The Great Exchange

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

1 Timothy 6:6, NKJV

We are probably so familiar with this verse, but what does it mean for each one of us? As we traverse through life, we seem to be always attempting to scale the next bound. Scientists pursue the next research breakthrough, investment bankers focus on the next lucrative stock or bond, and artists envision the next epic creation. There is nothing inherently wrong with striving for excellence in the marketplace. In fact, as image bearers of God, we ought to strive for excellence as a means to use our God-given gifts to glorify God and to point others to Christ (Daniel 5:11-12; Titus 2:7-8). But therein lies the risk if we are not careful – sometimes, our quest for excellence ends in a sad state where we compare ourselves with others. As I reflect on this issue of contentment, I was also led to ponder about God’s best for each one of us.

We need to guard against comparing “lots” in life. Scripture tells us that “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16: 33, NKJV) There are no chance encounters and coincidences; a person may make plans but it is God who determines their outcomes. When we glance over our shoulder and wonder why God gave someone else a “better” gift or a “better” lot in life, we wrongly assume that we know best. God created us and knows us better than we can ever know ourselves (Psalm 139). He sees our life trajectories from the beginning to the end, has gifted us with a unique combination of personality traits and life experiences, and has placed us in different environments. I pray that I too can genuinely say as   Paul said: “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Philippians 4:11-12, NKJV)

In our Christian walk, we should not be surprised by trials and suffering (1 Peter 4:12-13). In our “lot” in life, we will face pressures, affliction and persecution (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). Consider the lives of Moses, or the Prophet Elijah, or the Apostle Paul in the Bible. Each with different personalities and backgrounds, and so intensely flawed, yet loved and equally used by God in effective ways. They received not only the spectacular mountaintop experiences but also accepted the deep lows and valley experiences. Throughout history, we see how God has performed transformative and redemptive work in the lives of His beloved children. As God did for Moses, Elijah, and Paul, He too will do it for us. I am reminded of this verse in Philippians: “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NKJV)

Do we believe that God gives us the best? Life is not a zero-sum game where once a “best” is given to a person, what remains is no longer the “best”. God knows our life course and has designed each person marvelously. There has never been any person in the past nor will there be any person in the future who will be exactly the same as you or me. What is best, is viewed from God’s eternal perspective, and He has specially gifted the best to each one of us.

By sister Rebecca Ang

The pathway towards defining and finding oneself is a lifelong journey and is certainly not limited to the young. Some of us, at certain points in our lives,  define ourselves through our scholastic or professional accomplishments, and through the roles we play within the family, the church or the broader community. At other times, we may define ourselves through our problems, disabilities or failures. Underlying many of our struggles is the issue of identity.

Who am I? I am a child of God. Christ died for me; He loves me so deeply and unconditionally (Galatians 2:20). Because I am a child of God, He knows me perfectly. Psalm 139:2-4 gives a beautiful description:

“You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

There is something profoundly comforting about God knowing and understanding me well without the need for me to explain or justify anything amid a stream of twisted thoughts and confused emotions. God knows me and still loves me.

I am complete in Christ. Complete means wholeness, finished, made full, and lacking in nothing. Paul cautioned the believers at Colossae against false teaching. Colossians 2:9-10 states:

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians 2:9-10, NKJV)

God’s word reassures me that this is not a level I need to strive to attain nor a status to be achieved in order to complete something or to be made complete. I am complete in Christ. Such a precious truth for us. This is the sufficiency of Christ and the believer’s position before God. There is nothing lacking in us because of Christ. However, this does not mean we are perfect. God is working in us progressively in our growth journey to become more Christ-like (2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12).

I am a citizen of Heaven. Through Christ’s death on the cross, I am a new creation and have new life (Romans 6:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul urged the believers at Ephesus to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24, NKJV)

Here we are exhorted to put off the old self and to put on the new self. The clothing metaphor used suggests that this is not merely keeping the old clothes on and changing some accessories or having some new cloth patched over old clothes. This is a radical and complete transformation in which we put to death our old way of living including old practices, attitudes, and desires, and put on “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Colossians 3:12, NKJV), empowered by the Holy Spirit.

