Finding Our True Need

TITLE: FINDING OUR TRUE NEED
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 4:19
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: April 9th 2016

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

This is a popular verse when we write encouragement cards to people. It is a marvelous verse to tweet quickly to one another to assure them that God is aware and God will do something. Moreover, it comes from God’s abundance and generosity. What more could we ask for? If God is for us, who will be against us? The question for this week is this: What is our true need?

A) Typical Hierarchy of Needs

The Famous 5-Level-Needs of Maslow

Those of us who are familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs will remember the famous pyramid. Based on these, we all have the five levels of need. The first level is physiological where we need to provide food on the table, shelter for the family, and paying for our basic expenses. This is something all of us will understand. With jobs, we get some income to help pay for our housing, our food, our transportation costs, and the basis living expenses. The second level is the need for safety and security. We look not simply for a good house but a good neighbourhood. We do not simply buy food but healthy diets. We travel in a manner that is safe. When I was young, my mother kept telling me about the dangers of riding a motorcycle. Whenever there is an accident involving the two-wheeler, regardless of who is in the right, the motorcyclist will usually end up as the victim. I have known friends who had been seriously injured when they fell out of their bikes for various reasons. To this day, I do not have a motorbike license. I have heard lots of nice stories of people feeling a sense of freedom when they ride on a bike. Not me.

In Pursuit of Money

TITLE: IN PURSUIT OF MONEY
SCRIPTURE: 2 Timothy 6:9-10
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: Jan 27th, 2016.

"Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (2 Timothy 6:9-10)

Last week, I wrote about the enticement of power, how power corrupts the flesh and how good Christian people in avoiding power like a plague miss the opportunity of seeing power as a gift to be stewarded rather than a poison to be shunned.  This week, I continue with some thoughts about a second temptation: Money.

I watched IP MAN 3 last night, a movie about a Chinese legendary hero, Ip Man. He was the said teacher of the famous Bruce Lee. A top martial arts pugilist, he pioneered a special kung fu called the Wing Chun martial art. This third installment, while not as good as the first one that launched Donnie Yen to fame, has enough bells and whistles to make it a worthy watch. There are many wonderful values in the film. There is the value of friendship, where leaders from the top pugilist schools regularly show respect to one another in admiration of their respective skill-sets and legends. There is the value of integrity, where people meant what they say, did what they promise, and kept their word. There is the value of marital love, where the protagonist lays everything aside, his reputation and fame, just to care for his cancer-stricken wife. Yet, a movie plot is not very exciting without villains and some level of bad behaviour. Here is where my reflections on money begin: Money corrupts the soul of the person from the inside out. Let me share three examples from the movie Ip Man 3.

Expose Not Blind: On the CHC Verdict

TITLE: EXPOSE NOT BLIND: ON THE CHC VERDICT
SCRIPTURE: John 8:1-11
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: October 23rd, 2015.

But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

NOTE: This is a special edition of Sabbath Walk written in response to the wide interest surrounding the recent court judgment of the controversial use of funds for a music ministry outreach arm of a Church. It is a matter of both public and theological interest. In this article, I argue that as lights of this world, our calling is to expose the darkness and wrongs of this world, but not to make people blind with our glares of justice and self-righteous stares. The condition of the soul can only be touched by the Holy Spirit. 


Swirling around the minds of many in Singapore is the thought of judgment day. On October 21st, 2015, the judge of the widely followed trial of six leaders at City Harvest megachurch wrote:

“I am satisfied that six accused persons are guilty of all the charges against them.”

Is this “satisfied” one of glee that spouts out “You deserved it!” or “I told you so?” No.

Is this “satisfied” something like a hungry diner completing his fifth round of food at a buffet table? No.

This “satisfied” is essentially made on legal grounds, after all the evidence presented by the prosecution before the Judge have been duly considered and deemed overwhelmingly satisfactory for conviction. There is nothing personal even though everyone in the court room would have a personal opinion. On the part of the judge, I believe that there is no intent to gorge oneself on Schadenfreude, unlike some observers who loved to watch the prey being ravished by predators. It is purely and simply a legal matter, albeit with lots of public interest.

People vs Profits?

TITLE: PEOPLE OR PROFITS?
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 13:5
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date:  June 13th, 2014

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

KEY POINT: Money is not everything but everything needs money. For the Christian, the love of money is a spiritual threat that cannot be taken lightly. This week, I look at the financial industry and offers three tips for those who are inside and for those considering a career in the financial industry.

It has been said that "Money makes the world go round." The statement is very prevalent in the lives of many people. For while money is not everything, everything needs money. We need money to keep up with our mortgages, pay school fees, buy groceries, filling up gas, paying for utilities, buy coffee, or take that much needed vacation.  What defines a society as rich or poor is usually based on a monetary index, based on a currency of reference.

"Show me the money!" is a popular term that also describes this mood. In other words, if you want me to do something, pay me first. No money no talk. In the "Jerry MacGuire" movie, the phrase was used to underline the fact that money talks louder than anything else.

A) Money: The More the Happier?

Making money is the underlying ethos of many societies, especially those called first world nations. Being rich is a sign of success. Being highly paid is a sign of accomplishments. That is why school is being seen more as a tool for making money rather than an education in itself. People may claim that it is both but few see it that way. What if the job we get is not we want, but it pays three times the average starting salary for graduates? What if we hate our jobs but cannot afford to quit because the money was too good? What if the contract was too irresistible that we end up rationalizing a moral issue into an amoral situation? After all, if it is partly true that rationale, it is even more true that man is a "rationalizing animal."

Think about it. When the best and the brightest from the nation's best colleges and Universities graduate and enter top financial firms, rationalizing anything is easy. In the book, "Young Money," Kevin Roose reveals some alarming effects of how such young graduates have their sense of morality gradually being sucked away by the financial industry. (You can read an excellent review here.) Tracing the lives of eight promising top young graduates, Roose notes how the financial industry can impoverish one's sense of moral well-being. With making money as the primary goal, it does not matter if smaller businesses go belly up. Overworked, stressed out, and measured only on the basis of profits, such workers soon become indoctrinated with the making-money-at-all-costs dictum. Soon, big picture thinking is used to justify the "small price" others are paying. Social life becomes non-existent other than entertainment activities for work and client relationship building. As financial traders, workers are measured strictly on the basis of their Profit and Loss performances. Everything else is secondary. The journalist, Michael Lerner:

"This focus on money and power may do wonders in the marketplace, but it creates a tremendous crisis in our society. People who have spent all day learning how to sell themselves and to manipulate others are in no position to form lasting friendships or intimate relationships... Many Americans hunger for a different kind of society -- one based on principles of caring, ethical and spiritual sensitivity, and communal solidarity. Their need for meaning is just as intense as their need for economic security."