"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."
Colossians 3:12-14
‘With hindsight, the Government would have recommended the wearing of the face masks sooner and acted earlier to better manage the migrant worker dormitories, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong admitted shortcomings in Singapore’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.’
The above was our PM’s view on our government’s response to the pandemic after Singapore had achieved a better control over the infected cases among the dormitories.
I am sure you have heard this saying: 'If only I knew…' Isn't that sometimes the case in our own lives? Often, we need to experience something for ourselves in order to learn what's the best way to solve the problem or handle the situation – that’s why experience is so precious to us! We may not be able to do anything to change the outcome and we definitely can’t turn back the clock, but what we can do is to learn from our experience and take care not to make the same mistakes again.
We may initially react by blaming ourselves for what had happened. It's okay to be down for a while but it's important that we pick ourselves up and not wallow in self-pity as we still need to move on in our lives. On the other hand, we may be quick to push the blame and point the finger at someone else. This train of thought is also not acceptable because if we keep blaming others without reflecting on ourselves and our actions, we will never learn how to respond to and handle the same situation in future. Of course, some of the lessons in life require a lifetime of learning, but we must never neglect to learn all we can from the experiences we go through.
The Bible teaches us to be patient and forgiving towards others. Likewise, we should extend that same forgiveness and graciousness to ourselves as well whenever we make mistakes. Let us be patient in waiting to see a change or improvement, whether it’s in ourselves or in others.
We may not always have success in encouraging changes or improvements in others, but we are definitely able to work on ourselves. Let us persevere in growing to become the person that God has intended us to be. May the Lord help us!