From the rich to the poor, the disparity between the two is massive and so prevalent even in such a developed country as Singapore. Being an ignorant Singaporean, God used these examples to open my eyes and think carefully about how I viewed money, and which did I actually serve.
Visiting a mega-church and the huge crowds worshipping in a well-constructed hall with air-condition, high ceiling and with every high technology available today, the experience was definitely impressive and ‘awesome’. The atmosphere boomed with excellence and the timing of the whole service was perfect. The passion that the worshippers have for God was very much felt and one can only be moved by their outward praise. However, the message seemed so swayed towards ‘the self’, that blessings only come in material and physical form, making the whole building seem to the embodiment of this message.
Within the same week, we visited HealthServe and Onesimus Garden. From the humble exterior, one will not even take a second glance. These places never got headlines, never won any architectural design awards, yet after visiting these places, they embodied different riches that we cannot see.
As a somewhat semi-fresh graduate, I have realised a subconscious belief that how much money I could earn would equivalent to how stable and happy I would be. Having not entered the working world yet, I can only imagine this thought taking deeper roots in my heart if I do not ‘weed’ it out when it is still just a shoot. But this isn’t the only thing that I felt God was speaking to me this week.
Going to the Onesimus Garden was something I was not exactly looking forward to, due to being a sucker for outdoor and physical activities. However, God knew and He prepared a way to change my pampered mindset. Pastor Andrew Choo and his wife humbly welcomed us into the farm and began animatingly telling us how and why they started this farm. I loved how they used the weeding analogy to help ex-convicts during their therapy; it felt like a parable coming to life. After that, we went down to the real weeding and I just wanted to get my hands dirty, and I did. As everyone worked and reminded each other to think about all the weeds in our lives, I caught myself genuinely doing it and I knew that it could only have been God who placed all the thoughts I had at that time in my heart.
It wasn’t just money or a stable income, it was all the material comfort I craved, the ‘control’ I had over my own life and the fact that I have yet to surrender so many things that I held onto as my identity, more than being a child of God.
Now that I am at a strange point in my life, I would like to challenge myself to be more rooted in God’s word, focus more on what is around me and to let the ‘weeding’ process begin.
Marie Toh
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