The Art of Exceptional Living (2003, audiobook) by Jim Rohn, Simple Review

I think I've listened to this audiobook more than four times already. I can finish most of the late Jim Rohn's famous sentences because they are very profound and memorable. He is a good storyteller and each story is filled with life lessons. His emphasis on personal philosophy is very important. To him, it means to use one's mind in all aspects of life. Refining one's mind or philosophy can change everything and it doesn't have to be very big at the beginning. It's about implementing simple, good, and positive disciplines daily. For example, if every day for an hour or two I decided to study the Scripture instead of playing online games, full-time ministry-wise, I have begun to turn my life around. By simply changing my philosophy, I can overcome ignorance, laziness, and unproductivity.

Here are my Top 5 favorite quotes - and they have become my personal philosophies - by Jim Rohn from this audiobook:

1. "Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job."
2. "Don't wish it was easier, wish you are better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom."
3. "The major value of life is not what you get. The major value of life is what you become."
4. "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."
5. "If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree!"

A few things that you should keep in mind when reading books and/or hearing audiobooks on personal development (which also can fall into the category of self-help), especially as a Christ follower: #1 Develop and strengthen your Biblical worldview; #2 Apply the spiritual gift of discernment and critical thinking; #3 Learn and read widely but stand on the foundations of the Word of God deeply; #4 Don't believe someone who says, "I read my Bible ONLY." He or she is either delusional or impractical. Avoid at all costs; #5 Have a balanced perspective of human depravity and human potential; and last but not the least, #6 Don't read too many self-development or self-help books. Read the best of the best and leave most of them behind. In fact, most of them I wouldn't recommend at all because they can expose you to new-age teachings and the like. Ask me if you want to know more.

#ServeToLead #JimRohn #TheArtOfExceptionalLiving #SelfDevelopment #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The Mindful Man: Words from the Earth (2018) by Caspar Walsh, Book Review

The Mindful Man: Words from the Earth (2018) by Caspar Walsh

In my opinion, the concept of mindfulness is not unique to Buddhism and/or Hinduism. It is an ancient eastern practice that evolve and may or may not be called 'mindfulness' that you can also find in other religions, teachings, and traditions. As for Christianity and the Old Testament Jewish religion, the closest, almost similar practice that I can think of is Meditation in Biblical terms. But here is the main difference: Mindfulness focuses on self, which is good if done properly (yet limited in its scope) but Biblical Meditation focuses on the One true God, YHWH. The basic attitude of Mindfulness is 'what's I'm doing, thinking and feeling right now' but the attitude of Biblical Meditation is 'delight in the law (or word) of the LORD day and night' (for example, refer to Psalms 1:2). Once you know the difference then, reading books like this one from other beliefs and worldviews, can be much profitable and safer for the soul.

The definition of mindfulness can be very fluid. So, let me quote the author, Caspar Walsh, to explain it for himself: "Mindfulness sums up meditation, focus, attention, and reflection in a single word. But it is also a paradox. Breaking it down suggests mind-fullness, the fullness of mind - exactly the opposite of what a beginner's mind is hoping to achieve. Mindfulness means focusing, bringing our mind to what we are doing, and paying close attention. In a wider sense, it explores the whole experience of being human. The mind is an essential tool for interpreting, translating, and finding meaning in the world around us and inside us. It is essential to living in every sense." Without God as the center focus of the mind, I can only agree with the author from the human perspective. No more. Nevertheless, it is an important aspect to consider about since most of us - men, especially - need to be self-aware of what's going on within us and around us. We are so engaged with technology, concerned about other people's lives on social media, and busy with work that we neglect self-care and what's going on with our lives. Most men are lost, purposeless, and tired. We need a guide.

