#109a The simple life(2oct06)

Dear….

‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..’
Hebrews 11:1
Life then was simpler. Today, the prevalent perception of a simple life is that of Paris Hilton and her sidekick Nicole, coming down from the pedestal of high-end consumerism, but still suitably attired with her plethora of blings and jingles, to mix with the common people.

‘Now it came to pass in the seventh month, ..…..the seed royal, and the princes of the king….did eat bread together in Mizpah.’
Jeremiah 41:1

Just last Friday night, as it was the eighth month of the lunar calendar, my neighbors and us gathered for a mooncake festival potluck. It was truly reminiscence of my kampong days, when neighbours gathered together, under the starry light of the full moon, sipping tea and savories and children make lanterns out of the pomelo rind.

Of course, then we had the resident rats scurrying for cover, to avoid the pitter patter of so many human feet. Today, the rats are replaced by the pet dogs.
The moon still remained its same self, but of course its reflection falls upon the alluring waters of the swimming pool, in the past, it had to settle for the nearest puddle of muddy water.

‘That the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk and the thing that we may do’
Jeremiah 42:3

Up to even the time when the Americans first put a man on the moon, the aura of the heavenly bodies still had a place in the folklore of us common folks.
Most of us are familiar with the story of Chang-E, the lady on the moon. Just last Friday morning, on the way to school, my son, Andre with all seriousness, gave me his updated version of the legend. It was close to what I heard when I was his age, the only thing of significance missing was the jade rabbit.

Maybe, the hungry American astronauts, tired of eating pre-packaged food, ate the rabbit and conveniently amended the story of Chang-E to cover up their follies.
Of course, we were simpler folks then. In the 1960s, where education came less from the rigid and stifling classroom, and more from the idyllic lifestyle of roaming the derelict houses in the neighborhood, flying kites and smashing marbles, not forgetting the biological lessons culled from observing the many spider fights..

We truly believed our parents(just as they did theirs) when they warned us about the risk to life and limb of pointing at the moon with our scrubby fingers.
Someone residing up there in the Moon will not like it and we could lose our ear that very same night, when he (Wu Gang, the woodcutter on the moon) or she(Chang’e) descend from the heavenly body to do a surgical incision on us. And as an affirmation of their words, our parents often pointed to the gentleman in our kampong, who happened to truly have a large part of one ear missing.

Our better educated Western counterparts then might think that this misguided beliefs do reflect our backwardness as a society then, but of course the educated them do have their tooth fairies and Santa Clauses to regale their kids with.

‘Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it that ye do not discern this time?’
Luke 12:56

Man today is in a different league from even a couple of generations back. We have made great strides in science and technology.
The world today is not just more globalized and intertwined, but literally, men are coming closer to being able to play ‘God,’ be it in the lifesciences, the internet or in weapons of mass destruction.

‘For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the Lord your God, saying “pray for us to the Lord our God, and according to all that the Lord your God say, so declare to us and we will do it’
Jeremiah 42:20

‘And now I have this day declared it to you; but, “ye have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God……’
Jeremiah 42:21

‘He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord….’
Psalm 24:4-5