09-10-12 (Tuesday) "It's not about being green."

I've been rather passionate about living an energy-efficient, low-carbon life for a long time now. I turn off the shower as I shampoo myself; turn off the tap when soaping my dishes; use the sun to dry my clothes instead of using the dryers if there's enough sunlight; turn off my laptop after use, never leaving it on overnight... Many have even got the chance to be annoyed by my pestering to cut down on water and electricity wastage.

Our pastor, Dom preached on the Apostle's Creed last week at church, touching on the third line:

I believe in God,

the Father almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth.

...

On applying that to our lives, Dom mentioned that we should take good care of the things that God has blessed us with around us. The resources He has given us in this world. The beauty of creation around. The very air we breath. "It's not about being green," he said. "It's about being good stewards of what God has given us."

I had a short discussion with some friends a day later, finding out that the main thing they got out of that application point was "It's not about being green."

I didn't like the sound of that.

Just recently as well, I've been reading John Piper's ebook entitled "Preparing for Marriage", where John talks about how the ultimate reason for anything and everything is for God's glory. Our material body, the material world, marriage, singlehood. Everything. John also poses a challenge to ponder upon. How are WE glorifying God in all that we have and do? He also calls us to be good stewards of whatever God has given us and whatever situation He has placed us in. God is ultimate reality. Everything else is secondary.

So I'd like to respond.

If we take the stance that "this world is temporary, that everything will pass away, so why bother protecting it so well?", how does that glorify God?

When others see how we, as Christians, don't bother trying to use only what we need, that we care only about "it's so convenient that way!", how does that glorify God?

If we let the saying go that "being green is such a western culture" and continue living as the non-western (eastern?) way, doesn't that mean we're just the same as anyone else? How does that glorify God? Does our faith change our lives at all?

John Piper writes in the book under the heading The Material World - for the Glory of God:

"God made bodies and material things because when they are rightly seen and rightly used, God's glory is more fully known and displayed."

Our material world was made to shout of God's glory. Our bodies were made for that too.

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

~ Luke 19:40 

No need to get started on the extremes of environmentalism. I'm just talking about the very basics of minimising waste.

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

~ Colossians 1:16

Its not about being green.

Its about being good stewards of God's gifts.

09-08-12 (Thursday) “A Nation’s Unity”

I used to wonder why we keep talking about this love for our country. Cinta akan negara. Tanah tumpah darahku. All those stuff. Why do we sing our national anthem? We all just joked about it and made fun of our country in school as we read about the stories of this guy seeing a deer next to a river and “Samson-esque” stories. No feel leh…

Then, I went to Singapore to study. All these MTL and bilingualism stuff that they promote made me rethink my comments in the past about learning 3 different languages being silly. I started to appreciate it more.

Not long later… Australia. I start seeing the stark differences in culture. The difference mindsets on the concept of “respect”. The social “norms” that are taboos back home, e.g Smiling and saying “G’day!” to any adik, abang, cik and atuk you come across as you walk about. (Many more that needn’t be brought up.)

Suddenly, I’ve started to love my country more. There are so many things that we, as Malaysians, can lay claim to!
Best food in the world (Really, Singapore? Haha. Okla. Comparable la, ok?)
General public is AT LEAST bilingual.
A few week’s worth of public holidays EVERY year.
Uh… The rest is better left not said. Heehee…

It wasn’t because of the many stories in our Sejarah textbook.

It wasn’t the Kelas Sivik that happened in KN (or something like that. Didn’t go through it so dunno)

It wasn’t any of the fancy slogans or catchphrases.

It wasn’t even the random “bonuses” we get as GE gets closer.

More recently, it has probably been brought to everyone’s attention on the Internet how one person managed to unite the whole of Malaysia together. He wasn’t even trying to do it, even! He pushed himself to do his best to recover from his ankle injury, made it onto the long-awaited venue after 4 years, carrying the hope of the 27 million people in his home nation. He pushed his arch-rival to the very last point but unfortunately couldn’t lay his hand on victory. In the midst of his pain and disappointment, he tweeted, “I’m sorry.”

However, all the videos, pictures and other forms of tribute flying around the net showed how his apology was ill-placed. He had won every Malaysian heart, even winning some over from neighbouring countries!

This was one of the really rare moments that united Malaysians together. It was a thing of beauty. I imagined how every Malaysian glued to Astro/Foxtel/StarHub/NBC/BBC, holding their breath as each rally was played out. All shared in his pain as his opponent raced around the stadium while he slumped into a lump of dejection. Tears were definitely shed all around the globe as their national hero bared his emotions.

Yet, it was this sad moment that united Malaysians.

Dato’ Lee Chong Wei. Wira Malaysia.