*Malay version of "Wings of Love"
By: 葉晨星
Translated by: Chew Phui Yee
Ku berjalan dalam lembah kelam
Tiada yang ku takut s’bab Kau bersamaku
Ku berlindung dalam naunganMu
Engkaulah Tuhanku
Ku percaya
Bawaku dalam naunganMu
Bawaku ke pangkuanMu
Bawaku hingga akhir masa
Bawaku dalam sayapMu
Friday, August 04, 2006
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Face to face
During my stay in Singapore, I followed uncle and Lioba to "Marriage Enrichment Seminar" at their church by an invited speaker. I went there because otherwise I would have nowhere to go. Although I'm not married and not even in a relationship yet, I found that the seminar was beneficial because I got to know some of the relationship issues faced by married couple and also some advices on better relationship. Well, good for me also.
The speaker highlighted one of the most common issues in communication. He said that in a survey about people's preferrences on the way of communicating with others, SMS was the number one choice. Second choice was the chat room like MSN Messenger(my favourite), third was e-mail, forth- telephone conversation and lastly, the least preferred way of communication was face-to-face. Of course, he specifically linked this with how couples communicate.
This is a very interesting topic because communication is part of us, it's part of our lives. Unless we are confined in a dungeon (for example) all by ourselves, whether we like it or not, almost everything is about communication. Ways and means of communication vary over time, besides affected by culture, technology and so on.
I'm actually more interested in talking about face-to-face communication (the one least preferred). I'm appalled when I read an old newspaper article about how people fell in love with each other through IRC and ICQ. I'm not sure of what's the latest trend now but I always like to debate about this 'Internet chatting' issue. I admit I like to play MSN Messenger with friends but I'm more reserved on with whom am I talking to. I'm not against the technology and I'm not saying it is all bad but I think it is good to be critical about the consequences it could bring, especially those who want to find 'soul-mate' through chat room.
So, this Malaysian young girl was saying how she met this Dutch guy in a random Internet chat room, how he sounded sincere, honest and caring like no one else, and how he finally converted to the girl's religion and became her fiancee. The basic question is: How did she know whether the guy was not a wolf in a sheep's skin? People may even deceive each other in the real world. What more in a cyberspace where we wouldn't even sure whether the guy was telling the truth about his gender, for example? In a real world conversation, we sometimes able to judge a person by facial and voice expression and body language although there are times when disorders happen. Communication breakdown is common because humans aren't perfect. Disorders happen in real world conversation and what more in cyber world where people are not able to judge a person or situation by mere words. The word 'judge' I mean here doesn't limited to that of whether the other party is an angel or devil.
I personally have had a lot of problems even in face-to-face conversations. Sometimes, I got so frustrated that I wished I were mute. I also faced no less problems in the 'text messaging'. Honestly, I'm very fearful of receiving scoldings or reprimands via SMS because sometimes text expressions are very vague, I wouldn't know exactly about the feelings of the sender which I could judge through his or her voice, facial expressions etc., so as a result it left me guessing. To an extreme point, it would be depressing because I could have perceived a message as a big issue over a small matter. Sometimes, if not properly conveyed, a text message could be misleading in addition with the usage of SMS language like 'gr8' instead of great, 'abt' instead of about, 'lg' instead of long. As a result, it could lead to misunderstandings.
I would like to share what I've learnt about the various reasons why people prefer text messaging or other ways of communication instead of meet and talk in person. One of the reasons is that it's a convenient way to avoid embarassment. For example, it is always easier for a person to say sorry via SMS than to say it straight to the face. Another reason is that people are sometimes afraid to communicate verbally because they cannot 'delete' and 'edit' the words that come out of their mouth. Moreover, text messaging is again a convenient way to express feelings such as "I love you". I think all these have to do with humans' pride.
No matter how chaotic a face-to-face conversation could be, I think it's still the ideal way of communication. Jesus demonstrated face-to-face communications when He was here more than 2,000 years ago. He did not use other means of communication. He personally came.
I want to share what I've read about how Jesus honestly revealed Himself to His disciples straight to their face in John 14:5-14
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Another issue is that we may be culturally bound to say things indirectly. That's why we have the tendency to go round and round but end up not hitting the point. We may mean something but people may perceive differently. What I learn from the Bible is that Jesus was very straight forward in no matter what He did; in His teachings, while performing miracles, when He was healing the sick and comforting the people. He was even so straight forward in rebuking the people (see Mark 7:5-8).
