life is so vulnerable ...

where we are often susceptible to emotional hurt... to mental stress... to physical injury... even to death!

who would have expected the Nicoll Highway to collapse on the 20th April? the 4 workers who died in this tragedy certainly didn't! or would the 5-year-old girl who went to the Australian Embassy to pick up her new passport have anticipated the bomb blast that hit Jakarta? or a divorcee ever thought her marriage would end this way when she walked down the aisle on her wedding day?

no matter how well we may have planned for our future - which school to go; what course to take; which career path to opt for; what investment to venture, etc. no matter how successful - top scholar of the Oxford University; CEO of a certain MNC (Multi National Company); a billionaire through stock markets, etc. we can never predict what will happen to us in the next minute.

if life is so fragile & unpredictable, why do we put our focus on earthly things when we cannot even take it with us when we die? please do not misunderstand me that we should not strife & give our best in all that we do - in fact, Paul encouraged us to "do our best to present ourselves to God" 2 Tim 2:15 - but rather we can 'invest' on others by giving our time, attention, love through ministry & evangelism. the only thing we can bring with us to heaven is the soul of those whom we have brought to Christ...

imagine: if you are told by the doctor that you only have 1-year to live. what would it be for you? will everything that you have done or possessed mean anything now?

imagine again: in the twinkling of an eye, you do not exist any more in this world. you are caught by surprise & do not have any clue why? how? etc... what are the things you would have regretted doing or not doing? did you cherish the things around you more than the people around you?

share your thoughts, post a comment now.

as we go through each ...

... transitional phase in our lives, we will certainly encounter either good or bad influence - though i would prefer to call bad influence as peer pressure while the good as peer influence...

who & what influence us? our parents, relatives, friends, teachers, mentors, religion, the media, circumstances, almost everything! the direction in which these people would point us to could either be positive or negative.. in other words, we should not take for granted that parents will always point us to the things that are right because there are parents who are bad influence to their children.. example, a father who smokes brings across the message to his child that it is ok to smoke... or some extreme religious/cults leader who led their followers in mass suicide to "enter heaven"...

while of course the common peer pressure usually come from friends & the media, where we are constantly challenged by the question: "are you in or are you out?" if we don't dress, talk or behave like them - we are out of the group.. if we don't try this or do that - we are losers.. only statement like "been there, done that" would get us a place in the group. exactly what do we get out of being under such peer pressure? better character? no.. don't think so... self esteem & the sense of belonging to a group? yes.. perhaps.. but what for? what's there to be proud of yourself when you can smoke & not die of lung cancer? or take drugs but not get caught? or could drink & not get drunk? or have pre-marital sex & not be pregnant? what good are these friends anyway?!

isn't peer influence (ie. good influence) something a lot better? then why do we subject ourselves to peer pressure? the choice is yours but it is important to recognize that it is sometimes necessary to say "NO" in order to make good decisions...

John says: "Dear friend, don't let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God's children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God."
3 John 1:11

have you consider what kind of impact it would have on the people closest to us or the things around us when we succumb to peer pressure?

what say you? post your comments now!