Culture - Conviction

"He told me. why not give $300 to the children?"
- Gerald

A whole new Chapter of my life is about to begin, a chapter called Army. Yes Army, the mandatory assignment given to every healthy Boy since the day they were born, the very fabric of our Singaporean Men's culture for "A Boy who has never been through Army will never be a Men" and the very motivational tool Parents use to scare their children into studying hard with lines such as "Ah Boy ah! you must study hard ah! if not go army you suffer!" and " I tell you! study hard! if not this year you go Army!"

Most young men view National Service as a Chore rather than a mission, and they have every right to do so, for they never signed a contract with the government agreeing to give 2 precious years of their lives to be treated like drones and earn a basic salary, where in these 2 years they could be more productive by either working or studying in University, but against their will, they signed this lucrative contract the day they were born.

For Me personally, I view Army, like the typical Singaporean Men, as a Drag. But thinking about it, Army might not be so bad. I mean which guy in the right mind had never dreamed about holding a M16(or saw 21) and chionging in the battlefield defending the country they love, making friends with people of different beliefs and culture, feeling the adrenaline of holding a hand grenade and flinging it half way across the field or even just sitting down at a coffee shop 20 years after they ORD to debate and compare about how "shiong"(tough) their Army lives were, yeah Army is only as bad as the way you view it, if you view it in a negative perspective, then Army shall be the worst days of your life, but viewing it in a positive light shall make the 2 years a lot more bearable and meaningful, I learnt this from Alvin :)

But being a Christian, I should view Army as neither a Negative nor a Positive view, rather I should view Army in a God's point of view. Pastor once preached that in order to have spiritual maturity, we must first elevate our senses to that of God's perspective. So what is God's perspective about Army? well I think God views Army as a proving ground for all Christians, for in Army you are not sheltered from the carnal and worldly things but rather the opposite, they are thrown in your face at full throttle. In Army, there's going to be people who will speak vulgarities, act obnoxiously and persecute you, and the worst thing is, in Army, you are far far away from your comfort zone, Church. God views Army as a proving ground as in Army, the culture inside of you will be tested, will you be tempted to speak vulgarities when others do it? will you deny your faith in God when you are persecuted?

These are all God's way of testing your faith, but more than that, it is God's way of moving you from culture to conviction, from dependancy to independance, God will never give you a Test you cannot Handle so it is up to you to rise up in faith and fly above the storm.

"Others Can, I Cannot"
- Charleston

2 Corinthians 4:8-10
"We are Hard Pressed on every side, but nt crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destryed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, s that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

Isaiah 40:30-31
"Even youths shall faint and be weary,
And young Men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings likes eagles;
They shall run and not be weary;
They shall walk and not faint"

Love,
Henry