Let God Owe You

By Ya Khun

Interpersonal and political conflicts, wars and armed struggles are raging across countries, ethnic groups and religious communities in the world today. There seems to be no way of stopping the violence that kills and maims men, women and children. At the same time, natural disasters and sicknesses such as earthquakes, phenomenal weather changes and cancers are threatening the safety of communities, and even the existence of the world.

 

The writer examines and suggests why such situations occurred in the past and are continuing with increasing frequency as mankind moves into the future. The observations and the postulations made have been derived from decades of life and business experiences, as well as social, economic, political and religious discussions between the author and his late father.

 

From these interactions and an open-minded understanding of various faith communities, the author makes the case for adopting 10 axioms and a Let God 'Owe' You (LGOU) approach to life and nature, with the hope that this practice will help move human beings closer to world peace and the long-term sustainability of life on earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Word Image Pte Ltd
• Release date: Aug 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9789811465840

Book preview

Let God Owe You

Ya Khun

Published by Word Image Pte Ltd, 2020.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

LET GOD OWE YOU

First edition. August 1, 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Ya Khun.

ISBN: 978-9811465840

Written by Ya Khun.

For my late father Tjoe Kwen Shiang, late cousin Silvana Sutanto, and all global citizens working towards world peace and harmony as well as the protection of nature and wildlife, especially religious teachers, national leaders and those who already practise LGOU principles, albeit unknowingly. May all find peace.

let god own youlet god own you

LGOU: Let God Owe U

Copyright © Word Image Pte Ltd, 2019

Second Edition: ISBN 978-981-14-0405-4

E-book Edition: ISBN 978-981-14-6584-0

First published in English under the imprint Word Image

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let god own youlet god own you

Notable Quotes

The messages in the LGOU approach to life are not new. Since time immemorial, men have thirsted for love and peace. This can be seen from sayings and quotations which have retained their popularity through the ages as each generation sought meaning and passed on wisdom garnered from life experiences. We highlight some such notable quotes, which reference one or more of the axioms and messages laid out in this book.

On Vision

It does not matter what your religion or tribe is... If you can do something good for everyone, people never ask what your religion is.—Gus Dur

On Equilibrium

A system is in equilibrium when the forces constituting it are arranged in such a way as to compensate each other, like the two weights pulling at the arms of a pair of scales.—Rudolf Arnheim

On Honour

The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.—Dwight D Eisenhower

On Prosperity

Today making money is very simple. But making sustainable money while being responsible to society and improving the world is very difficult.—Jack Ma

On Preservation

Sooner or later, we will have to recognise that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.—Evo Morales

On Solitude

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.—Mother Teresa

On Harmony

World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.—Dalai Lama

On Giving

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

On Change

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.—Mathama Gandhi

On Time

No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important.—Mary Kay Ash

For my late father Tjoe Kwen Shiang,

late cousin Silvana Sutanto,

and all global citizens working towards world peace and harmony as well as the protection of nature and wildlife, especially religious teachers, national leaders and those who already practise LGOU principles, albeit unknowingly.

May all find peace.

Contents

Preface

The Hidden Voice of LGOU

Axiom of Vision

Axiom of Equilibrium

Axiom of Honour

Axiom of Prosperity

Axiom of Preservation

Axiom of Solitude

Axiom of Harmony

Axiom of Giving

Axiom of Change

Axiom of Time

LGOU A Cornerstone for Peace

Conclusion

Afterword

Acknowledgements

Readers’ Response

Preface

This book is not about politics. It is also not about any specific religion or its religious doctrines. Why then, the title " Let God ‘Owe’ You ", or LGOU in short? Why the use of the word ‘God’ in this book?

Most human beings intuitively understand the concept of God as a divine being who, through various religious forms, propound the virtues of universal peace and a moral code that is based on universally accepted reasons and a shared concept of human nature. The holy texts and teachings of the major religions generally show that kindness and a moral code are human reflections of godly attributes. While all religions may not be the same, there are enough common values shared across their teachings so much so that respect and compassion can still be extended to all who do not share the same religious or secular beliefs.

Even avowed atheists and agnostics understand the concept of God, and the reaching out for universal peace and other godly values, except that one does not believe in the existence of a God or Gods and the other believes that nothing is known or can be known about existence or the nature of God. But they too, generally pursue a path of secular morality and values as they understand it.

Therefore, when the word ‘God’ is used in this book, it is used to describe the God of the various religions as understood by their practitioners or the secular morality and values pursued by atheists and agnostics.

