Most languages are full of clich?s describing the generalized fact that people do not change. You can dress them up, change their environment, and even pull them through experience after experience and the core of “who” they are remains. Cultural norms are engrained, family values intact, and the priorities of the soul are firmly part of the texture and fabric.
As I walk through Singapore and flash back to years gone by I discover that, for the most part, this is not all bad. People took on the best that was around them and made it their own. The combinations mixed with unique personal experiences to form a value-set that provides entertainment, comfort, and relationship to a network of friends and family. The challenge is the underneath not much has changed.
We all know that there are those who do not care to be anything other than what they were yesterday. The theme is “When I’m sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!” (Proverbs 23.35) There thoughts are consumed by one thing. It may be money, power, drink, sex, or whatever; the core ingredient in their lives revolves around the fact that they are totally focused on themselves and what is in it for them.
When I was a teenager I already knew that everyone was out to get my money when I went to town. What is different today? Granted that I do not sense I need to hold my hand over my pocket, however I am assaulted just the same. You need to be on your guard against people hawking their food and almost pushing you into their restaurant, advertisements touting this product or another, and people working the angles. Everyone is looking, working to make himself or herself number one. It is as if the form has changed, the goal hasn’t.
Yet it doesn’t need to be this way. You and I have the opportunity to be something more than we were yesterday. Our “yes” unleashes God to bring change and more into our lives. I want more. It starts now.