For some men, Caspar Walsh's The Mindful Man can be the beginning of that journey. This book doesn't have all the answers. In fact, it has lots of helpful reflection questions and insights to consider. "The world needs mindful men, now more than ever. Men who understand what makes us tick, aware of the impact we are having on the lives of others." Elsewhere he also wrote, "We need to up our game, daily. We are the leaders we're been waiting for. In a world divided by fear and greed, it's time to look deeper into what we can do to ground ourselves, ready ourselves, to be of service to our friends, our communities, and our highest ideals... How do we become mindful men who can be trusted, respected, and called on to begin the healing? It is essential for all men to be initiated into the mature, sacred masculine. And for this, we need courage." Yes, we need the courage to examine ourselves to be better men. In this book, Walsh invites us to 'see' the ideals of a Physical Man, Emotional Man, Family Man, Brotherhood of Man, Sacred Man, and Working Man. These are the areas that a Mindful Man needs the courage to 'see' ⚡

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #TheMindfulMan #Manhood #Mindfullness #Masculinity #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

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THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of A Leader (1999) Book Review

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of A Leader:

Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow (1999)

by John C. Maxwell

"Everything rises and falls on leadership": that is what John Maxwell always emphasis in every book on leadership that he wrote. I've been his student, learner and (hopefully) practitioner of leadership since I was promoted to become Assistant Manager at Golden Screen Cinema (GSC) Times Square KL 9 years ago and now I continue as Staff Worker at Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES) Malaysia. I don't know how to lead well then, and I'm still learning now. I wish to learned leadership my entire life. Great leaders don't become great in a moment – or in a month or a year or even after almost 10 years. They become great leaders one day at a time through their entire lifetimes. I'll never finish. I'll never completely arrive. I'll constantly and continuously find new ways to serve and improve my skills and attitude to become a better leader. The Law of Process says that leadership develops daily, not in a day.

I pick this book because I'm curious about this question: What makes people want to follow a leader? "The answer," writes Maxwell, "lies in the character qualities of the individual person." What qualities? Maxwell summits that there are 21 indispensables (essential, crucial, vital) qualities that a leader must have. "Leaders are effective because of who they are on the inside – in the qualities that make them up as people. And to go to the highest level of leadership, people have to develop these traits from the inside out." If I become the leader I ought to be on the inside, I will be able to become the leader I want to be on the outside. People will want to follow me. Ah, here is the key: learn and practice these qualities and people will want to follow you.

Even though this book has short chapters and small volume (only 157 pages), I don't read this book with speed-reading like I use to other books. Maxwell encourages his readers to "live with this book for a while. Read a chapter, and then give it some time. Use it to reflect, review and renew." I spent a little bit longer on my weak qualities – reflect on the questions, taking notes and begin to practice some – before I move to other qualities. For example, I'm really weak in listening and relationships qualities, and so I spent a bit longer in both areas. I can instantly connect with qualities like initiative and teachability, so I read it quickly but with cautions (not to be overconfident). Here are The 21 Indispensable Qualities of A Leader lists by John C. Maxwell:

#1 CHARACTER:  Be a Piece of the Rock

#2 CHARISMA: The First Impression Can Seal the Deal

#3 COMMITMENT: It Separates Doers from Dreamers

#4 COMMUNICATION: Without It You Travel Alone

#5 COMPETENCE: If You Build It, They Will Come

#6 COURAGE: One Person with Courage Is a Majority

#7 DISCERNMENT: Put an End to Unsolved Mysteries

#8 FOCUS: The Sharper It Is, the Sharper You Are

#9 GENEROSITY: Your Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another

#10 INITIATIVE: You Won't Leave Home Without It

#11 LISTENING: To Connect with Their Hearts, Use Your Ears

#12 PASSION: Take This Life and Love It

#13 POSITIVE ATTITUDE: If You Believe You Can, You Can

#14 PROBLEM SOLVING: You Can't Let Your Problems Be a Problem

#15 RELATIONSHIPS: If You Get Along, They'll Go Along

#16 RESPONSIBILITY: If You Won't Carry the Ball, You Can't Lead the Team

#17 SECURITY: Competence Never Compensates for Insecurity

#18 SELF-DISCIPLINE: The First Person You Lead Is You

#19 SERVANTHOOD: To Get Ahead, Put Others First

#20 TEACHABILITY: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning

#21 VISION: You Can Seize Only What You Can See

I listened to audiobook too so that I can instill all of these qualities in my mind and hopeful in my walk as a leader. Since I already read Maxwell's other book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (I will listen to the audiobook all over again), I find that this one is a great complimentary companion for it. If you want to be a good leader and desire others to follow you, buy and read this book! Highly recommend. After all, "He who thinks he leads but has no followers, is only taking a walk."

