RuthTay’s Weblog

My Dad just drove me home after we had dinner at his place.

We were talking and I was just telling him how I really dislike those who like to talk behind people’s back.

I realized that when I was a child, I was also filled with indignant whenever I hear my aunties (dad’s sisters) gossiping about my mum. This strong feeling carried on to teenage years and till now. I do not know where I inherited this sense of ‘justice’ from but I can even remember where and when my mum was being ‘gossiped’ about.

To me is this. What’s the point of talking behind someone’s back if you can say it in front of him? Many times we don’t want to say in front of the person because we relish in gossip. We delight in putting someone down so that we can appear more right and strong. We gossip because the person we talk about is not there to defend himself, so that we can enjoy the uninterupted time of verbal diarrhea.

To me the more honourable thing is to say it in front of the person and not do it behind him. What’s the point of saying, “if he is here, i will still say the same thing”? It doesn’t justify the act unless there’s something constructive to be done out of the whole discussion. i.e. “I think he is not stable and is going to kill his children anytime, let’s do something about it.”

Sometimes people say untrue, bad things behind someone so that they can cause doubts in others about that person. If I trust person A and person A tells me bad things about person B, I will naturally be weary of person B next time I see him. Hence, instead of allowing person B to make his own judgements, person A already shared his judgements.

Another reason why they do not take it to the person himself is because that person has no guts to do so. Simple. Only have guts to do cowardice acts such as saying things behind his back. Not constructive.

So, whatever. See the plank in our own eyes and the speck in others becomes insignificant.

“We had a cause and people with causes become difficult people to play against” – Sir Alex Ferguson made this statement after Manchester United won the champions league title against compatriot club, Chelsea. The winning margin was narrow and was decided via penalty kicks.

I used to think that football was a stupid game until i started watching the 1996 world cup and was smitten by the Swedish and the Brazilians. It’s an amazing game where you see 22 strong and abled men running for a ball and trying to put it into the net. On field, a mixed of skills and emotions are display and it’s a rare thing to see men, expressing themselves emotionally. It’s also a game of strategy coupled with chances and individual slew of talents, foresight, spatial awareness, luck all put in one place. The drama, the spontaneity is something not even a well choreographed script could tantalize anyone’s senses for 90 minutes.

Chelsea was not a pushover. They had to talent and strength to win the champions league but situation has turned out that the penalty would be the means by which the winner would be determined. Postmorterm reports blames Drogba for committing a silly offence and thus being sent off and hence disqualified for taking the penalty which might have caused Chelsea the championship title. John Terry and Anelka both missed the kicks and Edwin Van De Sar (Goalkeeper of Man United), claimed he knew where Anelka was kicking the ball to.

Perhaps, it’s not so much the causes that Man U was playing for (Alex Ferguson dedicated the win to the memory of Busby Babes when United was ripped abpart in the Munich Air disaster in 1958 when 8 of Mat Busby’s young side were killed in a plane crash after beating Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup quarter-finals.) but more like Chelsea gave away their chances.

Was it luck, the lack of it or personal responsibility in seeing the big picture, in the case of Drogba, was he prepared for a penalty shoot out? It’s anyone’s opinion now but I’m sure playing for a cause kept Man United focused, all the way to the end.

Being a mum of a 13 month old girl is both a joy and a blessing. Charis is simply a fun person to be with. She is always smiling and usually obliging. It’s always nice to hold her and she just puts her entire weight on me, leaning and trusting that I will hold and love her.

She is learning to walk recently and sometimes she can be a little ‘lazy’ and refusing to walk. When that happens, she would sit down where she is and refuse to move sometimes attempting to cry. Knowing that she is throwing a ‘tantrum’, I would walk towards, her, ask her to give me her hand and I would walk her out of the room (usually). Being a parent has made me see more things from God’s perspective. A Father, walking towards us in our moments of weakness and sometimes unwillingness. Like the Father, who ran towards the prodigal son when he saw him from afar. The prodigal son was received and accepted into the family.

I will not try to humanize God. Yet his love is something we have to emulate.

John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” Not an option but a command to love from someone who love despite betrayal.

Jesus loved Judas and washed his feet. 

Jesus loved while we were still sinners. Unfit for Him.

He chose to love. 

It’s easy to love Charis because she has no guile in her. She is untainted and a child. Innocence spreads all around her and so it is easy to love. 

The hardest thing to do, is to wash your enemy’s feet, knowing that he has something against you and is plotting for your death. Jesus did. He loved. He chose love. 

What will I choose? 

Another timely reminder for us to focus on God.

Mr Lau Tak Siong highlighted 3 men who focused on God

1. Joseph, despite being betrayed

2. Job, despite losing it all

3. Nehemiah, despite facing opposition

It is so important to fix our eyes on the Lord and not on circumstances and other things. Let the Lord direct and guide my every step. It’s You I will follow and It’s You I adore.

Luke 12:6 – 7  ”Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

God does not forget the sparrows but will feed them. That’s worth.

1 boy, with 5 loaves and 2 fishes. 5000 to feed. What would he do?

If he gave it all, he will have nothing.

The disciples thought of the most practical idea. Ask them to go somewhere to buy. The situation was real, the need was real, how about some reality tv?

the boy deliberated. finally decided to give it all. In the hands of Jesus, 5 loaves and 2 fishes became the meal for 5000. Jesus multiplied it. If Jesus had waited for a committee to decide on what to do with the crowd of 5000, the miracle wouldn’t have come. The committee would probably reacted like the disciples,

‘where will anyone be able find enough to satisfy these men with bread here in a desolate place?”,

“The place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”, “But He answered and said to them, ‘You give them somthing to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”

“We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”

what’s worth? Never know how little it takes to give our all. Never know how little God needs to show His power.

1. The Church must become priority  my life

2. The Church must be seen as a family

3. Church must be committed to its vision

- involves a family atmosphere, strong teaching and preaching, reaching out to the community, reaching out to everyone in the world.

4. Church is a place where biblical standards are held

Revival: Strong bible preaching, drawing people to the undiluted word of God. We are designed to be changed by truth. A call to repentance. Not just forgiveness but repentance. Repentance changes the mind.

5. Church is a place where stewardship must be preached and practised. All of our lives must be held as sacred. How much time do I spend with God everyday? Do I sacrifice?

6. Church must become a place where personal integrity is valued – willingness to obey and submit to God’s given authority. Willing to be accountable and not afraid of being probed and asked.

7. Church must become a place where lives are changed and transformed and sinners are saved.