Sundanese Stories

Why Am I So Sad Tonight?

Like any ordinary day, I returned home after my busy schedule and spent some time playing with my kids and helping them with their homework. Later, when I had prayed for my kids after reading a Bible story, I wondered why my heart was so full of pain and sorrow. So I went into my room to pray. As time went on, I couldn’t stand the pain any longer and began to cry out to God. I soon realized that this sorrow was not for me.

I heard today the news of an accident involving many Sundanese people, and the images of their faces made my heart cry. Three days ago more than one hundred and forty people died when they were buried alive by garbage that swept down on them because of heavy rain. It was 2.30 am , and everybody was asleep.

The poor people live on the garbage dump illegally, even though the government warns of the danger, because there is no other cheap housing where they can live.

I read a report in the newspaper that the price of fuel is going up soon. In the news report, the reason the government gave for raising the fuel price is that the profit will go to help those in the poorest class of 37 million Indonesians. But no one believes this. Perhaps this money will go into the pockets of several government workers.

One of my Sundanese business friends often deceives foreigners and rich people. He has never revealed his true character to others. Sometimes he manages to cheat them out of some money. But his conscience does not bother him because he thinks it is the only way to get enough money, because his official wages are not enough for the high cost of living. He has never thought that it is sinful to deceive those who are richer than him; rather he thinks that it is ‘wisdom’.

These are the matters that touched my heart tonight. These people have no way out of the dangerous jungle of their world. I think it is a common Indonesian view of the world in which we are living. There are so many unprotected people. They are the lonely and the helpless. So they all wear masks on their faces and get nervous. In order to survive the battle, they think they have to deceive each other.

How can I talk about the truth in an environment in which ‘honesty’ and ‘faithfulness’ are losing genuine meaning? It is a real challenge for me. Can I really give unconditional love to those who are cheating me? I would be a hypocrite if I only talked about the truth but did not demonstrate the truth by my behaviour. So I should not only be a proclaimer of the truth but also a ‘doer’ of the truth by my actions. This is my urgent prayer request. Pray for me to be a man who gives his life for his people as my Lord did. They need the Saviour.

So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; Truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; So his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

(Isaiah 59: 14-16 NIV)

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