Ponder this.
I once knew a person, now let's call her Jamie, for convenience's sake. (Jamie's of the world, don't be offended yeah, I'm just picking a name out of thin air…) Jamie was born, pretty privileged… and she was a good, good kid, I supposed. Loving parents, who promised her wonderful things at each point of time in her life. They allowed her to make requests where they could afford to fulfill her requests, they would provide for it. The mantra in the family was, 'That all you need to do is ask, and you shall receive.'
Of course, as like all normal families, Jamie's parents did set particular rules for her to have her 'wishes' granted per se. She had to be right with herself. She mustn't have done anything wrong. And she had to understand that if she made mistakes, big mistakes, small ones, never mind them, as long as she made mistakes, her parents had the right to punish her for the mistakes. And sometimes, the punishment came in the form of unrequited requests.
In the entirety of her life, Jamie was brought up with very simple rules as a living guideline. Her parents made these rules the cornerstone of her life with them, and they set up occasional goals for her to achieve in her entire life. For instance, during the UPSR, her parents said, 'If you scored straight As, I will give you a trip to the USA.'
For the PMR, her parents said, 'I WILL give you a trip to Europe if you score straight As during the PMR.'
There were many other conditional set-ups like this in Jamie's life, but none-so-more enticing than the most coveted triumph prize. 'Jamie, when you reach your 30th birthday, I WILL GIVE YOU OWNERSHIP OF MY COMPANY. YOU WILL SIT BESIDE ME AND GOVERN THE COMPANY TOGETHER,' said the father.
You see, Jamie's father was rich, he was VERY RICH, and just like any other dad, he loved his daughter to bits. He wanted to leave everything to her, so from the very start, he promised her the gift of his company, his kingdom, an inheritance so precious. He told her from the very start, that for her entire life she was to be the good daughter and prove her worthiness… and when the time came, when the time was right, he would give the company to her.
Many many years passed, and Jamie was a great person, a wonderful daughter, in everyone's eyes. You see, her parent's methods of rules and regulations worked, to a certain extent. Our Jamie, lived by her parents rules for the entirety of her life… but she never did understand the reason why they loved her so much, she never did grasp the love that her dad had for her was that of a father's love. To her, that her father loved her was all shown in his promise to her since youth. Her obedience to her parent's requirements were important steps she had to fulfill in her duty as a good daughter, because she needed to prove herself WORTHY of such an important inheritance 30 years on.
The sad thing is, in all her 30 years, living with these conditional requirements turned Jamie into a rigid woman with an overzealous respect for regulated controls. Despite her wonderful temperament and her seeming respect for older people, our Jamie was incapable of holding a deep, loving conversation with her parents. And don't get me wrong, it wasn't that they were never around, her parents were always there… but everytime Jamie spoke to her parents, she would first start her conversations with, 'Dear Father, I just want to thank you for being such a great father… and I know you have great hopes in me. I know you are waiting for the day that I will take over the company, and I am working all my life to make sure I am qualified for that day… Thank you Dad, I love you… really, now Dad, will you give me another task so that I may perform to my best to please you… I want to make it right before you, so that YOu will see I'm qualified to inherit your gift.'
And her dad, and her mother, they always obliged… and things were wonderfully peaceful for 30, whole years.
In the year 2006, Jamie would turn 30 on the 20th of April (I'm just picking a date at random, this is a fictional story of course)). Days before the important day, the signing of the papers, she went to her father, a man so close to her, and yet so far away from her because of the seriousness of their father-child relationship. She knew the 30 years was coming to a close, and soon it would be time for her to confront her father and he would be obliged to grant her that promise he had made to her from birth (her mother told her that he promised the company to her from birth you see).
'Father, I love you. I know I'm almost 30, and I know that my entire life… I have worked very hard, to prove to you my worthiness. Dad, I just want you to know, that I love you very much… And that I gladly receive your gift from you, when the time comes. And I CANNOT WAIT till the time comes, because I will finally understand the full magnitude of this kingdom.'
The kingdom was marvellous, because her family was freaking rich, can?
Anyway, soon, her birthday arrived… and you'd think she'd be the heir already. Well, hardly. Apparently, Jamie's Mom, suddenly found out that she was pregnant again (accidents do happen), and Jamie's Dad, instead of giving the entire company to Jamie, called her into his room.
'My dear Jamie, Oh I love you so much. It is so wonderful that on this birthday, your mother comes to me to tell us that she's already 2 months expecting. This is such joyous news!'
'Yes, dad… well… its my birthday.'
'I KNOW… HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR GIRL… and I WANT YOU TO KNOW, that now we are expecting another sibling in our family after so many years, I will keep this gift I promise you for another few more years… and when the time comes, I will give it to both you and the baby, whether it is your brother or your sister, you will SHARE IT and REJOICE IN THIS GIFT that I HAVE LEFT for my children.'
You know what happened after that?
THIS JAMIE I KNOW, sat in front of her dad for a whole of five minutes, stared at him like a shocked bitch, and then stood up, glared at him, and screamed 'YOU LIED. YOU SAID YOUR KINGDOM WAS FOR ME. I SPENT MY ENTIRE LIFE FOLLOWING YOUR RULES. TELLING YOU I LOVE YOU… ALL FOR THIS, THIS LIE. INSTEAD OF GIVING ME THE COMPANY, YOU'RE ASKING ME TO SHARE IT? HEY! At least tell me earlier, would you? I'm YOUR DAUGHTER! I expected HEAVEN, and NOW YOU PUT ME IN HELL!'