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Billy Graham's Crisis of Faith: Could the Bible be Trusted Completely?

Currently, I'm reading Billy Graham autobiography's Just As I Am (1997). It is a thick book and I feel like an awesome-nerd when I read it in public. I was taken aback when I read about Graham's crisis of faith. Just like what I went through early in this year. So inspiring and good to know that giant of faith like Billy Graham have had that moment too. It starts when Charles Templeton, a fellow evangelist, and friend, became skeptical about the authority of the Bible and less than a year later Charles (or Chuck) declared publicly that he had become an agnostic. What it does to Graham is contagious. Here is his personal account of that issue:

"My very faith was under siege. For one thing, my friend and partner… Chuck Templeton… and [I] discovered that he was undergoing serious theological difficulties, particularly concerning the authority of the Scriptures. My respect and affection for Chuck were so great that whatever troubled him troubled me also… The particular intellectual problem I was wrestling with… was the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. Seeming contradictions and problems with interpretation defied intellectual solutions, or so I thought. Could the Bible be trusted completely?"

"Feeling a little hypocritical, I began an intensive study of this question. I read theologians and scholars on all sides of the issue. I also turned to the Bible itself. Paul had written to Timothy, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God' (2 Timothy 3:16, KJV). (I knew that the New Testament Greek term that translates as ‘inspiration' literally meant ‘God-breathed writings.') There was an impenetrable mystery to that concept, as with all things pertaining to God. Yet the basic meaning was clear: the Bible was more than just another human book…

"The Apostle Peter said, ‘For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost' (2 Peter 1:21, KJV). Jesus Himself said: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away' (Matthew 24:35, KJV). The internal testimony of the Scriptures to their own inspiration and authority was unequivocal. So was Jesus' own view of the Scriptures…

"I ached as if I were on the rack, with Miss Henrietta Mears stretching me one way and Chuck Templeton stretching me the other. Alone in my room one evening, I read every verse of Scripture I could think of that had to do with ‘thus saith the Lord.' I recalled hearing someone say that the prophets had used the phrase ‘the Word of the Lord said' (or similar wording) more than two thousand times. I had no doubts concerning the deity of Jesus Christ or the validity of the Gospel, but was the Bible completely true? If I was no exactly doubtful, I was certainly disturbed…

"I pondered the attitude of Christ toward the Scriptures. He loved those sacred writings and quoted from them constantly. Never once did He intimate that they could be wrong. In fact, He verified some of the stories in the Old Testament that we the hardest to believe, such as those concerning Noah and Jonah. With the Psalmist, He delighted in the law of the Lord, the Scriptures…

"As that night wore on, my heart became heavily burdened. Could I trust the Bible? With the Los Angeles Campaign galloping toward me, I had to have an answer. If I could not trust the Bible, I could not go on. I would have to quit the school presidency. I would have to leave pulpit evangelism. I was only thirty years of age. It was not too late to become a dairy farmer. But that night I believed with all my heart that the God who had saved my soul would never let go of me…

"I got up and took a walk. The moon was out… Dropping to my knees there in the woods, I opened the Bible at random on a tree trump in front of me. I could not read it in the shadowy moonlight, so I had no idea what text lay before me… The exact wording of my prayer is beyond recall, but it must have echoed my thoughts: ‘O God! There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can't answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising…"

"I was trying to be on the level with God, but something remained unspoken. At last, the Holy Spirit freed me to say it. ‘Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word – by faith! I'm going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word'… When I got up from my knees at Forest Home that August night, my eyes stung with tears. I sensed it in months. My all my questions were answered, but major bridge had been crossed. In my heart and mind, I knew a spiritual battle in my soul had been fought and won."

