Skip to main content

Tragic Comedy

The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think. - Horace Walpole

How true ... how true! For someone like me who is just as idealistic as I am cynical, this quote perfectly captures the gamut of emotions I feel when I think about the world. It explains why sometimes my heart is saddened to the point of tears when I see our society grow more and more depraved. Somehow, we have been programmed to put all the fleeting things of the world on top of our priority list: we choose money over morals, we choose instant gratification over long-suffering love, career over family ...

At the same time, I laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. We are fools in this game of life if we believe its rewards will fulfill the deepest needs of our heart and soul. I think in some way we all know this, that being rich and famous only increases your happiness for so long before it consumes you with its hidden vices. But we lie to ourselves and ignore what we know deep inside, only so we can indulge in temporary bliss.

This world is a sad place ... and I hope we all realize that before it's too late.

Comments

Anonymous said…
hm... what triggered such a thought???
Ken said…
life of course ... actually it was just a random quote I read, thought I would share it with you

Popular posts from this blog

Tim Keller is my Hero!

I happen to LOVE Tim Keller. Here's an article about him on NYTimes several weeks ago. When I was in East Asia, Keller would preach to us almost every Sunday through my trusty MP3 player. I listened to him for two years before I finally saw him face to face when I visited Redeemer last July. I can still remember how I couldn't focus on the message that first Sunday because he looked so much different than how I pictured him in my head for two years. Preaching the Word and Quoting the Voice By Michael Luo , Published: February 26, 2006 In the twilight of the biggest snowstorm in New York City's history, the pews of a rented Baptist church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan were packed for the Rev. Timothy J. Keller's fourth sermon of the day. About 4,400 people attend the church; many joined after the Sept. 11 attacks. The 600 or so who braved the snow for the evening service got what they had come to expect — a compelling discourse by Dr. Keller, this time on Jesu...

YHWH

God is the most God-centered being in the universe . - John Piper People always asks, "If God created us so that we can glorify Him, doesn't this make Him pretty vain?" Well, I don't think that vain is the correct word for it, but it does make Him very God-centered. Take the Exodus story for example, God appointed Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery from the hands of the Egyptians. There were ten deadly plagues and God hardens pharaoh's heart time and time again. So ... why did God do that? Let's take a look at some scripture: Exo 7:3,5 "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt ... The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord , when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the songs of Israel from their midst. " This theme repeats throughout the next few Chapters (7:17, 8:22, 9:14-16, 12:12, 14:4), God demonstrates His power through these plagues so that both the Israelites a...

Christianity Lite

Several people have told me that I sound angry or bitter in my last post. My response to that is: I'M NOT ANGRY OR BITTER ... haha. Now that's settled, let's risk sounding critical and judgmental with the following post. One of the fears I have for the modern church is that in order to penetrate into the mainstream, the chuch is diluting its message and portraying an unbalanced view of the Gospel. In our strive to change the common stereotype that Christians are intolerant and conservative, churches becoming more and more vague about its beliefs and tenants. Please don't misunderstand, I am all for being more culturally relevant and reaching out to the masses, but not at the cost of compromising our values. Yes, Jesus reached out to the outcasts and "sinners," and we should do the same by displaying love rather than condemnation. But even when Jesus saved the adulterous woman from being stoned in John 8, He said to her after the crowd left, " Neithe...