There Must to be More to Life than This

Above is a picture of a man. Everyday his routine is to wake up even before the sun rises. He probably eats his breakfast made of simple bread without butter and anything to go with it. Then he takes with him his tools for work. He then waits for his friends. After that they set out to the beach together. No, he is not going to watch the beautiful sunrise with his friends. No, he is not going for a boat-ride to some beautiful island to have picnic. No, he is not going to sun-bathe under the sun. He is going because he needs to live…

This picture was taken at Phuket’s Kamala beach, the place I was staying during my holiday there. The beach is haven from the cold for the Europeans. Their favorite beach sport is sun-bathing. On the beach we could see a clear mixture of the extremely rich and the extremely poor. Pastor John and I were walking to a restaurant to have our breakfast when I spotted a small group of people doing something on the beach. I stopped and looked carefully. Because in the morning the tide is low, I could see so many small boulders of black rock. And these people were squatting and bending and hammering something against the rock. I couldn’t figure out what they were doing but I could see they were searching for something and putting them into small containers.

After breakfast I walk on the beach and approach them and asked what were they doing. With a nice smile on their faces they replied me in Thai and I couldn’t understand. They made hand motions; taking something from the container and moving it towards their mouth. I then understood. They were looking for oyster-like thingy from the rocks and collecting them in containers. Then they could either eat them or sell them to restaurants. What they do is break the shells that sticks on the rock and inside is the milky-colored oysters. I smiled back at them and they continued their work while I walked around taking pictures of them.

From that encounter I had with those people I was moved. I took pity on them. They looked so poor and wore clothes that people like you and I would only throw them into the rubbish bin. I sympathized them. While everyone is asleep in the morning they have to wake up to work. Because the later they go, the tide would be high and would cover up all the rocks. This is what they do to earn an honest living.

But yet I saw them smiling almost all the time while collecting those oysters. I heard them speaking in the Thai language and they would laugh on and off. They looked so cheerful. I was confused. I did not understand how they could even smile considering the state of poverty they are in.

They are so happy leading such simple lives.

Then it dawned unto me.

The way the world runs now is driven by the desire for wealth. Everyone regardless of age, race and creed is driven by wealth. We just do not know when is enough and when to stop. We always want more. We want more than what our neighbors have. We are proud of what we have and own but to keep on being able to be proud we would want to get more and more. I could say 80% of the people in the world are not satisfied with what they have.

But I want to be like those people collecting oysters on the beach. I want to be able to smile even though I live with little and make little. I want to be like Paul who says, “I consider my life worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the Gospel of God’s grace.”

I want to use my short life-span here on earth to finish the task the Lord Jesus has given to me. I do not want to be like everyone else who is driven by wealth and fame. Because I know all these things are just temporary. I want to gather for myself treasures in heaven where no moths come to destroy and no thieves come to steal.

Therefore I believe that there must to be more to life than this.