[Quote above is taken from Just As I Am (1997) by Billy Graham published by HarperCollins Worldwide from page 159-160, 162-164. Edited without permission.]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Our Wired Lives on Facebook Series: #4 Be Your Real Self Online and Off

Currently I’m reading Randi Zuckerberg’s book Dot Complicated: Untangled Our Wired Lives (Harper-Collins Publishers, 2013). As a conclusion of oneself identity online and offline, she concluded:

“As is the case with any technology or tool, it’s up to people to make the most out of the tech, to utilize it in a way that enhances their lives and relationships instead of detracts from them. Technology can make our lives more interesting, but it’s not going to solve all our problems, and as we’ve seen, it will probably even create a few.

            It’s a common complaint that people are beginning to see the world only through the lenses of their camera phones, as if those screens were more “real.” At concerts, I’ve seen well-meaning souls watch an entire show play out on the shaky screens they’re holding above their heads, rather than the stage in front of them. I’ve seen people so busy Instagramming a moment that they miss truly experiencing it.

            Keep in mind that an Internet with real identities and standard practices of behaviour doesn’t have to be a boring place or a police state. It just needs to mirror how you’d behave in a similar situation offline. If you’re at your parents’ house for Thanksgiving, it’s generally inappropriate to down a row of tequila shots, slap your parents’ friend on the back, and yell, ‘Woooo! Spring break!’ Of course, if you’re celebrating Thanksgiving in Cancun and crazy Uncle Al is in an especially ‘festive’ spirit, then by all means woooo away. A call for mindfulness, compassion, and etiquette online, which mirrors the standards expected of us in civil society, is not a call for a woooo-free world. The point is that as our online lives have become inseparable from our offline lives, we need a set of rules, taboos, and guidelines that recognizes there are real people using their real identities on the other side of the screen.

            Some things are cool on spring break that are not cool on Thanksgiving Day. There may be some awful places on the Internet, which don’t deserve a mention here. You may see some things you don’t want to see, things for which your retinas will never forgive you and that may be acceptable only in those contexts, within of course the bounds of legality. But that doesn’t mean there are no standards of behaviour to be had anywhere online.

            We have to get smarter not only about that we publish but also about what we, as the recipients of our friends’ information, do with potentially sensitive material posted by others.

            Above all, you need to be careful who you choose as your friends, whether offline or online. As my Christmas Poke photo story shows, there’s no privacy or security setting in the world that can save you from a friend’s bad judgment.

            We can be our real selves online and off. We don’t have to be afraid to share. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. And we can leverage technology in many positive ways to make a real and meaningful impact on the world.

            We are truly the most empowered generation in history. Technology allows us to communicate, collaborate, and understand the world around us in ways unthinkable even a few years ago, with this new power, we can solve age-old problems and create new opportunities for everyone.

            All you have to do is to be yourself.

[Long excerpt from Dot Complicated: Untangling Our Wired Lives by Randi Zuckerberg (Harper-Collins Publishers, 2013), page 82-83. Buy this book!]

Let technology supposed to help us, not lord it over us.

Let technology fill our lives with meaning, rather than fear.

Let technology empowered us, rather than overwhelmed us.

Let technology become tools of opportunity to glorify God in everything,

rather than promote insecurity.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

How to Spot False Teachers within Christianity

The Bible makes it clear that there are false teachers in the world, and there may be false teacher in our churches. Unfortunately, false teachers don’t clearly identify themselves. They tend to look and sound like biblical teachers. This leaves us in a dangerous situation.

Fortunately, God has given us four ways to spot a false teacher in the book of Jude. The recipients of Jude’s letter had false teachers in their midst. Jude wanted these Christians to know how to find the false teachers and remove them from a position of influence. Here are the four ways to spot a false teacher:

1) Their lifestyle doesn’t match their teaching. Jude 1:8, “In the same way, these people—who claim authority from their dreams—live immoral lives, defy authority, and scoff at supernatural beings.” False teachers often preach on holiness and teach a strict code of ethics that they expect everyone to follow. However, their personal lives often fall short of their message. If a person’s behaviour doesn’t match their preaching, then it may be that they are a false teacher.

