Leonard's space

This must have been another black mark on football. The match between France and the Reublic of Ireland was crucial in that it was a playoff to decide which of the two countries would go to the World Cup in 2010. Ireland had played impressively and scored in the first half. France was now desperate. All that it needed was a draw to go through having won the first leg 1-0. As the ball was headed towards the Irish goal mouth, the unthinkable happened. Thiery Henry instinctively stretched out his left hand to stop the ball and then kicking it, only to allow his teammate Galas to head it in. The same scene must have been replayed millions of times over the U Tube, and watched by millions all over the world.

Thiery, being the "gentleman" as he was, admitted after the match that he did handle the ball but he did not do it on purpose. That is the catch or the "escape clause". "I stole, but I did'nt do it on purpose". "I sinned but I did not do it on purpose?"

Why was David described by God as a man after His own heart? Obviously, David did things much worse than just stretching his left hand. He actually used his hand to murder. Here is the difference- David readily confessed and repented. That's the difference.

Would matters have been different if Thiery had quickly run to the referee to tell him he had handled the ball? After all "he didn't do it on purpose." If he had, the whole world and even his fellow French citizens would have been proud of him. Every one would have saluted him. I would vote him as the the best football gentleman and ambassador. Even if France failed to qualify for the World Cup, every French citizen would be able to walk tall. I remember an incident some years ago when Michael Owen ran to the referree to tell him his decision was wrong even though it was decided in his favour. See?

How should I conduct myself as a Christian? Would wearing a wrist band "What would Jesus do" keep me from doing the wrong things "not on purpose?" In the first place, I just wonder if there is really such things as "I sinned but I didn't do it on purpose." The closest to this is probably Adam blaming Eve for offering the fruit to him.

This is the paradox of life. When it is hot and dry, we want rain, when it rains cats and dogs, we want dry weather. Looking out of my bedroom window towards the open field, I see water everywhere. The whole field is almost flooded. I bet a lot of the fish in my ponds would foolishly drift into the flood waters.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to go for my handicap test. I haven't been submitting score cards for ages and I don't have a handicap now. What if I am invited to play at Royal Johor? Tell them I am a pro? After all, I had once demonstrated to Lee Nan Sing and Christopher Lee how to swing the golf club while they were shooting the series "The Scorpio". That was more than 10 years ago. Being a casual golfer - normally playing just 4 or 5 holes each time, I have to stay fit for my test tomorrow. And with the ground being so wet, better don't wear anything light. The ball is not going to run. I have to overclub all the time. Can't be too ambitious-just go for 3 ons and 2 putts on all par 4 holes.

We are going through this book that teaches us about teamwork and leadership. This morning we covered Chapter 6 that speaks about being a catalyst, and Michael Jordan was singled out as a fine example - of someone who demonstrates intuitiveness, initiatives, etc etc. As I put this mirror in front of me, I asked myself, are catalysts made or are they born? Am I the sort who has the drive, the thrust and the zeal? And the chapter tells it like it is - if you don't have it, how can you give? I tried to look for a Michael Jordan in Church and I think I found one. Well, Albert embarked on the Praise Exercise 3 years ago. Now, it has not only spread to various districts in JB, but to so many parts in Malaysia. Every weekday morning, thousands of people (many of them non Christians) throng to their respective grounds to stretch and jump as songs taken from the Bible verses are played over loud speakers. Knowing that the the last exercise is taken from the Lord's Prayer, some scoot off early. But our leaders are smarter - they do the Lord's Prayer in the early part. Ha ha, no running away. Amen , Amen. I believe Albert realised that it was not his efforts alone, but God who has taken delight in what he was doing and moved amongst the people. Hallelujah. As I teach in College, I like to look at myself in that light too. But how do my students perceive me? How do they know that I am not there for the money but just trying to make a difference in their lives? Of the few who are indifferent, what must I do to motivate them, other than telling them each time to "Jia you."

 

My mother passed away 14 years ago. Two weeks before her death, she was admitted to Alexandra Hospital for breathing difficulties. On the day of her admission, she struggled for breath and the doctors had no choice but to cut open her throat and inserted the breathing apparatus. Hence forth, her breathing was no longer her own effort but that of the machine. She had endured so much hardship raising 11 children and then the Japanese War, but this must be her most difficult moments. With her vocal cord cut, she was unable to speak. And because she had never gone to school, she couldn't write what was on her mind.

Dad passed away peacefully at home a few days after her admission. We kept it from her until after the funeral. The family gathered together to discuss how to break the news to her. Finally, it was decided that Fei Lin and I would talk to her. Fei Lin did a great job. She told her that dad had been taken to Heaven. There was a lot of church members who came to give us comfort etc. Mum understood and she was pleased.

One day, she started gesturing with her fingers drawing circles in the air. But we didn't know what she wanted. We sent for the maid, and immediately she could tell that mum wanted to eat preserved Assam shaped in circles. When we asked her if this was what she asked for, she knodded. We then assured her that as soon as the tube was removed, we would give that to her. Each day, we saw her getting weaker. She died in the early hours. I was the last one to see her the night before. I kissed her on the cheek before I left.