I am a child of God. I am complete in Christ. I am a citizen of Heaven. Nestled in the security of Christ, there is no place for envy, pride or judgment. I am reminded of the song “Who Am I” (by Casting Crowns) and it is fitting to conclude with some partial lyrics here:

“Not because of who I am
But because of what You’ve done
Not because of what I’ve done
But because of who You are…

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I’m calling
Lord, You catch me when I’m falling
And You’ve told me who I am
I am Yours”

By sister Rebecca Ang

Imagine being kind towards someone who has hurt you badly, done you wrong, or bruised your ego. The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) comes to mind. The Samaritans were not just outcasts and viewed as half-breeds, they were the despised enemies of the Jews, yet in the parable that Jesus told, it was the Samaritan who showed the victim mercy and compassion. Jesus’ choice of the Samaritan as the neighbour in the parable was even more significant because in Luke 9:53, a Samaritan village had refused to receive Jesus. Jesus had an opportunity to get even and to make the Samaritan the villain or the antagonist in the parable, but He did not.

It is not always easy to be kind. In fact, it is an intentional choice. I share three thoughts in this reflection. First, in choosing kindness, I am acknowledging that I need God’s supernatural intervention in my life for me to manifest biblical kindness. Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV) records: “But  the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” The Holy Spirit is at work, sanctifying your life and mine to progressively rid our lives of our old selves and sin which so ensnares us. It is a journey and sometimes a painful process to allow the Holy Spirit to shape and mould us to become more Christ-like.

Second, in choosing kindness, I am placing a greater value on relationships over my own rights. For twenty shekels of silver, Joseph’s brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites who brought him to Egypt as a slave. By God’s design and in line with God’s will, Joseph rose through the ranks and became the second most powerful person in Egypt, after the Pharaoh. In a  strange  twist  of  circumstances, due  to  severe  famine  in  the  land  of Canaan, Joseph’s brothers travelled all the way to Egypt to buy grain from the very one whom they sold into slavery years ago. Given how his brothers had plotted his death and how he had suffered in their hands, this appeared to be an opportune time for sweet revenge for Joseph. Joseph could have focused on his rights to retaliate, to seek justice for past wrongdoing, and to publicly humiliate his brothers, especially when he had the power and influence to do so. Instead, Joseph responded, “… I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:4-5, ESV)

Finally, in choosing kindness, I recognise that kindness does not discriminate. I am still learning Jesus’ high calling when He stated, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” (Luke 6:35, ESV) Perhaps part of the struggle lies in me pre-judging who ought to be recipients of kindness, and underlying that is the unspoken thought that some people may not deserve kindness. However, I am reminded that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and so lavishly poured out His lovingkindness towards me. I am as undeserving of God’s kindness as is my fellow brother or sister.

By Sister Rebecca Ang (YCKC Bulletin 23 August 2020)

The Israelites were a difficult lot, full of grumbling and complaining. When they complained about being hungry, the Lord provided manna (Exodus 16:1-4). They then complained that they were sick of manna and they yearned for the luxury of meat, fish and cucumbers that they had in Egypt (Numbers 11). The Israelites also complained that they were thirsty, and the Lord provided them with water (Exodus 17:1-4). And the list goes on. They were indeed hard to please.

Like the Israelites and the people Jesus encountered in Matthew 11:16-19, we too encounter people who are difficult. We cannot control how other people behave, but we can control how we respond. We ask for the Holy Spirit’s empowerment for us to respond with love and grace, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). It is challenging to turn the other cheek or to love our enemies, and I struggle with this. I find it helpful to remind myself of two fundamental truths. First, God forgave me of my sins, was merciful to me and did not give me what I deserved. Second, God is a just God and vengeance is His, not mine. Because of these truths, we can be an instrument of God’s love and grace to others. Proverbs gives us practical tips on how we can navigate such encounters with difficult people:

  “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1) “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarrelling.” (Proverbs 20:3)

“Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” (Proverbs 22:24 -25)

In addition, Titus 3:9 exhorts us to “avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless”. We are also called to live peaceably with others as much as reasonably possible (Romans 12:8).

However, this does not mean that Christians are doormats. Turning the other cheek does not mean letting everyone walk all over us or putting up with all sorts of injustice or falsehoods. Sometimes, we will need to confront a difficult person or to point out certain problematic behaviors. Christians are called to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). In fact, the scripture provides guidance on how we can address those who have sinned against us so that there can be reconciliation (Matthew 18:15-17).

Reflecting on how to handle difficult people would not be complete without a recognition that we ourselves can be difficult people too. As fallen people, we can be rude, mean, uncaring, angry, and quarrelsome (Galatians 5:19-21). In Matthew 7:3-4, Jesus reminds us: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?“

 By Rebecca Ang (YCKC Bulletin 24 November 2019)