2) They think they’re the smartest people in the church. Jude 1:10, “But these people scoff at things they do not understand. Like unthinking animals, they do whatever their instincts tell them, and so they bring about their own destruction.” False teachers tend to undermine and underestimate the teaching and authority of the established pastors and leaders in a church. They are constantly questioning the church’s teachers, and even contradicting them (Sounds like myself. Forgive me O Lord).

3) They stir up disunity in the church. Jude 1:16, “These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want.” False teachers often cause divisions in churches, ministries, fellowships and small groups. They cause disruption in just about every group they find themselves in. They treat others well only to get them to follow their lead.

4) They don’t produce any real fruit. Jude 1:12, “They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots.” False teachers don’t really help others pursue God. They might have followers, but these followers aren’t growing in their love for Jesus and his church. False teachers care too much for themselves to see real fruit developed in the lives of others.

How aware are you of false teachers within Christianity?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Don't Misled by False Teachers, Search the Scriptures

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves" (Matthew 7:18)

Every Christian leader who fails to point people primarily to the Lord Himself is to that extent a false teacher. Some, claiming the Word of God for their authority, point people to some substitute. Many lift isolated passages from their entire biblical context and give them inaccurate meanings. Others simply know nothing of the depths of Jesus Christ. Much of their teaching is a form of religious humanism.

Be careful however, certainly, don’t let your pride mislead you to set yourself up against your teachers. But in this day too many of the Lord’s people are being misled by shallow, carnal or heretical leaders. So what you should do so that you will not be misled by false teachers? The Lord reminds us to constantly search the Scriptures by giving us the example of the Bereans “for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). We must not blindly received and believed the message that people told us even when they claim to speak in the name of God, but we must examine everything by the Word of God to see if what they said is the truth or false. Submit everything to the Word. Heed the direction and correction found there – for the Lord have spoken.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

I Love Rock Music!

In his book Art and the Bible, Francis Schaeffer (I found it in our office library today) describes four categories of art: bad art with a true message, good art with a true message, bad art with a bad message, and good art with a good message. These four categories of arts reminds me of the modern rock music which I hear almost every day of my life. I love rock music!

Rock music is very exciting and yet very dangerous at the same time. Upbeat rock can increase our mood, make our mind alert and give the sense of freedom to our souls (especially when we sing along). Rock also has the invincible power to unite rock lovers from very part of the world. Just come to the live concerts and you will see how easily strangers can become friends.

The dangerous part is when good music combined with a false message, we can get confused. I don’t believe that Satan creates music. He has no power to create. God is the One who create music for His own glory and for us to enjoy. But Satan (as he always does) can misuse and manipulate music as an instrument of sins. Catchy music and clever lyrics give false messages a credibility they would not ordinarily have (This reminds me of how our generations today draw their many foreign ideas about God and world views from their favourite artists instead of the Scripture). By naturally responding to the song’s quality, we may suspend judgment and accept its false message, too. More over rock music primarily fall short in the areas of materialism, sex (‘love’ usually mean sex) and hedonism (pursuing pleasure and the ‘good life’). This is dangerous!

But why I still listen to rock music? Because the problem is not the music, it is our ability to discern good and acceptable songs from bad and manipulative songs. In reality we can’t get away from listening to rock music and the likes. Television, internet, radio and technology gadgets are full of many kind of music – good and bad and somewhere in between – that bombarded our ears with many confusing messages. To try to get away from this is not just unrealistic but also unchristian. The Scriptures says we are not “of the world” but (yet) “in the world.” Therefore, I still listen to rock but with cautious and discernment. This applies to any songs I hear every day. Just because there are words like “Jesus” and “God” in the lyrics, it doesn’t mean that the message is biblical. Thus, be careful!

