The Wilful Sunflower

Recently, Charis, one of my readers, asked why I don't want to emigrate and won't consider emigrating, even for lurve. "People think I'm crazy when I tell them I'm thinking of coming back. Reminds me of when I was in college and people also thought I must have a few screws loose because I believed in God... horror of horrors," she wrote.

I replied in the comments section, but then I thought, "This would make a great Merdeka Day post." (Merdeka Day -- otherwise known as Independence Day -- is on the 31st, which also happens to be tomorrow ) So here is the "extended version", like LOTR! hehehee

We'll start off with a quote from Vincent, who wrote recently that the most prominent aspect of Malaysian culture is the way we incessantly complain about our homeland:

We complain non-stop about the government and their policies. We complain about how everything is not up to standard with other countries. We complain and point fingers at every higher power imaginable... except the highest power of them all - us citizens who have all that power to make our country a better place.

You know what? He's right. We complain about the country, the government, the system, people's attitudes, etc., but we aren't willing to do anything to try to make a difference here or change things. Instead, we decide to leave. How is that going to help?

Someone once said you lose the right to complain if you don't choose to do anything about the situation. Anybody can be an armchair critic; that's easy. But to be an agent of change -- that takes commitment, and effort.

I'm not saying we should all become activists or something. I'm saying that we can make a difference in the lives of people around us, within our circles of influence. Ripples spread. Yes, we may not be able to single-handedly change the system. Yes, we may be a minority whose voice gets drowned out by the louder voices. But maybe you can quietly introduce your group of friends to a different perspective. Maybe you can indirectly help shape policies within your department at your workplace. Maybe you can do something for people in the community whose lives are worse off than yours and whom the authorities seem to be ignoring. If you're so all-fired upset about it, do something about it.

You see, we can rail at the system, but we don't see that WE ARE PART OF THE SYSTEM. I know many Christians are praying for "revival" in this nation. They're praying for God to "heal this land". But if all we're thinking about is ourselves and how we can have an easier, more comfortable life and earn more money to own more things, then why pray for these things? Why pray for God to sweep across this nation and transform her people? If we're not willing to be involved as agents of change, then let's drop the hypocrisy and stop praying for all these things. What is the point?

In essence, that's why I don't want to emigrate. Emigrating, to me, is somewhat akin to running away. Even now, I have many friends who dream of emigrating to more developed countries in search of greater opportunities and a more comfortable, more prosperous life. I don't fault them for it, but I choose to take a different path. Consider this: if all the Malaysian Christians were to emigrate in search of greener pastures and a better life overseas, who would hold the torch for God in this country?

I ain't exactly the most patriotic person around, but I do believe God has placed me in Malaysia for a reason. I may not know the reason yet, and it may not even be a major one, but that doesn't matter. You never know, years down the road we might discover that -- like Esther -- we have been placed here "for such a time as this".