Thursday, March 15, 2007

The Invasion of the Locusts

“Tell it to your children,

And let your children tell it to their children,

And their children to the next generation”

Children’s rhyme overheard in a Malaysian padang*.

Original text from Joel 1:2.


Hi everyone! When I heard theses lines above being sung as a child’s entertainment in the neighborhood padang*, I was taken aback. Besides these lines being straight out of the Bible, the original tone was not a light one, but one of warning and judgment from God for Israel’s failure to heed His calls as a nation. What a reversal, agree?


It got me thinking, what are we, as Christians, doing that might invite God’s judgment upon us? Any ideas people? Our pursuit after material things without a thought of God being in the picture, our condescending attitude towards the people around us, how we pigeonhole God and Hid word into the smallest corner of our lives, our sectioning off our hearts and our souls so that some part of it can be UN-yielded to Jesus?


Well we may or may not have our own views on the above. Still the second thought that crossed my mind was how we think so little (literally!) of our country and how little we remember it in prayer. We gripe and complain about the everything from the education system to the road conditions. Have we been praying about these things? Have we been praying and upholding our leaders? We need to pray against powers and principalities of darkness in this land, amen?


*padang = playground

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen! I feel the shame that i neither pray to against the darkness of this land nor our leaders as well...haiz But i'll start of praying to that.

Anonymous said...

betul! I still rmbr the call to stay in Malaysia, in en.zyme. And little by litte, honestly, the heart to proudly say, "Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku" begins to disappear... gradually, especially after seeing so many probs in the country, esp 'fanaticism' and racism, not to mention the mentality of some of our leaders...

Yet i failed to pray consistently for the country that God placed us in, OUR country, MY country...

"Akan ku rindu, akan kemuliaanMu,
Akan ku rindu, melihat curahan kuasaMu,
Di tanah tercinta, negara Malaysia,
Ku berdoa Malaysia, penuh kemuliaanMu,
Malaysia, bagi kemuliaanMu"

Anonymous said...

Hi AKMJ & the rest,

i sang that song recently too and yeah, i long to see God's power and honour in MY country Malaysia. But i have to say that i have been guilty for not praying too. Today, i will do something. I wouldn want the calamity of the 'locusts' to come upon MY beloved country and i would like to tell my children, and my children's children... of God's goodness and power seen in OUR country.

Just sad to see that many Malaysian Christians choose to run-away from Malaysia and migrate overseas just because they are not satisfied with the so-called system. What's the point of being Christian and running away to comfort zones? sigh...

my 2-cents worth.

J

Anonymous said...

J,
To be very honest with u,i am not very confident that i would choose to stay had i had the opportunities to leave this country...

Anonymous said...

If everyone choose to leave, then there's no hope for Malaysia isnt it?

I feel sad. I understand the good things offered in other countries. Although i feel that I couldnt make much difference even if I stay in Malaysia, I still choose to stay, because i know that this is where my heart beats for.

No offence ya

cl

Anonymous said...

i remember
"watered down Christianity" being
the phrase used to
describe Malaysian-esque christianity,
Christ has become no more radical
than the teh tarik
or the pagoda groundnut
i hope He doesn't allow it
too long
I wish I wish I wish He would show us what it really means to be Christian

uk

Anonymous said...

Hi uk,

Hmm....the phrase 'I hope He doesn't allow it too long' scares me! Cos that's what God didn't allow with Israel when He warned them in the book of Joel.

I think God HAS shown us examples of what it means to be a Malaysian Christian. I see it in the people who have 'migrated' to a smaller and more 'ulu' towns. There to 'suffer' the lack of cineplexes, big malls, lucrative jobs.

This is what came to mind when I think about what might invite God's wrath. He gave us the small towns to be born in, provided closely knit communities to support our growing up, and we return all that by saying how could ANYONE expect us to return and live in these small towns.

A question mark in this area of life for many of us.

Anonymous said...

everyone esp uk,

my heart still beats for my country... OUR country... May HIS voice be louder than our own voices... May eternity be more important than this temporary home...


akmj

Anonymous said...

hi all,

this is cool. fun reading ppl responding and replying.

heard some statictics the other day regaring ppl migrating to Australia from Malaysia and the highest percentage of them were Christians. I was like !@#$%^&(. So sad to see Christians running away and abandoning the place God has placed them for so called 'greener pastures' on the other side. :P

Encouragement though, is to see friends of mine going into small towns, going into small schools, going places in Malaysia and at least trying to make a difference as a Christian there.

and i agree with u AKMJ, we need to see M'sia as OUR country. That's the only solution. if not, its just gonna be a repeated cycle again.

It's time for us to be Christians wherever we are and Malaysia is a place that really really needs it.

a call not easy to follow. But a call so worth it.

"will u take up the cross, deny the world, and follow me?"

i will Lord. I will try Lord. Help me!


J

Anonymous said...

hi akmj

yup, well, vice versa, this line of yours struck me: There to 'suffer' the lack of cineplexes, big malls, lucrative jobs.

i think we're just asking "whats in it for ME?" these days. Out with the values of self-sacrifice and/or selfless giving, in with the values of personal gain and recreating our personal heaven on earth. I guess self-preservation and individualism have been mish-mashed into an indistinguishable drive for luxury at all costs.

Still, I find it hard to give an answer when ppl ask me "Doesn't God WANT me to be blessed? And blessing
should include financial providence, right?"

OR, "Why move into a small town and accomplish so little there, when you are capable of so much more in an urban setting? Wouldn't the small town move be a waste/poor stewarding of God's resources?"

After a while...i just nod my head and give a noncommittal "mm-hmm, i see your point ...". sigh.

Howsit then?

anyway, akmj n J, yeah, we gotta start seeing Msia as OUR country. then got meaning, hor? =)

uk

Anonymous said...

hor!!!

J

Anonymous said...

"i will Lord. I will try Lord. Help me!"

J: that's my prayer :)

hor! yalor!