Drunk and miserable in Yaumati?

One early morning on Jordan Road, I saw a man lying on the sidewalk. A short while later a policeman roused the man, and tried to get him to stand up. But the man could not get up to walk away.

When I passed by that spot about half an hour later, having finished my breakfast, the man was still there, sitting in this position. This man was probably feeling miserable with a hangover. Hopefully he realized that he needed help, and found it.

Jesus said, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, only the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” [Gospel according to Mark, chapter 2, verse 17] Only when we feel miserable enough then we realize we need help. It is not that some of us don’t need God. Just that some of us realize it, and some don’t.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matthew 5:3] When we feel bad enough to cry out to God, and admit to Him that we need Him, there opens the possibility of salvation from our sins, and reconciliation with God.

I believe it was Karl Marx who said “religion is the opium for the poor.” It is true that man-made religion can only offer temporary relief from human suffering, and is ultimately futile. But communism has been proven to offer no better solution to the human condition, and many believe it is worse. We may feel it is not easy to find the true God, when in fact Jesus has been there waiting for us with open arms all the time.