to decide if Jesus ever existed. The suit was brought by one Luigi Cascioli, a retired agronomist who is said to have once studied for the priesthood but later became a militant atheist. A translation of his letter of complaint may be found here.

It's good that he takes truth (and perceived untruth) seriously. He might want to start off looking at FF Bruce's "The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?" and even Josh McDowell's "Evidence for the Resurrection".

********

Elsewhere, Christianity is also in the news with preying politicians and intelligent design. A case of any publicity is good publicity? All great conversation starters, methinks.

Bangkok and Stages in Travel and Life as a Christian

Stages in Travel

Thanks to the generosity of others, three guides navigated the Bangkok traffic (vehicular, human, tout, pachydermal and otherwise) for us. They also somehow represented (in a corny Chinese-essays-finding-symbolism-in-everything way) certain stages in travel and life.

In our teenage years, Lonely Planet was a book for backpackers. Very poor, we were lower than proletariats. For us were the stuffy dorms of dodgy unmade double-decker beds, tramping on park benches and under bridges where the police didn't chase us off, with backpacks as pillows. For us were the student meals in local university canteens and soup kitchens. For us the week's tipple was to be found at the end of a distillery tour. Rebels (against whatever perceived authority there was), very curious, very idealistic and hopelessly (and ignorantly) opinionated, we arrogantly embraced environmentalism, human rights, animal rights, political activism and world peace, convinced that we alone could stop suffering and poverty.

Later, with scholarship monies and parental stipends, Time Out was the weekly guide of choice for the university student in London with a bit of money, chokeful of listings for the newest holes-in-the-wall, most obscure gigs and experimental indie movie screenings. Film reviews, director interviews, art exhibition reviews, artist interviews, restaurant reviews, chef interviews. Diverse stimulation. Solidifying informed opinions. Understanding the imperfection that is shared by all humankind. Starting to lead and so realising the difficulties of government and the implications and consequences of decisions. Realising that other people (even people in authority!) might be right about certain things after all.

After a few years of work, relatively moneyed and blissful in that time-space between pauperish studenthood and burdened married life with mortgages and the responsibility of kids, Luxe city guides were welcomed for those quick weekend jetaways. Bespoke fashion, boutique hotels, thread-count on Egyptian cotton sheets, fine leather goods, trendy eateries and hip nightspots. Work hard, play hard. Pampering and comfort were key.

Stages in Life as a Christian
Past what was probably our millionth lukchup, we wondered if our Christian life somehow followed such a pattern as well.

Teenage Christianity is not having enough money to buy Christian books and dictionaries and attend talks, conferences and retreats. It is borrowing books from pastors and leaders and poring over them carefully. It is borrowing money from other friends for talks, conferences and retreats and paying them back over several months. It is fiery and idealistic and hopelessly opinionated. If it is evangelical, it sneers, it torches the idols of this world and condemns the charismatics and Catholics and yuppies to hell. It is proud. It is rigid and legalistic. It liberally smashes bibles over heads. It loves little. It thinks it alone can save the world.

University Christianity is getting hands on good literature. It starts to understand the Bible for itself, to be slowly grounded in its truths. But it relies heavily on the guru-of-the-day and his theological-hobby-horse-of-the-month. It starts to see dimly how life is lived under God and how all decisions and actions must conform to that reality. It starts to experience the nuances of sin in its own life and starts to genuinely love other sinners. It begins to show grace.

Yuppie Christianity is reaching positions of leadership. It is about being seen to be "sorted" and "mature". It is about having paid its dues and so being concerned overwhelmingly for its own comfort: steady groups of friends, good food and wine, nice homes, settling down, having a good time. It is insular. It is satisfied. It wants things to stay status quo. God is sovereign, therefore don't ask it to do more than the usual. Anyway it has a young family and/or hobbies. It just wants to relax on weekends and holidays.

Of course these are mere generalisations just as LP recommends the Hilton and Luxe gets its pants in a knot over cheap hovels. But it's interesting how the temptation to sin grabs us in all stages of our lives. Ignorance of our humble condition, disregard of God, self-centredness, arrogance, unlovingness, not forgiving even a little though we were forgiven much, being unconcerned about the purposes for such God made us and Jesus died for us. The sin we face is similar in all stages of life. But the method of sinning is different. And sometimes, we forget that when we look out for each other. And when we examine ourselves.