Human understanding tells us that whichever God or values a religious or non-religious person may believe in, this God lacks in nothing. He does not need to ‘owe’ us. He does not need anything of material value from us.

On the contrary he has extended all manner of goodness to mankind. What he lacks is our understanding of his true nature, our sincerity toward him and our desire to follow him in doing good without hidden motives or seeking reward.

So, what do I mean when I say LGOU? When someone—a friend, a family member, or even a stranger understands you and your actions, and knows that what you did or are doing, is for his or her ultimate welfare, you owe him or her a debt of gratitude for their recognition and appreciation of your intentions and your actions. A debt of gratitude, unlike a commercial debt, does not require re-payment. It goes into a storehouse of memories and goodwill for the recipient. It is in this sense then that I use the term LGOU in my exposition of this topic.

God has given us goodness without expectation of return. He does not force us, though he obviously could, to obey him or to be like him. This concept of ‘free-will’ is what differentiates human beings from the instinctive responses of other animals on earth. For that, we owe God a debt of gratitude because he extended this to mankind. Similarly, by our response to what we have enjoyed through the favour of God, we can make him happy or sad. When we through our ‘free-will’, do our best to act as God does or how he would want us to, we will have in a sense, lived out the desires of his heart and even earn his gratitude. In this sense, we will let our God (according to our respective beliefs) ‘owe’ us.

This book is the culmination of many years of reading, thought and discussion between my father and myself. It took me more than a decade to finish writing this manuscript because there was so much discussion, thinking and notes which Father and I had on this subject. In the beginning, it was just a notion in my mind and a feeling in my heart how wonderful it would be if God ‘owes’ us. As I kept interrogating this feeling and reflecting on it across notes kept in more than 20 notebooks, I became clearer about my own thinking regarding the concept of LGOU. Father and I also identified 10 axioms from our life and business experiences during our many discussions, and strongly believed that the consistent practice of these axioms by all men will form a major key for world peace. I have, in this process, experienced a great transformation within myself. My spirit is more centred, my mind is more focused and my emotions are more controlled.

I have seen no fundamental diversity, only basic unity among the holy texts of the various religions which I studied and examined during this sojourn. Whatever differences there are lie only in the wrappings and not the essence. The world has become very complicated with all kinds of teachings, discoveries and technological advances, and the problems have become more complicated as well. When the equations get too difficult, the solution is to simplify these equations, and the practice of LGOU brings us back to these basics.

So too it was with Father who, though not quite convinced in the beginning that there is a God, had immersed himself in the study of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and later, Christianity, all of which undoubtedly influenced him in some way or other. He had, during these studies, come to believe that there is a single force in the universe which binds all the diverse elements of creation together through natural fundamental principles. For example, while most religions of the world recognise a creator or creative force and may differ regarding specific identities or some special attributes, there is surprising agreement on the idea that all things happen through the will of a creator and that the universe is run according to immutable principles that are far greater than microscopic human concerns. The concepts of creation and consequences are then not opposites as one would normally perceive, but simply two aspects of a single force, both being necessary in our world.

This understanding led him, and later myself, to discern and identify 10 axioms which we believe could help the world rationalise and unify the varied beliefs of different religions under the umbrella and practice of the principles of LGOU.

Father lived to a relatively ripe old age of 92 before he went to be with God in June 2015. During his life, as with so many others, he had tasted the ups and downs of living in this imperfect world. He was born in Yang Wen Village, Mei County, but spent much of his childhood and studied in Shantou, Guangdong province, China. His parents (my grandparents) had moved south to Indonesia, Surabaya to build a new life while Father was left in the care of his grandparents in the village. In 1949, he left for Hong Kong and started university studies for more than a year, during which he learnt the English language. He cut short his university education when his father (my grandfather) who was in Indonesia then, called him to go to ‘Nanyang’ to help in the family business. Being a filial son, he dropped everything so that he could go over and help his father in an unfamiliar environment where he did not even know the Indonesian language.

Father loved photography and read widely, from the writings of the ancients, such as Chinese classics like Dream of the Red Chamber, to the lives of modern saints like Mother Teresa. He obtained much knowledge from these books, and when he married these with his experience from wider society as well as his business practices, he gleaned wisdom. His religious faith was originally based on the traditional practice of ancestral worship. He disbelieved the existence of a God because of the many tough questions he had for God, some of which are here.

