There were a lot of interesting ideas that flowed forth from the Third National Congress on Integrity, held this morning at University College Sedaya International (UCSI). The plenary speakers, Dr Ravi Zacharias and Dr Syed Hussein Alatas, were in good form. Dr Ravi took the Christian standpoint, while Dr Syed assumed a perspective grounded in the Malaysian context.
At the end of the day, I was left with one overarching thought about the meaning of integrity: the question of integrity is the question of what it means to be good, truly good.
Dr Syed spoke much on hypocrisy, while Dr Ravi centred his talk on 'vertical accountability' (i.e. accountability to God and not just man), describing the Joseph of the Old Testament as an embodiment of integrity.
When Dr Ravi said "A leader must begin his/her day on his/her knees", it struck me that this could have been one reason why I failed in the Victorian Editorial Board. I used to begin my days on my knees; well, not literally, but the Editors' Room was always a sanctuary of sorts. And then I drifted from it; I no longer met God there in the mornings. (Father, forgive me, for I have sinned.)
During the roundtable discussion (just like Emergent meetings in The Father's House!), a rather elderly man said that students were exposed to the teachings of various religions back in his schooldays. He said that no such thing is done today. Actually, he was wrong; comparative religion (i.e. not just Islam) is still a significant part of Form Four History. Trouble is, people don't take God seriously anymore. And we're not talking about studying other religions; even Christians, for example, don't take Jesus seriously enough!
A young lady called Pauline cited indifference and the lack of transparency as two of the main issues concerning integrity in our country today. I think she nailed it perfectly. Li-Shia helped me see that, indeed, people today don't want to get involved with others. We are content living our own lives; who wants to help others when we've got so much on our own plates? And we would rather hide our true selves; vulnerability is a taboo word.
On the whole, it struck me that many people have an issue with the government. A lot of opinions given, including much that was discussed at my table (there were four of us in all), centred on corruption and irresponsibility in the government. Yet I find that, we can talk all we want about the government, but unless we take the first step, nothing will happen.
Put it this way: if God were to judge you by His standards, in the same way that you judge the government by your standards, would you be able to stand God's test? Are you already good enough for God? Will others be able to say, "Here is a man/woman in whom God dwells"?
The closing remarks were very significant.
Dr Ismail Noor, one of the moderators, said we have to stop the blame game. The question is: what can we do?
Dr Ravi then said that we have to stop complaining about the environment, because it is we who create the environment. He cited the example of an editor who asked, "What's wrong with the world?" G.K. Chesterton, the great Christian writer, then wrote to the editor, "Regarding your question about what's wrong with the world, I am, yours truly, G.K. Chesterton."
Dr Syed continued; the Quran says that God created differences so that we may learn to understand each other, and compete to do good. The children of God are not confined to one community.
And finally the other moderator, K.J. John, left us all with a thought, which is actually the title of a book by a professor who taught him (if I'm not mistaken): "How come every time I'm stabbed in the back, the fingerprints on the knife are mine?"
I still don't really know what that means, but I am reminded of Ray Boltz's song 'The Hammer', in which he suggests that the hand that swung the hammer, nailing Christ to the cross, was not the hand of a Roman soldier, but ours.
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Speaking of Ravi, the other day at GTPJ, he told a joke. Apparently Muhammad Ali was in his private jet when it encountered some turbulence. So the stewardess (or someone like that) told him, "Please fasten your seatbelt." And he replied, "Superman don't need no seatbelt." To which she just said, "Superman don't need no airplane either."
So much for pride.
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This is what Ryan did to me yesterday morning, when I was washing my hands in the garden before leaving for school. His pawprint on the back of my baju Melayu is quite unmistakable. I think it was Ching Yeng who first noticed it in school, at recess.
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More birthday presents. The Unic pen is from Jean, the bookmark is from Li Ling (on the other side, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is quoted; "Pray without ceasing."), and Sivin gave me Peterson's Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. Whee!
I was expecting to pay him for it (RM73 for such a book was very reasonable for me), but when he dropped by after school yesterday, he just said "Happy Birthday." Thanks so much Sivin!
And thanks Jean and Li Ling! (For some reason, I seem to get presents related to reading and writing all the time :-P)
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Meet four of the toughest/heaviest books I have. I don't think I'll be able to manage them now, what with STPM trials (and the real STPM) around the corner. But come December (and a long holiday after that), I'll have to keep this brain churning!
Just in case the picture isn't clear, they are:
Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Logic: An Introduction by Wilfrid Hodges
What Does It All Mean? by Thomas Nagel
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This is one reason why you'll never be a spy, dear Perfume Girl. :-P
(I'll never forget the little squeal when I named it correctly!)
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Li-Shia will turn 22 (two-two) on the 40th anniversary of the 13 May 1969 race riots.
I will turn 31 in 2018. My house number is 18; my grandparents', 20. In that year, my grandfather will turn 91; will he live that long?
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