But a word of warning: if we want the freedom to listen (or not to listen) to certain songs, then we must reserve judgment and allow others to make their own choices, too. We shouldn’t impose on others to “listen to this” and “don’t listen to that.” Let others have the freedom to choose. I think, rather than condemning rock, God’s people should be in the position of encouraging whatever is good, worthy and true to popular music. And rather than blacklisting, condemning or otherwise writing off rock bands and even Christian rock bands that don’t fit our stereotypes of what Christian musicians should be (unless it is obviously contain false messages), we must encourage them to higher achievement. The Christian community and the world at large desperately need the creativity, enthusiasm, courage and vision Christian artists can bring. Peace!

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

We Need a New God!

When we declare this wonderful reality – that God Himself is all we need – we may be accused as trite and simplistic, at least, I was. That accusation may prove to be correct unless we show how He actually becomes our life and all in daily practice, and unless those of who proclaim Him alone begin showing Him in our daily walk to be genuinely all we need.

For this to happen require that we have a new God! Now, relax, please forgive me for this overstatement. But there’s a sense in which it really is so. We need to see our God as He is, not as we’re been seeing Him (or make-to-believe who He is). When our view of Him has been corrected, we’ll have quite a different God than we had before.

So many people view Him like the law really is, a hard taskmaster, a universe policeman, an angry grandfather. Some people however view Him from another extreme, an eternal smiling master, always forgiving judge, a never-get-angry father. But we seldom get the balance idea – who He really is – that He is our loving and righteous heavenly Father, God of justice and mercy, always near and yet far from us, to soothe the hurts and wound the enemies, to encourage and warning, to uplift the humble and downlift the proud, He is to transform the believers and condemned the unbelievers. He is known-able and understandable, and yet His ways and His wills are mysteries. He is wonderful and horrible. God of order and unpredictable. Meek and yet powerful. Humble and yet worship-seeker. Sovereign and yet freedom-giver.

To know God as He is, we need to go to the basic – the Scriptures. Sometime our view and idea of God is not from the Scriptures but from other secondary or secondhand source such as devotional books, out-of-context sermons or quotes, movies, etc. Yes, we may also know something about God from those and from nature, art, conscious, reason, experience or collective experience and prayer. But the final, complete, reliable source, of course, is the Scripture. And as we can see, the Scripture is not the end; Christ is the ultimate mean to know God. Jesus said, “You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me!” (John 5:39). If you go the Scripture, you’ll know Jesus, and if you know Jesus you’ll know God.

When we have a new God, see God as He is, know God from the Scriptures that “speak about Christ” we’ll have this assurance of our salvation in Him, a genuine daily life with Him and the confidence of declaring this wonderful reality – that God Himself is all we need. Why? Because we know Him. For this to happen we require to have a new God by discovering or rediscovering the Scripture firsthand. For this to REALLY happen, God must move first. To this, Lord helps us. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

8 Kebaikan Apabila Kamu Mengawal Penggunaan Media Sosial

Ramai orang beranggapan bahawa dunia mereka akan hancur jika mereka tidak menggunakan media sosialwalaupun hanya setengah hari. Media social seperti Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blog dan sebagainya, banyak mengambil masa kita dan ada yang percaya bahawa semua ini sangat penting. Hey, dunia tidak akan berakhir jika kita tidak menggunakan laman media sosial! Malah, banyak kebaikkannya jika kita tidak atau boleh mengawal penggunaannya. Di sini saya mendapati sekurang-kurangnya ada 8 kebaikkan:

1) Kamu boleh lebih fokus tentang kehidupan kamu berbanding dengan kehidupan orang lain. Apabila kita tidak ‘menjaga tepi kain’ orang – tentang kehidupan dan pencapaian orang lain, contohnya – dan lebih fokus tentang kehidupan peribadi kita sendiri, kita akan lebih mudah menerima baik buruk diri sendiri (dan menyerahkannya kepada Tuhan) tanpa perlu membuat perbandingan dengan pencapaian orang lain.

