Dear Brethren,
10 seconds of Fame…
Last Sunday I received several messages to tell me that I appeared on TV news in Channel 8 and Channel News Asia (CNA). Many were excited and surprised to see me and hear my voice in TV. Some joking said that I became an overnight star and am now a famous person. Even my mother who saw the Chinese news was so excited that she called my father who happened to step out of the house to come to the TV quickly to see me.
It was as though unknown person has burst into fame suddenly but alas it was only a 10 seconds appearance of my comments about continuing education in the polytechnics. I was actually been interviewed and filmed for 30 minutes by CNA and for all the effort, it was only 10 seconds of appearance in the TV news.
As I reflect my “10 seconds of fame”, this Bible verse came into my mind :
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.” 1 Peter 1:24
Any fame and success and achievements in this world are like flowers. We can glory in it. We can boast of it. All others around us can praise us for it. But remember the glory of man is only a “10 seconds fame” just like a flower which will quickly fade away in no time. Are you pursing earthly success and glory? You work hard for yourself to succeed in studies and career. You labour day and night for it. You want to get your fame. Listen to what the wisest man Solomon has to say which is recorded in the Bible for our instruction :
“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do:
and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 2:11
What is Success?
If you ask a tree, success is to be the tallest tree.
If you ask an animal, success is to be called the king of the animal kingdom
If you ask a student, success is to score all As
If you ask a worker, success is to earn lots of money
If you ask a Christian, success is…
Can you fill the blank? What is your answer?
May God grant that we know that success for a Christian is really to be faithful to God’s calling in our lives. A successful life in the sight of God is always a blessed and happy life. This brings me to share the tragic story published in the Straits Times last Tuesday.
Young American CEO’s Death
A young American CEO Ms Radtke, 28, was found dead outside her apartment block in Singapore apparently due to suicide. She was a former Silicon Valley whiz-kid and moved to Singapore in 2011 to be the chief executive of First Meta, a locally based virtual currency exchange platform. Unfortunately the company did not take off and Ms Radtke was stressed over money matters and the magnitude of her work that she became depressed and suicidal.
What are you chasing after? Do not forget that the world’s success and glory is only a “10 seconds fame”. Rather, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36, 37
Elder John Leong
