Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The RAT race

The other day in church, both Adrian and myself went to the cafeteria during service for some food. Me, the pregnant one was hungry. At the cafeteria we met up with uncle SK and had a great conversation.

It started with a few exchanges of pleasantries and somehow ended with Uncle SK wanting to know why we young adults are tired. He started with his theory which got us pondering. Is it because we (the young adults and adults) are being sucked into a big big lie?

What lie?

The lie of the pursuit of success.

The whole world apparently it seems; is being sucked into the economic cycle...... having to be successful, earn more money, better life for ourselves and our children etc. etc. that people are just being drained chasing after it.

Well, there is more to that conversation after that but somehow, something in what he said hit me as being the truth.

It is the RAT race!!!!!! It gives you a little more along the way but you always find that it is not worth it or that little that you amass only manages to keep you in the surviving mode.

I don't know much but I do know that I am in the RAT race. And from my teeny weeny little perspective, the more we try to get out of the RAT race by trying to look at other economic opportunities, the more we get sucked into it.

But then, aren't we suppose to work for success? If we as young adults do not work hard and move with the economic demands of the world, how then are we and our children going to survive? How would we be able to afford to send our kids to school? Are we then digressing rather than progressing?

Along the conversation, I realise the issue is not about surviving. The issue is about our priorities. Are we now so blinded by the patterns of the world and the chasing after the things of the world that we are unable to place our lives in the hands of our God? In chasing after the patterns of the world, we have in fact placed our faith in our own hands and that of the world economy.

What struck a chord in me is when Uncle SK asked us if our God, a loving God would forsake us and not take care of our needs and our children's needs? For me, I suppose not. The bible says so. But how am I ever going to find out if I don't start putting my life into His hands? And most importantly, am I willing to take the plunge of journey in faith?

It is a simple decision. To continue on the RAT race which is a never ending pursuit or to journey with our God which in the bible promises life and life abundantly. Yet, as simple as it is, it is one that takes courage and commitment. Nevertheless, it is a decision that has to be made.

1 comment:

Kay said...

My spirit leaps reading what you shared about the RAT race!

I've often thought about how true it is when the bible says the spirit of this age has blinded.....really blinded to such an extent that...

what should be plain obvious to us as 'non-sense' has become part and parcle of our values, entangling and strangling us in the process!

And if i could share what i've found to be a simple yet powerful principle to live by (in order to counter the 'blinding spirit') it is "Whatever you feed GROWS: whatever you starve, DIES"

THe world is determined and ever-ready to feed us but we need to decide what we're feeding on and if there are bits, or rather chunks of the world we need to starve from!!