Did you watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night? Let me tell ya, it was amazing! I’ve seen a lot of opening Olympic ceremonies, I have got to tell you that this one rank on the top of my list. There are a few things I liked about the performance: the pyrotechnics, the immense masses of 1500 performers and Tai-Chi masters moving together in a circle, the visual effects of the Chinese paintings, the ‘globe’ and acrobatics, and the architecture of the ‘swallow’s nest’ stadium… But, do you know what got underneath my skin and gave me chills as I watch with excitement at the edge of my seat? It was the masses of Tai-Chi masters… It was DISCIPLINE that got my attention.
However, before I tell you about my thoughts on discipline, I have a few observations that I want to share. When comes to natural wonders, breath taking mountains and gorges and landscapes, the Golbi desert, the Wall of China, the unique species of animals, the capacity of having a fifth of the world’s population, and the oldest of world’s history and proverbs… no countries on earth can beat China. The “Middle Kingdom” as Chinese called themselves for the last 5,000 years is actually not a term of humility. Though humility is a character of the wise, “Middle” in Mandarin (the main language of the Chinese people) means either “in the middle of” not high, not low, not big, not small (sounds like a call for modesty isn’t it?) or “in the center of,” which means “we are IT.” In fact, “Middle Kingdom” has a connotation of the “Center of the Universe.” The name is one of ethnocentrism and egocentrism with a twang of ‘humble modesty.’
I am Chinese, I am from Taiwan, and I am American. I am very proud to be a Taiwanese-American. My ancestors are the ‘Han Chinese.’ I was born and raised in Taiwan, so I know what it is like to grow up and being indoctrinated in that culture. I know that China, the “Middle Kingdom” has a long and rich history. But, that history has been dramatically altered when the communists took over in 1949. When that transition happened, also many other important events happened. First, it started by the destruction of Chinese culture. How are the communists managing (yes, a progressive verb) that? By destroying ancient literature, exporting national art, and most important of all “CHANGING THE CHINESE CHARACTER.” Did you know that when the communists took over, the ‘
Simplified Chinese writings’ started? So, if you are not aware of this, now there are 2 systems of how to write Chinese characters: Simplified and Traditional. Traditional characters are very complex, and many of the characters originally came from pictographs. It is the writings of the ancients with all the strokes intact. Each character stands alone by itself and has a full meaning of its own. One can change the connotations and context of these characters when they are placed in a sentence. Simplified version is created at the beginning of communist China in attempt to change Chinese history. By ‘removing’ various ‘strokes’ in Chinese character, they started destroying the history of the language and its origins. Later generations will not be able to discern the origin of their rich ornate culture, because their language no longer ‘appears as their originally intended.’
Two other issues bother me about the communist China. One, I believe that the show last night about PEACE and “Green China” is one to put positive spin on their reputation as being the LARGEST POLLUTER in the world and as a country of having many HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. Why does the world complaint of the big SUV’s and pollutions of USA, while turn their faces away from China’s pollution? I mean, granted that China has 1.3 billion peole, fifth of the world’s population, no one on Earth can compare with the amount of waste generated by China, but, that also gives them responsibility to find ways to keep at least their people healthy. At least we don’t have to shut down half of our city everyday so we can hold an Olympic so that the athletes’ lungs are not burning from the heavy soup of airborne particulates! Then again the spectacular pyrotechnics didn't help either. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed the performance, but, I can’t help to think that most of the beauty and peace and how well choreographed everything had been were just “PROPAGANDA.”
Two, have you noticed that
Taiwan didn’t exist as a country as it was represented in the Olympics? It was called “Chinese Taipei.” The Taiwanese Flag was not allowed to enter the competition. If you are aware of the long struggle for Taiwanese identity, you will understand what I mean. As a Taiwanese, my opposition isn’t really to the people of China, but to the government. I make myself distinct, as most of Chinese people from Taiwan, from the communists. It’s the obvious hypocrisy of communist China that angers me. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the identity of Taiwan isn’t included in this competition, which is purposed to ‘unite’ the nations and to represent ‘peace.’