For that, I begin to appreciate people who are straight forward even when they rebuke me, face-to-face. And no matter how hard it is for me to speak, I think I should learn how to communicate. It's a lifelong learning anyway. It's also why God has given us a mouth and two ears; to speak up and listen. What an amazing grace, we even talk to Him by literally open our mouth and voice out prayer and praise.
The speaker highlighted one of the most common issues in communication. He said that in a survey about people's preferrences on the way of communicating with others, SMS was the number one choice. Second choice was the chat room like MSN Messenger(my favourite), third was e-mail, forth- telephone conversation and lastly, the least preferred way of communication was face-to-face. Of course, he specifically linked this with how couples communicate.
This is a very interesting topic because communication is part of us, it's part of our lives. Unless we are confined in a dungeon (for example) all by ourselves, whether we like it or not, almost everything is about communication. Ways and means of communication vary over time, besides affected by culture, technology and so on.
I'm actually more interested in talking about face-to-face communication (the one least preferred). I'm appalled when I read an old newspaper article about how people fell in love with each other through IRC and ICQ. I'm not sure of what's the latest trend now but I always like to debate about this 'Internet chatting' issue. I admit I like to play MSN Messenger with friends but I'm more reserved on with whom am I talking to. I'm not against the technology and I'm not saying it is all bad but I think it is good to be critical about the consequences it could bring, especially those who want to find 'soul-mate' through chat room.
So, this Malaysian young girl was saying how she met this Dutch guy in a random Internet chat room, how he sounded sincere, honest and caring like no one else, and how he finally converted to the girl's religion and became her fiancee. The basic question is: How did she know whether the guy was not a wolf in a sheep's skin? People may even deceive each other in the real world. What more in a cyberspace where we wouldn't even sure whether the guy was telling the truth about his gender, for example? In a real world conversation, we sometimes able to judge a person by facial and voice expression and body language although there are times when disorders happen. Communication breakdown is common because humans aren't perfect. Disorders happen in real world conversation and what more in cyber world where people are not able to judge a person or situation by mere words. The word 'judge' I mean here doesn't limited to that of whether the other party is an angel or devil.
I personally have had a lot of problems even in face-to-face conversations. Sometimes, I got so frustrated that I wished I were mute. I also faced no less problems in the 'text messaging'. Honestly, I'm very fearful of receiving scoldings or reprimands via SMS because sometimes text expressions are very vague, I wouldn't know exactly about the feelings of the sender which I could judge through his or her voice, facial expressions etc., so as a result it left me guessing. To an extreme point, it would be depressing because I could have perceived a message as a big issue over a small matter. Sometimes, if not properly conveyed, a text message could be misleading in addition with the usage of SMS language like 'gr8' instead of great, 'abt' instead of about, 'lg' instead of long. As a result, it could lead to misunderstandings.
I would like to share what I've learnt about the various reasons why people prefer text messaging or other ways of communication instead of meet and talk in person. One of the reasons is that it's a convenient way to avoid embarassment. For example, it is always easier for a person to say sorry via SMS than to say it straight to the face. Another reason is that people are sometimes afraid to communicate verbally because they cannot 'delete' and 'edit' the words that come out of their mouth. Moreover, text messaging is again a convenient way to express feelings such as "I love you". I think all these have to do with humans' pride.
No matter how chaotic a face-to-face conversation could be, I think it's still the ideal way of communication. Jesus demonstrated face-to-face communications when He was here more than 2,000 years ago. He did not use other means of communication. He personally came.
I want to share what I've read about how Jesus honestly revealed Himself to His disciples straight to their face in John 14:5-14
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Another issue is that we may be culturally bound to say things indirectly. That's why we have the tendency to go round and round but end up not hitting the point. We may mean something but people may perceive differently. What I learn from the Bible is that Jesus was very straight forward in no matter what He did; in His teachings, while performing miracles, when He was healing the sick and comforting the people. He was even so straight forward in rebuking the people (see Mark 7:5-8).
For that, I begin to appreciate people who are straight forward even when they rebuke me, face-to-face. And no matter how hard it is for me to speak, I think I should learn how to communicate. It's a lifelong learning anyway. It's also why God has given us a mouth and two ears; to speak up and listen. What an amazing grace, we even talk to Him by literally open our mouth and voice out prayer and praise.
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