2) Kamu boleh lebih fokus untuk berinteraksi dengan dunia realiti di sekeliling kamu. Apabila kita kurang atau tidak seringkali memeriksa telefon pintar untuk mengetahui perkembangan di dunia digital, kita akan lebih fokus untuk bercakap dengan orang di sekeliling kita. Apabila kita berkomunikasi dengan orang lain secara bersemuka, banyak perkara yang kita dapat belajar (secara mendalam) berbanding dengan perkara-perkara yang dikongsikan di dunia media sosial.

3) Kamu tidak perlu risau samada ada orang telah memberi komen atau respon di Twitter atau menekan butang “like” di laman Facebook kamu. [Tidak perlu saya huraikan]

4) Kamu tidak perlu berinteraksi dengan orang yang kamu tidak suka. Oleh kerana kita pernah bersekolah atau pernah berkawan dengan mereka dahulu, ini tidak bermaksud kita masih lagi ada persamaan dengan mereka. Atau mungkin kita sudah berubah sekarang sehinggakan kita tidak lagi sesuai untuk bergaul dengan mereka.

5) Kamu tidak perlu lagi merasa janggal atau sakit hati dengan orang yang selalu meluahkan perasaan dan menunjukkan gambar yang tidak sesuai di laman media social. Kadang-kadang perkara seperti ini tidak perlu kita tahu... merosakkan jiwa dan minda sahaja!

6)  Banyak perkara dan kerja yang kamu boleh siap. Sentiasa memeriksa laman media sosial waktu pejabat atau semasa melakukan kerja banyak mengambil masa kita. Sebaliknya, apabila kita tidak atau mengurangkan masa untuk media sosial, banyak kerja atau perkara dapat dilakukan.

7) Kamu akan memiliki hidup kamu kembali! Apabila kita tidak membenarkan laman media social untuk mengatur dan mengawal hidup kita, kita akan beroleh hidup. ‘Hidup’ di sini bermaksud fikiran dan hati kita. Tidak perlulah kita khuatir tentang apa yang akan dikongsikan oleh orang lain di laman  media sosial. Kita sekarang mempunyai lebih masa dan fokus untuk mendengar dan berbicara dengan orang lain di sekeliling kita. Kita akan menpunyai hidup yang aktif dan bukannya pasif menunggu ‘hidup’ datang kepada kita melalui laman media sosial.   

8) Kamu ada masa untuk berdoa dan membaca Firman Allah. Kurang berdoa dan membaca buku terutamanya – Alkitab –adalah satu masalah yang besar terjadi dikalangan orang muda sekarang kerana banyak masa terluang digunakan untuk media sosial (ada membaca, tetapi membaca bahan yang tidak berfaedah untuk kehidupan orang Kristian). Apa yang sangat diperlukan sekarang ialah orang Kristian yang tidak mudah terpengaruh dengan isu-isu yang remeh-temeh dan mula melihat dan melakukan sesuatu yang boleh memberkati orang lain di sekeliling kita. Yesus berkata, “Kasihilah Allah” dan “sesamamu”, “utamakan dahulu kerajaan Allah” dan “merenung Firman-Nya siang dan malam” (bukan laman media social).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

An Interview with Myself: On the Avengers and the Scripture

This is an interview with myself.

Why you love to watch movie?

Why you love to eat? Why you love to dance? Why you love to read? All of these are natural for human being. You enjoy food, you love to move with the tune, you love stories. Movie is my source of leisure and entertainment. Movie captured my imaginations and filled me with inspirations. I’m talking about good movies, of course.

How do you differentiate between good and bad movies?

Good movies cause you to think, not just being entertained. This is very important because the thrill of participation with the characters is what makes the movie worth to watch. Worth for my investment, RM13! For me, good movies ought to have moral values without neglecting the reality of bad influences. For action-movies like The Avengers, which is why you interview me right, we must not expecting the movie to be realistic and logic or hoping that the heroes must be perfect and good all the time… come on, movie is a movie, okay?

[In my mind, I asked and answered too many questions to myself which are not quiet appropriate for public to read. Therefore, I skipped most of it.]

So, now, tell me, what you have learned from the movie The Avengers?

