Sunday, October 23, 2005
Listen to your heart - Roxette
The speaker at church today was drawing analogis from the sad events taking place in the world these past couple of weeks - the hurricanes (Katrina, Wilma, Jessica, Jesmin.... wateva) in the US and the earthquake in Asia.
This time round, Wilma did not take as many lives as Katrina did. Part of the reason - perhaps the main (?) - is that the people have learnt from Katrina. Before Katrina was unleashed, the people in New Orleans were warned about the situation and told to move. But many didn't. Many did not want to listen to the warnings. Many, instead, listened to their hearts.
So wat is wrong wif listening to your heart? Well, the Bible tells us that "...the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 19:9)
Of course I'm not trying to get up on a high horse and condemn all you useless people who listen to your hearts. I am guilty of the same. Wat makes it worse for me is that as a lawyer by profession, I am always able to argue out and make a good case on what my heart wants me to do. :-(
The point that the speaker wanted to make this morning was that when God gives us a warning, we better be listening - he used examples from Noah (where no one listened to the warnings of the flood), Lot (where his wife listened to the warnings but not all of it), Jonah (where the people of Nineveh all did listen, right up to the king of the land!).
Sure we would like to listen to our hearts but at times, we do swallow our pride to listen to others - like our doctors about our health, our mechanic about our car, our lawyers about our suits (well, in truth, clients dun really listen to their lawyers anymore, do they?), etc - as these people have the knowledge on things that we dun.
How bout God? His knowledge is infinite - he knows everything and is wisest of all. Why dun we listen to him???
I guess to us Christians, when God warns us about certain things, we better listen. It is ironic for me that it was during the 3rd week here (week three - sounds like "victory") that I was spiritually the lowest - yeah, listening too much to me heart instead of me mind. I'm fortunate that God is still patient wif me and will give me another chance.
To you who's not a believer, the warning of eternal punishment is clear. Ignore it at your own peril.
I remember one excellent episode of The X-Files about "stigmata" where Scully had her catholic faith severely tested. At the end of the episode, the priest tells her that perhaps God is trying to speak. Scully replies that she knows God is trying to speak - but her fear is reflected in the last words of the episode before the credits come out - "What if God is speaking but no one is listening?"
This time round, Wilma did not take as many lives as Katrina did. Part of the reason - perhaps the main (?) - is that the people have learnt from Katrina. Before Katrina was unleashed, the people in New Orleans were warned about the situation and told to move. But many didn't. Many did not want to listen to the warnings. Many, instead, listened to their hearts.
So wat is wrong wif listening to your heart? Well, the Bible tells us that "...the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 19:9)
Of course I'm not trying to get up on a high horse and condemn all you useless people who listen to your hearts. I am guilty of the same. Wat makes it worse for me is that as a lawyer by profession, I am always able to argue out and make a good case on what my heart wants me to do. :-(
The point that the speaker wanted to make this morning was that when God gives us a warning, we better be listening - he used examples from Noah (where no one listened to the warnings of the flood), Lot (where his wife listened to the warnings but not all of it), Jonah (where the people of Nineveh all did listen, right up to the king of the land!).
Sure we would like to listen to our hearts but at times, we do swallow our pride to listen to others - like our doctors about our health, our mechanic about our car, our lawyers about our suits (well, in truth, clients dun really listen to their lawyers anymore, do they?), etc - as these people have the knowledge on things that we dun.
How bout God? His knowledge is infinite - he knows everything and is wisest of all. Why dun we listen to him???
I guess to us Christians, when God warns us about certain things, we better listen. It is ironic for me that it was during the 3rd week here (week three - sounds like "victory") that I was spiritually the lowest - yeah, listening too much to me heart instead of me mind. I'm fortunate that God is still patient wif me and will give me another chance.
To you who's not a believer, the warning of eternal punishment is clear. Ignore it at your own peril.
I remember one excellent episode of The X-Files about "stigmata" where Scully had her catholic faith severely tested. At the end of the episode, the priest tells her that perhaps God is trying to speak. Scully replies that she knows God is trying to speak - but her fear is reflected in the last words of the episode before the credits come out - "What if God is speaking but no one is listening?"
# posted by imissw : 5:47:00 pm
