The sour beancurd? Or the very colourful and sweet one?

Today, during chinese lesson, there was this compre passage that tchr went through in class. And it is about how two stall owners sell beancurd... and their stalls are side by side.

The first stall sells the traditional beancurd, the very sour one... while the second stall sells beancurd with a lot of rubbish... no wait... items inside such as longan, fruits etc. to make the beancurd abnormally sweet.

People flooded the second stall at first... then soon, people headed for the first one instead.

What is the actual morale of this story? According to the passage, traditional stuff cannot be tampered with modern stuff, if not it spoils both items.

To me, I think this brings another lesson...

Teenagers nowadays want to be accepted by the society around them. A number of teenagers also wants to be popular. And to maintain that "Popularity" status, they have to do all sorts of "stunts" (as quoted by a certain Ms Goh Shihui) ... like talking the way they talk, or walking the way they walk... Talking their walk and even walking their talk... =D

This, to me, is the "sweet" fake-ish beancurd.

Others, however, do not care about what the world thinks of them. Usually they are all for studying... getting good grades or even trying to just do something good and useful in life.

To me, this is the "sour" beancurd.

In my class in sch, both types are present. There are even hybrids... I won't mention any names here that belong to either category, since I do not want to ruin them (physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally... all the ally-ies you can think about).

Personally, I think I'm like more towards the "sweet" side. I see myself trying to please the world compared to pleasing God. Sometimes when I want to please God, I end up failing. Again. Miserably.

Rejection hurts. When we get rejected, some of us can get over it. Others, however, will keep it in their minds and they keep thinking that they are failures. But even "Failures" has something to do for Jesus. =D

Stay strong, those whom may feel inferior to someone or a group of people. Do not forget that although you may be rejected here and there, Jesus will never reject us. In fact, Jesus is waiting eagerly for us to turn to Him whenever we get rejected/ridiculed/mocked/insulted/failed (or all at the same time).

Jesus knows rejection hurts. He Himself experienced that when He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and got captured by the High Priests. Even the Jews had rejected Jesus. And the Jews were God's people! Jesus knows how you would feel. After all, it is better to turn to someone who had experience compared to someone who does not know any more than you.

Love your neighbour as yourself. I love that line. Sometimes people (myself included) hurt others intentionally. This society is so geared to self-centredness that everyone is fighting for the top positions for themselves. That's what evolution claims, that everyone has to go through the race of the fittest. The fittest, most brutal and most cunning will win the race. Losers will get left behind. Unfortunately, God said in His word that "the last shall be first, and the first shall be the last" (Matthew 20:16)

In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus was telling the crowd about a parable.

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius (I guess its like S$50...) for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.

"He went out again at the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

"'Because no one hired us,' they answered..

"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last only worked one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have bourne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."


There are many interpretations about what Jesus mean in this parable. This meaning stood up to me.

Evolution is all about the survival of the fittest. If you are "fitter", then you get more and better stuff. Losers will eat the dirt. That is what evolution says. But, as I read this passage, I saw the meaning that if you are at the top of the food chain or at the bottom, God will still treat everybody the same as He treats the bottom and the top respectively.

It is very encouraging to me... =D

I'm holding a prayer meeting in sch during recess on friday. If anyone wants to join us, then do not hesitate to inform me. =) Hope to see you there =D

And, also my church is hosting a "Prayer and Praise Concert" @ 8pm, this Friday. If you want to come check it out, also do not hesitate to drop me a note. =)

Jesus rocks. Seriously




P.S Yes I know that Friday is the opening ceremony of the Olympics. But it's up to you. I cannot force you to do anything which you do not want to do.
P.P.S I'm copying Shawn's way of blogging... not the format of the post, but the words enlargement. Thanks Shawn! =D