She stormed out. And that was the last her parents ever saw of her.
You know I put this story in the spanking new category 'religion' for a reason. So ponder the reason.
November 13th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Sounds a bit like the Prodigal Son??!!
November 13th, 2006 at 5:57 pm
He should’ve told her earlier. How terrible.
November 13th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
From what i see, both of them are at fault. the father for raising a materialistic daughter and the daughter for being who she is right now.. the upbringing and the family values this family is almost non existence
November 13th, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Good post.
“Doing something because you want to GET something in return”
This is what I believe- that the christian faith stresses on the need of a RELATIONSHIP instead of religious rituals that out of a genuine relationship with your Creator, you respect Him anyway, you obey Him anyway because of LOVE….and it’s sad that our ONLY motive of becoming a believer (regardless of any beliefs) is to go to Heaven…full stop.
there’s gotta be more than that….
bless you,
alvin
November 13th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Hmmm reminds me of the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. (Matt20:1-16)
The Father could have replied “Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my kingdom? Should you be jealous because I am kind to your sibling?” (Paraphrase v15)
I guess the interesting context is on how we humans tend to think that we have done so ‘much’ and expect God to bless us ‘that’ much, whereas we look at our fellow brothers and sisters and think that they don’t deserve the same blessing because they have not done all the required ’services’. God ‘owes’ us the blessings.
But who are we to deserve the kingdom in the first place? God gives it to us by His grace in sending Christ and He responds even more to those who are humble and contrite in spirit, who lives by a loving relationship with the Father, not those who follow religiously, but those who know the heart of the Father.
And ultimately, when one does, that relationship compels that person to obey and love the Father.
Obedience comes with love, but not so the other way.
A plus point is that if we already knew that the kingdom is a marvellous one, shouldn’t we rejoice that someone we love is sharing it with us?
In a nut shell, trying to understand and measure God with the human yardstick is just plain impossible. But the Father gives and takes what He sees fit, but one thing to know that His love for us means always wanting the best for us, even if it means not giving or withholding what we think is good for us.
My 2 cents. God bless and keep writing!
November 13th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Alvin wins.
November 13th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Heaven is a lonely place if it’s not shared.
November 14th, 2006 at 12:56 am
My ponder - If this is about Christianity, I guess there r ppl who thinks like that and i dont blame them. Alot of ppl (evangelists,christians included) have that kind of mentality. When they ‘reach’ out to ppl, it is like they r selling tickets to Heaven. Being a christian, I did believe that b4 but after some much deep pondering, having that belief…well, it make our lives seem so pedestrian and meaningless. Who can tell us that there is a heaven for sure, right?
Like alvin said, it is a relationship - a loving relationship with God. N love does not just cover respect and obeying orders. We worship Him - meaning loving Him uncondtionally. Have faith in Him that eventhou His plans werent wat we expected from, trust Him that He knows what best for us eventually. I believe goin to Heaven is a small reward to that we live our life to the fullest n that we understand what is love really means.
If this is about other religions, i dun think we shud judge or criticize by ‘their book cover’. hehe.
November 14th, 2006 at 8:20 am
that’s how I feel too… loving our Father in Heaven is like loving our Earthly Dad. If we love our parents regardless of what they promise us, and we call that unconditional love, how can it be that we treat our Father in Heaven so… materialistically? This story was to illustrate how so many Christians have treated their path with Christ.
November 14th, 2006 at 8:59 am
If you were evil, you could easily be one of the story writers for South Park
November 14th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Minishorts,
A good attempt to paint a picture of how things are with many people. I didn’t realise you filed this under religion till reaching the end, but half-way through the post, it wasn’t hard to make the connection.
I guess this scenario can be applied not just in the relationship with God. Cause in our daily lives, we often do “things” for others and we do expect something in return - even if it was done for a loved one. Of course, a relationship with God and with other fellow humans is probably different…isn’t it?
gannu,
I can already imagine Cartman cursing @#%& for not getting his promised kingdom lol!
November 14th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Good post, this one!
November 14th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
What Suit Lin said, it’s the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. But I love how you wrote it.
Well done.
November 14th, 2006 at 5:58 pm
So because of jealousy and not wanting to share. This girl gave everything up? She could had stayed and have part of the kingdom than have nothing at all.
Pity…pity…
That’s not how life should be lived.
November 15th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
God says: If people want to follow me.They must be willing to give up their lives to follow me.
God says: Do not conform yourself to the standards of this world,but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.
God gives everyone freedom.But you have to be careful with what you choose. everyone has their own point of view,we can’t criticize or judge. everyone has their own religion,but we have to be alert and be open minded to accept a really good God that can really help you to go through your life difficuties.Of coz, God seems distant sometimes,you can’t feel the presence of God,you are in such a big trouble but God still seems distant,you will probably give up seeking God.But God, is always there for all of us, he is waiting for you to knock the door and it shall be opened to you, but you just walk pass the door, because you have lost your faith, and then, blame it all on God, people say you are amazing but why do you hide yourself when i am in such a big trouble,God?
Okay,I have gone a bit too far I should stop…
Remember: we have only one father,one mother, and we HAVE ONLY ONE GOD. I can assure you that there’s heaven and hell….
November 15th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
difficulties*