The Opera Populaire

Someone once told me that, frens may not be the best counsellors as they know you too well and therefore, when they give advice, they already categorise you into a certain mold and are unable to give alternative points of view that may be useful for your situation. While I think that is a bit of a sweeping statement, I found myself having to admit that it's true on a few occasions and thus stop seeking certain people for advice or even simply to be a listening ear regarding some matters. Their worldview and exposure in life may differ from yourself and while that is usually not a prob becos everyone is unique, at times it causes more harm than good to heed too much of their advice becos it may not suit the true situation you are in. Not that the party involved is forcing you to heed wat he/she says, but sometimes just listening to them use the same words over and over again to describe watever situation you are in is pretty grating on your nerves and at times, worsen your already bad mood. I am learning to be selective and not to let their opinions affect me so much when they need not.

Having said that, I do appreciate their concern and the sometimes hurtful words they use for my own good. It's not that I just wanna hear what I wanna hear, but I have decided to learn to let it matter only when it matters.

I think I am somewhere in between liberal and conservative in my spiritual leanings. Ey but then again aren't we all? But I am tending towards being liberal after I entered the Third Place. Not that what I consider to be the core commands of our Lord is no longer important. They are and will still be crucial, because that is what it means to have a faith.

What is starting to change is perhaps the way I go about things and oso in my sharing with other people. There are some things where there are no black and white and thus what matters is really the attitude in your heart as you set about being obedient. The manner in which you set about doing it may differ from disciple to disciple, depending on your individual convictions and proportions of faith. As the Bible says, man looks at outward appearance while God sees what's in the heart; I think that as long as you are clear that what you are doing is for His glory, sometimes it should not be so much of an issue as to how you go about obeying. The key is really a surrendered heart for God and a loving heart towards one's neighbours.

For instance, I used to think that Christians who question the very basics of Christianity as being "not Christian enough". I now realise that what I failed to see is their "heart": the fact that they are strong enough to want to know for sure and not just accept beliefs blindly. It reminds me not to be judgemental, but to test every spirit to see if they are from God. There are oso instances whereby self-professed Christians actually do not have God in their hearts judging from their actions. It takes the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit to discern the true disciple at heart.