Art Thou Reckless?

Nowadays, I see more and more people driving at high speeds, especially on the highway (North-South highway, LEKAS highway (some of the many highways in Malaysia), doesn't matter. You get Formula-1 wannabes). The speed limit is 90 Km/h or 110 Km/h, depending on which highway one is using, but these people seem to be going much faster than the speed limit. Sometimes, you get drivers who cut across from the left lane, right to the centre lane and to the right lane - almost in one motion, as if they are doing "sapu jalan tepi ke tepi" (driving the car as if sweeping the road sideways, in case you do not know the Malay language).

Why do people need to do such dangerous things on the road? Perhaps they are in a hurry; perhaps they want to show how canggih or sporty their vehicle is; perhaps they are suffering from acute diarrhoea and they need to get to the toilet quickly before they explode in their pants;  or perhaps some people have become more impatient, possibly due to the impact technology has on our lives and being quick, being fast seems a necessity.

When we are reckless on the road, accidents could happen. This picture I took while going to Jelebu to celebrate Mass at St. Augustine, a village church at Titi, is of a badly-damaged vehicle. This is a chilling example of what could happen.

Accidents could also happen to our souls, especially if we are reckless in the way we live. If we commit sins and refuse to be regular in our confession, then we could be reckless in our relationship with God. We do not know when we are going to "balik kampung" (depart from this world). Let us not wait until it is too late... Rather, let us strive to be closer to God and "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbour as yourself."

Let There Be Peace on Earth

How often do we get news about peace these days? More often than not, we get news through different media containing matters about conflicts, wars, murders, rape, torture, violence, terrorism and other similar negative news. Seeing how such news is being rampantly distributed, how can we as Christians make a difference? Can I make a difference, even if it seems to be a small and insignificant part, in efforts to bring about true peace?

To us, it may seem impossible. We may feel as if we are too few, too small or too weak to make a difference. But to God, everything is possible. We must believe that we can make a difference, and that we must start somewhere. It may be a small step, but it is still a step, and if we believe that we can make a difference, then there is hope.

To make a difference, to bring about peace, we need to look at two foundational and crucial aspects that help in the peace process. The two are love and forgiveness. True peace must be rooted with genuine, unconditional love for all, because it is only in love that we can reach out to others who are so different from us and accept them for who they are. Love breaks down the barriers of race and language that are put up by our prejudices. With love, true peace can be present even in the midst of our troubles and problems. True peace must also be rooted in forgiveness. Some people think that forgiving others is a sign of weakness. Some people think that to be strong, one needs to take revenge or put another person down. But true peace requires that we show our strength by taking courage to forgive others. Forgiveness is also about a healing of your hurts as well as a healing for those who have hurt you. Forgiveness sets us free and allows us to be at peace with ourselves and with others.

Today, let us be peacemakers in whatever way we can. Let us do our part in bringing about peace, regardless of how small or insignificant the part may seem. With a little effort, decision and commitment, we can and will make this world a better and more peaceful place to live in.

Where is the love?

Every once in a while, I come across people who are genuine in their love towards all. Doesn't matter whether the other is a friend, unfriend, good, bad, enemy, rival, associate, spouse, in-law, out-law, etc., these folks love not just by words but also by their actions. You can see love emitting from them without pretense and without condition.

Unfortunately, as we progress in our physical development, some of us may be lacking or falling behind in our spiritual development. As a consequence, love to us becomes merely a word. The meaning gets lost in translation. We focus on ourselves, on our happiness, on our growth, and while doing so, we may begin to treat others as an object, as a means to fulfil our objectives. Our friends are perhaps not true friends, but people who we deem are useful or helpful to us.

Have some of us become so self-centered and conceited? Look at our society today, how many of us can genuinely say that we love our neighbour and in doing so, love God? Some may think that neighbour merely means the people next door, but Jesus reminds us in Matthew 5:43-48:

"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Where is the love in our lives today? Has love become conditional? God loves us unconditionally, dying on the cross to save all of us. Are we willing to put aside our prejudices, our self-preservation, our pride, our ego, etc. and let God's love shine through us? A hymn titled "God is Love" comes to mind: "But only when we love all men (women included), can we partake of God's love." Do we mean what we sing? Let us take heed and change our lives, so that "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our love."

To love 愛 or to love 爱; That is the Question

If one looks closely at the Chinese character for 'love', one can discover some interesting things.

In traditional Chinese, people write this character as "愛." Now it is simplified to "爱."

The parts of "爫" and "夂" in the traditional Chinese both mean actions. "爫" or "爪" is a chinese radical meaning claw, nail, or talon, similar to grabbing or holding. "夂" is a chinese radical meaning "to walk slowly."

"心" means heart.

So the Traditional Chinese character "爱" means to love people through your actions and with your heart.

In the Simplified Chinese character "爱", the upper part of the word 'love' is the same as the Traditional Chinese. However, the lower part of the Traditional "夂" character is replaced with the character "友" which means "friend." Moreover, the "心" character is missing.

This has some implications to the meaning of the word 'love,' as the Simplified character "爱" now means to love people as merely friends through your actions.

When we love others, do we love them through our actions and with our heart? Or has our love become merely a 'friendly,' heartless love?