Indeed there are lessons that I have learned from the this episode. Breathing is so easy if we are healthy. But when our lungs failed, to catch a breath is a luxury. How I have taken so many things for granted. The Bible says "Give Thanks" regardless of the circumstances. In everything give thanks. Live like today could be my last. Then I would really appreciate all that God has blessed me with, and the people around me. Secondly, never had I imagined that just to communicate to your loved ones that she wanted preserved Assam could be such a struggle. Aren't these simple things in life? Shouldn't I be grateful that I could talk and I could write? So why get upset and uptight with minor irritations? I get upset when young people passed me by in church as though I was transparent. Not that I wanted them to bow to me, but a simple "Hello" would have been wonderful. But now I must be thankful that there are young people in church. Appreciate the flowers, the trees and the air. when people are dead, we sent flowers and spoke of all the good things, respectfully. We shake the hands and hug the bereaved family members to comfort them. Question is why wait till the funeral? Is this so difficult to tell my wife that I love her? Is this so difficult to buy her little gifts to let her know how much I appreciate her? Is this so difficult to show more care and love for others? Teach me Lord to cherish everyone in the family, and all my friends.

  

I am not sure if I can call this month an eventful one. But let me highlight some of the interesting events in October.

First, of course everyone in the Cheng Family rejoiced over the wedding of Albert's daughter to a respectable Navy Gentleman (Thank God not the Malaysian Navy). Joy flew back for the occasion and everything went smoothly.

And an interesting FGA Elder from KL (Elder Wong Ah Chiew) came to speak in our Church. I had the pleasure of interpreting for him. The theme of his sermon was taken from Col 3:22 to 24. He was such a hilarious speaker I lost control of myself as I was giggling in the pulpit. This is a just one of his stories. A man found his refrigerator had broken down. So he summoned a repairman to his house. As the man would not be home, he told the tradesman that the key was in th shoe in the show rack. He was to enter the house with the key and after the repair, he would have to lock the door and put back the key to its original position. However, he told the tradesman that there was a huge black dog in the house, the dog would not harm him as long as he just did what he had to do. Also, there was a talking parrot hanging from the ceiling. He was told to ignore whatever the parrot said. So came the tradesman. In the midst of repairing the refrigerator, the parrot bean to speak, and it provoked and irritated him, so much so, he began to talk back and scolded the parrot. In return, the parrot told the dog to get rid of him. The moral of the story is this: that if you allow the devil's lies to affect you, you will eventually be the devil's victim. Do your work faithfully, stay focused, and do what you have to do.

Of course I must congratulate the tainted politician who garnered such a large number of votes in the recent by-election. Hooray, you have won. I have yet to grapple with the reality in Malaysian politics. Never mind that you may be the most corrupt man, but people will still vote for you. Well done you voters. And my sincere apology for not being able to understand your mindset and your blind loyalty. Your votes showed that we are still living in the 20th century. Neighbours laugh at us, but who cares. Right? 

Then of course, this must be another ludicrous event. The MCA EGM was called, among other things,  to vote on a "No Confidence" vote on the present president. Sorry, his name is not even worthy enough to be mentioned in my blog. After the voting, the "No Confidence" vote was carried, and the audacity of the man - he refused to step down although he had promised earlier that he would do so if the majority did not have faith in him. Hallo, are you sure you are Chinese? If so, why no shame? So this is the sort of politicians we see everywhere here. In fact if you pick up a stone to throw anywhere, you are bound to hit a dishonourable politician.   

Wonderful October. The Germans have had their Oktoberfest, so have we.

On learning that some of my students flunked their Law paper, I volunteered to tutor them although I am no lawyer. But a number of High Court litigation cases that I attended in the past had sharpened my knowledge - so much so that I thought I could teach law better than some of these law lecturers. My advantage lies in my ability to explain in Chinese and an ability to give specific examples of some of the cases that I personally went through.

One of the subjects that I taught was "Misrepresentations". One has to determine if it is a statement of opinion or a statement of facts. So a statement of opinion cannot be a statement of facts, and vice versa.

But someone in the corridors of power has given new meanings to old words. Since he is a man of high standing in the country, I am considering calling the students to tell them that I have been teaching them the wrong things.

As a matter of principle, I don't buy the English dailies as I am of the opinion that they are not fair in their reporting. But I do get to read the tabloid news because "the Sun" is free. On page 4, it was reported that this man said the man who was found guilty of money politics three years ago should be given a second chance. Therefore voters should vote for him. He went on to say that although he was found guilty of money politics by his own party, and suspended for six years (later reduced to three years on appeal), he was never charged in Court and therefore his guilt was a "technicality". Now I realised that I was wrong - that although it was a fact that he was corrupted, he was technically "not corrupted". So does it mean that a statement of facts has now become a statement of opinion? I think that's what it is tentamount to. So supposing that Ah Beng has been stealing money from his family members for the past 22 years, but his family did not have the heart to bring him to the police. Nevertheless, they had a conference, and they decided that Ah Beng would have to be punished by not receiving any pocket money for the next three years. After the three years was up, Ah Beng is now no longer a thief because he has been "punished." After all, his theft was just a technicality because he has never been convicted in the court of law.

The above shows I still don't understand politics. But as the saying goes- "Ignorance is bliss."