Article By: Iyo_Embong

Tomorrow is Father’s Day. It is a celebration honouring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. In general, a father wants unity and peace in his family. What father indeed would want discord and disagreement among his children? In the same way, our Heavenly Father, source of all unity and peace wants us all to live in harmony, cooperation and solidarity.

The other day, an old friend came to my factory with a heavy heart. He has amassed a fortune after many years of hard work. What pains him, he said, was the constant bickering and quarrelling among his wife and children regarding money and inheritance. They are not in speaking terms and are already at the point of suing each other in court. Worse, they hardly call or visit him, and when they do, they always end up in heated arguments, exchanging accusations. How sad…

How sad indeed for a father, especially in his sunset years to feel that he has “laboured in vain,” and that he is leaving behind “a house that is not in order.” The very same money he has worked for is now not working for him. In fact, the money that was supposed to give him comfort and ease has become the source of his burden and sadness in his old age.

Our greatest investment is LOVE. Love is never wasted and never gone. It pays to be good; it pays to love, in the long run.

Another sad encounter I had this week was that of a former workmate. He is sick of cancer, and “sick and tired” of his nagging wife who has emotionally battered him all these years. All he wants is a little respect and gratitude from the wife, he said, and peace in his last five or 10 years on this earth. It is a terrible, painful feeling to experience being helpless and imprisoned in a burdensome relationship and a seemingly hopeless situation where love has died and the spirit of freedom and joy is gone.

The breakthrough in our meeting came when I uttered: “She is not God. She is not your God!” Somehow my former workmate realized how he had allowed himself to be trapped and imprisoned by a creature who had made his life miserable. He is not about to get a divorce or anything yet, but in prayer, he said, he will continue to reach out, he will not be boxed in by his wife’s negative attitudes in life. The spirit of freedom and joy once more!

May the spirit of love, unity, freedom and joy reign in our hearts and in our families. May this spirit overflow beyond our domestic concerns into our society, into our nation and into the whole world. We all can help make this a better world for as long as we concretize this life-giving and love-giving spirit wherever we are and whatever we do.

What is it that divides us? What is it that prevents us from coming together? What are the blocks that prevent us from true, lasting unity and peace? These are questions we all should raise on the personal, national, and even on the spiritual level. Offhand, we can say that the biggest barriers are MONEY, POWER, PRIDE and the pleasures of life. SIN, SELFISHNESS, GREED divides us. Perhaps the more basic question to ask ourselves today is: Am I an instrument of or a hindrance to unity and peace?

Let us remember that the true greatness of a father is in being a SERVANT, who is willing to sacrifice for the sake of his family. We should ask ourselves today: Who am I, and what have I sacrificed? Remember that love is not for us to keep within, but for GIVING and for SHARING!

Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice. I am very grateful that for the last two years I have spent a lot of quite, personal and quality time with my father, getting to know him more and more, his thoughts, desires, values, sharing our dreams and visions. Against all odds, at the age of 76 he left this morning to go back home to follow his dream of starting a farm for Rubber Tree and Palm Oil. Now that’s what I call COURAGE and should serve as inspiration for us all! My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person…he TRUSTED and BELIEVED in me!

Article By: Iyo_Embong