Ok… I am going to change topics and talk about my thoughts on ‘discipline.’ If you have seen any movies out of Hong Kong, such as Hero, The Warlord, Fearless, training of the Shaolin monks, 300, The Last Samurai, or any Olympic sporting events, you’d have seen the physical and mental discipline displayed. In fact, as I am thinking about this, I was reminded by several Biblical passages talking about having discipline as a soldier readying for war or athlete training for performance as allegories to walking the Christian journey. Having discipline means “considering our ways,” “take all of our thoughts captive,” “keep the thoughts of my mind and words of my tongue to be pleasing to God,” and to continue to “persevere during trials.” Once we turn from ways of anarchy (when we obey our body to do what we desire and our mouth to say whatever we want) into the way of discipline,
we no longer walk as we used to walk and talk as we used to talk. We have to make a 180 degree switch in the direction we were going and behavior as we’ve gotten so used to. Growing in discipline is like a soldier training for battle. When you are untrained, you continuously get wounded by strikes and blows and arrows and with any little insult. However, to invest into training means that your ability to ward off the offenses becomes second-nature. Taking the athletic analogy, our muscles have to be trained to increase performance. A well-oiled joint is a joint that moves smoothly and without injuries. If our muscles are not well trained, we get hurt, we strain them and then we are disabled until it's healed.
So, drawing from analogies of nature and world wisdom, if we don’t become discipline we will not survive when we are called to stand up for ourselves. Without discipline our minds go weak and cannot stand for much insult, or to give grace to those who offend us. Without physical discipline we cannot stand to defend ourselves and preserve our lives or the lives of those we love and cherish. Also without physical discipline, we waste away in fatten, glutten, drunkenness, and become ‘RUSTY’ as we get hurt to do anything. However, as much as I think about the steep decline of physical and mental discipline of our time and our society, I think the SOLE root factor in declines of our physical and mental capacity is a dive in SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE. A dive in reverence for our Creator.
Mind you, it is not a physical warfare we are fighting, we are fighting a SPIRITUAL war! The KEY to killing our courage and failure in this war to “focus on self”! When our minds are convinced that we are ALONE in our experiences and struggles, the darkness have won! When we focus on our own struggles and how gigantic our road blocks are, we develop FEAR that incapacitates us from growth and continuing to walk toward what we know is good... When FEAR sets in we tend to abandon HOPE. So, George, how do we break this downward spiral of giving up, giving in, mental retardation, physical rustiness? OK, I’LL TELL YOU:
BE SPIRITUALLY DISCIPINE! What does that mean? Look at all those VERBS and promises!
Proverbs 2: 1-8 “My son, If you
accept my Words, and
store up my command within you,
turning your ear to wisdom and
applying your heart to understanding, and if you
call out for insight and
cry aloud for understanding, and if you
look for it as for silver and
search for it as for hidden treasure, then
you will understand the fear of the LORD and
find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD
gives wisdom and from his mouth
come knowledge and understanding. He
holds victory in store for the upright, He
is a shield to those whose walk is blameless. For He
guards the course of the just and
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and
lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge him, and
he will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and
shun evil.
This will bring health to your body and nourishment o your bones.”
These are promises from the LORD, in fact, Spiritual disciplines many times start with mental and physical disciplines. The truth is that, if you have no physical and mental discipline, then you will not be spiritually disciplined; and if you are not willing to adhere to the words in these proverbs, then you will not achieve discipline. You know, the cost of giving up discipline is grave! Look at the trend of our society? Gluttony, increase in morbid diseases, decrease in morality, people whine with desperation, people torture and abuse and destroy one another in defiance to God… what are the alternative to having no Spiritual discipline!
Your Choice!
I have been working on this book called the The Pilgrim’s Progress, written by John Bunyan during his imprisonment around 1676. John Bunyan was an English preacher who had a passion to share the Good News to his fellow countrymen. Because of his passion for The Way, he suffered much. He preached in the neighborhood of Bedford, England between the years of 1655 to 1660; then he was arrested and put into the Bedford County Gaol (prison) for 12 years for committing the crime of preaching openly the messages of Christ. He was let go for a few weeks to go home during the Great Plague, but as a man of integrity and respect for authority and reverence for the LORD, he re-admitted himself back into the prison after the plague to finish his sentence. He had become the courageous example of sharing his compelling message of Love in the Gospels in the face of adversity.
The story tells of a Christian’s journey from start to end with all the expectations of evil and good characters in between. It is almost like a road map for what it is like if you so chose to follow Christ. The choice to become a Christ-follower is not easy. There are times we must fight, stand firm, not to be persuaded, not to fall to slumber, to pray for encouragements and help, and to be an encouragement to others on this journey. I have a short conversation that I want to share with you, this is a discourse between Christian’s wife, Christiana, and Mr. Great-Heart, a minister sent by God to guide us in the journey. Mr. Great-Heart’s respond to Christiana's question after he had beaten an evil one called Maul:
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