Oh, many things. By the way, before I watched The Avengers (again), I watched Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man 1, 2 & 3, Hulk, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and  Thor: The Dark World. To get the big picture of the movie, I need to do some ‘revision.’ [Smiled]

In summary, The Avengers taught me more than just cliché lessons that you get from self-help or motivational books. The Avengers – this might sound unusual to you – helps me to recaps what some of the Scripture’s values that I have learned as I read and study it. I mean, by watching The Avengers and other Marvel movies, it help me to see how some Biblical values can be seen in each heroes and situations.

For examples, Hulk taught me how to be angry. Almost all references in the Scriptures about angry are negative because by nature angry is a sin. But there is such thing as righteous-angry where anger is not directed to persons but to the injustice, unrighteousness and merciless. Jesus, do you remember, overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves because He was righteously-angry with what He saw in the temple (Read Matthew 21:12-13). When an alien spaceship coming toward him, Captain America said something like this, “You need help to be angry?” “No,” Bruce Banner replied, “This is what you don’t know about me… I’m always angry…” And then he turned into the green beast and smashes the ship! Meaning, he had his anger under control and ‘expressing’ it toward the real enemies. 

Captain America taught me about leadership. He is mentally and physically fit. He is a fighter and strategist. He is probably one of the least members with special power but nevertheless – he is the Avenger’s Captain. He is a patriotic who value teamwork and do whatever it take to achieve the missions. He is the man who believes in God.  I remember one scene after Captain and Iron man caught Loki, Thor with raged came from nowhere took Loki out of the plane. As Iron man followed them from behind with an attack plan – that is “Attack!” – Captain was left behind. Black Widow reminds him, “Are you going after them too? They are Asgardians… they are literally, gods.” The Captain buckled up a parachute and said, “No ma’am,” he’s about to jump, “There is only one God!” He jumped and continues, “And He’s not dressing like one of those.”

Iron man taught me that people can change. He was a playboy, but now in love with one woman, Pepper. He was a billionaire who sells war machines, but now becomes a generous entrepreneur that helps to make the world a better place. He was a selfish genius, but now he fights for justice and even sacrifices himself to save many. He diverts a nuclear missile from blowing the New York City into the black hole all by himself. He, literally, saved the world. “If we can’t protect the earth,” Tony Stark said to Loki, “you can be damn sure we’ll avenge it.” Minus the language and attitude, do you hear his selflessness?

Thor taught me to be humble. He was arrogant, I know, but he now has become a matured and responsible man. When he was on earth – even though it is not relevant – he didn’t take pride of his Asgardian’s title and position. He is the prince of Asgard, heir of the kingdom throne, and god of thunder yet he remains humble, human-like in his character. He slowly learns to become human.

I haven’t told you about Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Maria Hill, Agent Phil, etc… maybe next time bro.

Finally, do you have anything else to say?

Yes. Religious people often told me to “Stop watching worldly movies”, “Don’t watching this and that movie, it’s no good”, “You’re influencing our youth to worldliness.” I appreciate their concerns but I sense their hypocrisy. Even though they didn’t watch movies in cinema, they themselves watch movies on television, gossips in Twitter, watch videos on YouTube, and always read nonsense news on Facebook. I only take advice from those who have integrity and sincere.

Okay, I fully understand that watching too much movies or addicted to it will affect and pollute our mind but in everything we do – whatever it is – balance, priority and discernment are require. Those who make so much fuss with me watching The Avengers and told me to read the Scriptures more, I have two questions for you: 1) Do you know  Spiderman and Superman, Batman and Iron man, Thor and Hulk, Captain America and Wolverine? Maybe the answer is “No.” Then, since you don’t watch movie and love to read the Scripture, do you know Cain and Abel, Miriam and Aaron, Korah and Dathan, Ruth and Naomi, Abigail and Rahab, Ahab and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Esther and Mordecai, Amos and Obadiah, Nadab and Abihu, ect.? [Pause]

The Avengers and everything in this world are just faded mirror reflections of what is really real – Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Of course, if The Avengers have taken our hearts and minds over the Scripture, we have issues with God. Therefore, Repent.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.