Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. [James 1:17]
An illustration of the Parable of the Talents
A few events that happened in the first two months of this year have galvanized a great deal of conversation and reflection. These events were the severe beating up of a taxi driver in Taiwan caused by a young female entertainer, the shock-passing of American mega star Whitney Houston and Asian superstar Feng Fei Fei, and the unexpected rise to fame of rookie NBA basketball player Jeremy Lin. At stake in our conversation were such values like hard work and discipline, talents and responsibility, social status and lifestyle and so on, and the role of religion and ethics tied in with all this.
But first, we want to turn to the use of talent.
The Use of Talent
It is not good enough to possess talents; we need to be able to use them. At the end of one of the episodes in “NCIS”, a popular TV series, the director of NCIS said to Jethro, the leader of a strong investigation team, “For someone as gifted as you are, it is irresponsible to walk away.”
When talented and highly intelligent people cannot seem to use their talents, we could say they bury them. Sometimes, the simple truth is that something in their childhood or in their present frame of mind blocks the full use of their beautiful gifts. Or, quite simply, the present set of circumstances in which one finds oneself constrains the full use of one’s talents. Those who possess great talents and are able to put them to good use are a blessing to society and to themselves.
The example Jesus gave in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27) shows that talents vary and no one is hindered by the quantity of talents given. The only thing of importance is that the talents are properly applied so that growth is evident. God is just as happy with the one who develops two talents as He is with the one who develops five. The key is hard work and discipline to exploit the talent to its greatest potential.
The life story of Dr Alan Graham MacDiarmid is good primer on talents. A chemistry professor from New Zealand who for some five decades or so researched and taught chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, MacDiarmid is best known for his discovery and development of conductive polymers — plastic materials that conduct electricity. He collaborated with two other scientists in this research, resulting in the three of them being jointly awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery that plastics can, after certain modifications, be made electrically conductive. This was pretty revolutionary work that could yield huge practical applications.
From his interview on New Zealand TV, we have extracted four principles by which this professor’s life is guided.
- Everyone is given some talent by the Almighty Creator. It is our duty to identify that talent.
- Talents are given by God to be fully utilized. It is our responsibility to exploit our talent to its fullest potential.
- Never trample on the rights of others in the pursuit of our talent and our goal.
- Never exploit our God-given talents, or live our lives, for the sake of money alone. The proper use of talents includes giving back to society what we have received from society, for the good of others.
The Passing of Two Divas
Whitney Houston was a major talent. Her six Grammy Awards serve only as a minor reminder of her immense gift. Talents of her caliber appear in the horizon bur rarely. Her death at age 48 was a colossal loss to friends, relatives and the music industry. The LA County coroner’s official report said the singer died from what appeared to be a combination of drugs mixed with alcohol. Drug-addiction had been a key part of this diva’s painful decline. We may deeply lament that for someone so talented, she lived so irresponsibly. But we do not know how difficult her life was, and how she would battle back from drug addiction and a bad marriage that caused the addition. So the media gently described her as “a victim of the time”. It is all the more tragic to realize that she is but one of so many people who are victims of the drug-laden modern cities. She wasn’t the first and she certainly will not be the last. Her tragic end reinforces our conviction that before a drug addiction physically kills, it first kills spiritually and culturally. That’s why we hold the view that the 19th century British and American opium-offensive against China for economic gains, causing severe spiritual and cultural deaths, is quite unforgiveable. That is also why we steadfastly hold to the view [controversial, to be sure, and offering much material for coffee-corner dialogue] that it is ethically justifiable for a nation to impose the death penalty on drug smuggling. It is legitimate self-defence.
Other media commentaries graciously refuse to see Houston’s death as primarily a story of drug or alcohol abuse and that the supposed “teachable moment” about combining booze and drugs misses the point. Important questions identified in this regard ask: “Why do people medicate themselves to such an extent? What role does the public (and its drug dealer, the media) play in this unraveling?” Her internal struggle was the curse of fame, Catherine Parker insists. Houston was “a victim of fame”. The cost of fame is dear, especially for the phenomenally gifted. “Fame is a risk factor for substance abuse… It isn’t just lonely at the top. It can be deadly.”
With her immense talents and beauty, Houston had the world under her feet. And yet, she is another real life example that one can have everything and still be seriously wanting. Her demise is a teachable moment for all who care to pause and ask: How can someone with all the excitement of celebrity drift into boredom, loneliness and abuse? Christians taking time to reflect may ponder what Jesus described perfectly when he said: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a person to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his or her soul?” [Luke 9:24-25].
At her funeral ceremony, Whitney Houston was brought back to her childhood church where she sang in the choir. The world mourned the unexpected passing of this legendary singer. She enjoys a good name in our memory. The Bible teaches us: “A good name is better than precious ointment and the day of death, than the day of birth” [Ecclesiastes 7:1]. Her magnificent voice continues to thrill us, especially when we turn to one of her last songs in 2008, “I Look to You”, a glorious testimony to our dependence on God.
