August 20, 2007
**Sigh**
Finally, I've handed in my Journalism essay this evening, which freed me from loads of pressure. It's not that the assignment was hard, but I just have lots to do this week and so little time. The next sociology assignment is due this Wednesday and another Journalism news script to be due on Friday. ARGH!!! And since half of my load has vanished after the first 'last minute' essay, I can happily sit here and blog my night away. And oh, my time with my darling yesterday was really wonderful. Before I start, just wanna say to my darling...... I love you dear!
Anyway, my previous entry has discussed about morality and of where it originates. Some say it came from man. Well, if it is rooted within us since birth and conception, then goodness is man's nature. According to
philosophers and psychologists, the tabula rasa is a term used in reference to humans being born with no innate or built-in mental content, and that their entire resource of knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world. In another words, man are born as 'blank slate'. But this theory ignores the fact that babies do cry when they are thirsty for milk, and
crawling infants do avoid the edge in order not to fall off the bed. They have the in-built capability of depth perception and the desire to survive. Babies aren't ignorant after all. They are naturally aware of their environment revolving around themselves, but have not fully develop the skills of intelligent perception.
As I've mentioned previously, nobody likes to die; everyone desires to live and survive. And they have their own way of survival. Yet, everyone desires to do good because of their nature, which is planted with the seed of goodness. This seed of goodness, however, is vulnerable to corruption and perversion if the mind of that person is just as corrupt. Man's (Adam) sin is the propelling factor to corrupt thinking and moral philosophies. Philosophy, in general, is a subjective term describing the inner thoughts of man. Thus, moral philosophies can be 'moral' in different views of different thinking personalities.
Nihilism, or existentialism, is a philosophy of nothingness, meaninglessness, and non-purpose. It is a philosophy of constant deconstruction of meanings in this world, including the purpose of true living. It argues that life has no truth, and no action can be preferable to any other. It is a miserable belief system that any lonely person would adopt. If life has no purpose, it is as good as dying. We live for a reason, and that reason is to live it gloriously. Soldiers fought and died honorably in battle, not because they have nothing better to do. Rather, they are fighting for their nation, their families and love ones. After all, to live, is to live one's life honorably and fruitfully. To die, is to die gloriously, and with a legacy. In all things, there must be a true meaning of existence, that is, to
survive, excel and succeed.
Philosophies are descended from thoughts of man. Some of them, biased; some, corrupted; while others are meant for good. And good is subjected to various personalities based upon social institutions and locations. But the ultimate goal in life is what everyone constantly desire. That is, to succeed. But it is a gateway which remains closed to those who miss the point of getting there. "God", the symbol of moral excellence and all good values, should not remain dead, as what Nihilism protests, but should be embraced and practiced. Previously, I discussed about the components of what
God is made up of. The Standard of God is character excellence. It is a meter in which we constantly measure ourselves with to see if we have arrived. The Bible mentions that God's thought is higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways (Amplified Bible, Isaiah 55:9). It is a clear sign that we have a lot to learn, and develop in terms of our character and the way we think and perceive circumstances. Only the proud would resist such verse from the Bible. Hence, the Standard of God is higher than we expect but nevertheless, it is no harm at all trying to reach that Standard.
Here's what we can do:
1. Live life to the fullest.
For Christians: Blindly insisting to non-believers that God is the one and true God is NOT an option. Evangelizing by preaching non-stop is NOT an option. I will get bored after a while. And trust me, when I was a non-believer some time ago, it was extremely irritating experiencing the constant mocking and ridicule from Christians and moderates who simply know they're right in every sentence they preached or bragged about. As a believer now, I am not completely bounded by what the Bible literally says and certainly, the Bible is limited in content unless interpreted correctly by Bible scholars. Other than that, the moral teachings of Christ, though filled with confusing parables, are masterpieces of Higher Thought constructed to mold one's character. When interpreted correctly, these Standards are worth excelling towards. It is NOT about evangelizing, it is about living a fruitful and successful life. Thus,
moral and character excellence is the Standard.
2. Survive first, then excel.
To Preachers: Many charismatic preachers I know have a habit of preaching about success, on how to have a mindset focusing upon success. It is a positive way of thinking, but nevertheless, an ignorant way. Now I'm not going to talk about the
process of evolution. But what evolution is about, cannot be left out in this picture. Evolution itself is a fact. That fact is about the survival of the fit. Many Christians thought that being Christians should only adopt the Creationist way of thinking and beliefs, which is very narrow-minded I would say. To live a fruitful life, you have to be realistic. And being realistic, is to accept that this world runs on a constant survival mentality. But these preachers try to divert their sheep's attention away from this fact. It is no more than running away from the fact of life's cruelty, ignoring what comes before success.
Success is not a destination; it is a process, but only if we first learn to survive. How do we survive? Adapt. Adaptation is the answer to survival. Survival precedes any possibility of excellence and thereafter, success. How would you succeed in your own workplace without first learning to adapt to your working environment and the people around you? Social responsibility and people management should be practised without a doubt to gain the trust of colleagues and clients. Again, why do we work in the first place? To put food on the table is the answer. Without food on the table, one can forget about excelling or succeeding in time to come. The survival mentality is essential in order to move to the next level - excellence. To succeed is to become excellent in all your visions and dreams. How you set your standard is based upon how you see yourself. In conclusion, if you see yourself as
children of God (likeness to higher morality), you will set your standard to meet His Standard. In the end, you are also responsible for the way you lead your life.
3. Learn to love.
To all: I know it is hard and painful to share our seed of goodness with others, especially to those who are less deserving of our kindness. Nevertheless, we are still learning to love each step at a time. There is however, no rush to it, because we are never too old to pick up something new or to gain enlightenment to any doubts. I find it really hard to love my enemies. That's the reason why I could never be perfect. But God of the Bible says that we have to love our enemies (Amplified Bible, Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:35). Not just show them mercy but to show them respect and grace as well. WOW!!! That IS the STANDARD of God. How do we reach it? Well, we have to grow to it. We need to learn to achieve that Standard perfected for us. And it is, in my opinion, all worthwhile to work towards that Standard.
In closing, there is no standard Standard for us to follow. But it is rather how we perceive ourselves, thereby subconsciously setting our level of excellence or expectations on how we should live our lives. The
God Standard is the Standard we should look up to. It is, however, optional to learn to work towards it.
