Imperishable Deposit

Today, as I hopped onto the cab (because I had to lug my heavy 3kg laptop home), Uncle Cabby asked if I worked in the financial industry. Maybe my funky red specs and taking a cab ride home at 7pm peak hour (costing me a initial starting cab fee of $4.30!!) gave him the impression that I was loaded.

I informed him that I worked for the government. Nothing too exciting. Uncle Cabby then proceeded to seek some financial advice even though I had told him I was not in the finance line. Gues its not surprising given the recession Singapore is now in and how the collapse of some major American instituitions affects even the life of the Singapore cab driver.

Uncle Cabby is of the view that the Lehman Brothers and other major financial instituitions' collapse is all a conspiracy for the rich to get richer and then to flee, leaving the retail investors high and dry. He was full of disdain for the banks and lamented that it was no longer safe to keep monies in banks. As the Singapore government had guaranteed bank deposits until the year 2010, Uncle Cabby shared his plan with me to take his deposits out of the banks and bury them all inside some wall, cemented for security. Oh, he added that the bank notes should be the plastic kind, so that cockroaches and rats would not eat them.

I was quite amused by his plans and wasn't sure if he was just pulling my leg, maybe cos I am from government sector (and he didn't think I was too clever). Then again, he sounded dead serious about his plan. I then responded by giving my view on how the Lehman and other similar notes and financial products sold to the retirees and old people were way too complex for their understanding. I mean, structure products, sold to old people who were somtimes illiterate and barely had a school education. Who are we kidding here financial advisers? In Hokkien, the word to describe their unconscienable action of selling such products to the oldies is: "chek ark" (wish I could translate that properly!). Also, I think people are drive by greed to gain higher returns, which is why they invested in these sexy structured products. Didn't we all learn that in Econs that there is no free lunch? Also, the higher the gains, the higher the risk.

By this time (when I was 5 min away from my home), I was also suddenly enlightened and comforted by the thought that my true Guarantee was my inheritance in Christ.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1: 3-5)

My inheritance in Christ would never perish, spoil or fade, and it is being kept for me in heaven. The keeping is not of my own strength, nor dependent on the economy or any human powers or authories. It is retained and preserved for me by God's power until Jesus returns again.

I so badly wanted to share this with Uncle Cabby, to give him some good news in the midst of the doom and gloom all around. I finally decided to just say it (in paraphrase here, for of course, I spoke in mandarin then). "Uncle, its really tough times we live in. Its all bad news and really nothing in this world will be guaranteed for us. The economy ranges from bear to bull and from bull back to bear. We have no guarantees at all in this world. But I am so comforted that I am a Christian and I have received a guarantee that God has reserved for me that will not perish."

There. I had said it. After my little "evangelistic soliloqy", it didn't seem so hard! Unfortunately, I stopped short of challenging Uncle Cabby to check out this imperishable deposit given us through the Holy Spirit.

I resolved (for the second time!) that I would bring along some Chinese tracts and at such opportunities, end off by giving him the tract, together with a tip and God Bless you, as I stepped off the cab. God bless and enhance more opportunities like these for me, for His glory!