Following Whitney Houston’s shocking demise, Asian music fans, especially of the Taiwanese origin, were treated to the thunderbolt delayed-news of the passing of the Taiwanese superstar singer, Feng Fei Fei (鳳飛飛). She passed away on 3 January at the age of 59, after losing battle to lung cancer. Her life story testifies that one might handle talents and fame differently from the usual model of which the public is accustomed to seeing.
At the peak of her career, Feng married a Hong Kong businessman Zhao Hongqi. It was a tough decision but, putting the values of marriage and family life ahead of everything else, she shifted to Hong Kong and settled down to a quiet and low-keyed married life for more than 20 years. After her husband died of lung cancer in 2009 at 70, her life became a huge void, especially with her son, the only child, away schooling in England. That was when she decided to return to singing, putting her musical talent to good use, keeping herself occupied and finding grace and comfort.
From the endless media commentaries as well as what people in the street say of her, the following sum up this admirable personality:
- low keyed and disciplined [低調自律];
- frugal living [生性節儉];
- cautious and restrained [嚴謹自律];
- never speak ill of others [從不說人壞話].
As she realized that her end was near and that her passing would affect the Chinese New Year celebrations, she instructed her lawyers to defer the announcement of her demise. Her funeral, held incognito, was a complete non-event, in keeping with her low-keyed lifestyle. Yet, her life story is punctuated with great dignity. Against what the public generally perceives to be a narcissistic entertainment culture bereft of high values, Feng Fei Fei has left a good model for others to emulate. In life and in death, she modeled self-control and consideration for others [自我節制, 體貼他人]. She has bequeathed to her numerous fans in Asia not only her huge collection of songs, which testified to her disciplined and sincere hard work [淳樸真誠], but love and concern [留下關愛] as well, something to which people who worked with or for her over the years have profusely testified.
At a time when the Taiwanese society was simultaneously reeling in a shocking real-life drama involving a small-time young female-entertainer, Makiyo, the value system of the likes of superstar Feng Fei Fei is what the Taiwanese society desperately needed to propagate amongst public figures of different professions. Makiyo, of Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, has instigated and teamed up with her visiting Japanese boyfriend to beat up a taxi driver along a busy street in Taipei around midnight. They were, as usual, high on alcohol, and moving from one nightclub to another. The violent beating, caught on video by another passing taxi-driver, was so severe that the victim had to be warded in ICU for some two weeks. Police investigation, before the video came to light, revealed a series of concerted cover-ups and wanton neglect on the part of the culprits. Without that video, it might just turn out to be another he-says-she-says. But the uproar resulting from the shocking revelation in the video was a veritable tsunami of assaults against the dominant pathetic value system in the entertainment circle – a value-system that is all the more harmful to the larger society on account of its influence on the impressionable young generation. Here is a great teachable-moment for the Taiwanese society and for societies everywhere.
The Breakout Success of Jeremy Lin
In the wake of all this, a delightful story shot to world attention. The sudden break-out success of Jeremy Lin (林书豪) in NBA basketball is as incredible as it is inspirational and potentially educational. By definition, there is very little space for survival, let alone to flourish in NBA basketball circle. Neither Jeremy’s skin-colour, nor his height, offers any scope for imagination that he would do well. Lin was warming the benches on the New York Knicks team when he received a call to play in place of an injured player. He turned that opportunity to gold and never looked back.
That Lin suddenly burst into public view and became virtually a household name in a space of two weeks in February, helping even NBA to improve its ratings and inspiring business opportunities worldwide was partly coincidence and partly the result of sheer determination and consistent hard work. His doing so brilliantly in such a highly competitive sport recalls the insight of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani when asked about his secret of success. “To succeed,” he said, “you need to do three things: you prepare, you prepare and you prepare.” When people attribute Lin’s sudden shot to fame as a stroke of luck, such an ascription is truncated if it does not see luck as opportunity meeting preparation. Discipline and hard work are the bedrocks of success and Lin’s success story is a classic example.
Lin’s core values are solid. Of all the assessments about this refreshing young man, by far the most encouraging sign is his attitude. Concerning that attitude, four elements have consistently stood out:
- Life is a gift and must not be wasted. He became the first Harvard graduate to make it to an NBA team.
- Life is full of endless uphill battles, failures and prejudices. He persevered and waited for his time.
- Success must always be tempered by humility. Lin always ascribes his success on the court to team work and to God.
- Life is nothing without God. Christians are delighted to hear that Lin’s inspiration comes from his faith in God. In his story of faith, one sees confidence and steadfastness through adversity.
The world as we know it is passing away [1 Cor 7:31]. From cover to cover, the Bible tells us that time is temporary. It points past our earthly existence and directs our attention to an eternal realm. Eternity is the infinitely “longer” reality. It is refreshing to watch any young man, such as Lin, who has an eternal timeline in mind rather than a temporal pursuit of money that might fulfill for a season but would leave one empty in the long term. Together with Tim Tebow of NFL, these two highly talented and hugely successful American young sportsmen give a lie to the conventional wisdom that fame and fortune ruin everyone. It does not have to be so. So far, their focus on God has planted their feet solidly on the ground and borne fruits of healthy values.
[1] Dr Alan MacDiarmid [2] Whitney Houston [3] Feng Fei Fei [4] Jeremy Lin.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, April, 2012. All rights reserved.
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