As a businessman, he was disciplined and dealt with customers, suppliers and staff in a fair and firm manner. He would accept mistakes made, but he would not tolerate greed. He valued family life, always trying to have regular meals together with them and bonded over food and conversation. He valued frugality, using a bicycle as transportation to work whenever possible.

These experiences led him sometimes to confide in me that "... the best friends one could have are those who do not have business dealings with you at all." But more often than not, he would just ponder things in his heart and quietly accept whatever life tossed at him.

He had brought his life experiences as a son, as a father, as a husband and as a businessman to bear on the topic of the meaning of life and shared these with me as we worked together for more than 40 years in the business, and where I lived with him in the same house for more than 60 years.

In 2014, he eventually entered into faith and was baptised in July of that year. But not before he asked several provocative questions in the years before his baptism. Why should we believe in and give thanks to a God when we did not know one another? If there is a good God, why is there so much cruelty, violence and injustice in this world? Why does mankind have to face so many calamities? Why is human life peppered incessantly with troubles and pains? If there is a good God, why isn’t he able to resolve the difficulties and sufferings of mankind? Where is God when people are suffering, when disasters happen? Does he really care? There are more than 7 billion people on earth, how can God care for every one of them? And everyone is praying, each according to his/her own religion, how can he hear everyone’s prayer? How can you prove that God exists? Father was not a godless man, but he could not believe in God because he could not find rational answers to his questions. I was constantly interrogated by him on these issues and despite my answers, he was never satisfied. One day I asked him in return— "how can you prove that God does not exist?"

He was quiet as his rational mind went to work. And it may be that it was at that point when he realised that the spiritual dimension of life could well have a different approach to understanding against what is normally demanded as ‘proof’ in the secular world. His own life experiences with family, friends, business partners and acquaintances probably supported that as well.

From these life lessons in how he practised business, forged friendships and built family, my father and I have distilled 10 axioms which when practised, will let God ‘owe’ us a debt of gratitude. It can be said that we ‘stumbled’ accidentally upon this relationship between day-to-day living and the 10 axioms, in a similar manner when Isaac Newton stumbled upon his laws of gravity, or how Albert Einstein formulated his theory of relativity.

Newton’s discovery of the laws of gravity and Einstein’s formulation of the theory of relativity shows how everything in the universe can be affected by these principles. In the same way, my father and I believe that if there is one universe and one god (who is recognised in different ways across different communities), then these 10 axioms and their principles must affect every human and work relationship as the consequence of one’s doing, on earth.

I would stress that these 10 axioms work in unison, and there is no single one which stands above another. Rather they work together as a whole and are equally important in our pursuit of peace on earth.

It is my fervent hope that the practice of these axioms can be the basis for overcoming prejudices and unifying peoples of different faiths, to help us focus on common principles and encourage one another to live godly lives and work together for the betterment of humanity.

The Hidden Voice of LGOU

The Concept of LGOU

The message of Let God ‘Owe’ You (LGOU) is particularly crucial in today’s world where misunderstandings and conflicts over race, religion and politics are rife, and even as world economies, ideologies and governments begin to adjust to new and unexpected economic, social and political situations everywhere.

LGOU is an unwritten contract which we have with our God, and it is a message he wants us to choose to follow. It is not an explicit exhortation found in any of the sacred texts of the various religions, but it is a call for us to obey and respect the God we believe in, through our interactions with fellow human beings and nature. It is our bounden duty to love as God has loved us. The LGOU message is from God and for God (FGFG) regardless of our ethnic group or religion. And this message can be found in his messages, his promises, his words and his parables (MPWP). MPWP can be found in the holy texts and teachings of the major religions. We just need to dig deep and listen with our heart and total being rather than just hear with our ears. Listen with the intention to understand and not just hear with the intention to answer back. Proper and intense listening will reveal the hidden messages in scripture and its parables and allow us to reach for the promises and words of God. The MPWP of God will encourage our hearts, lift our spirits and restore our souls. He has designed it so that these will guide us in our LGOU approach to life. In a sense, the lessons contained in his MPWP to us apply to himself too because this is his approach to enabling the proliferation of ‘free-will’ in our lives.

The true meaning of ‘owe’ here refers to the performance of unselfish duty and the expression of selfless thanks and gratitude. It is a human normative obligation with no obligation on God’s side. When we say let God owe you, it is in reference to our recognition that God is a benefit-giver, and of his grace towards man. The practise of LGOU recognises the calling to be a hand of God, to be a benefit-giver, not a taker. It becomes a channel between human nature and God.