This belongs to me!!


Singapore has its commercial origins as an entrepot - a transhipment hub where stuff is brought in, traded, and then exported again. This was originally a quirk of geography, given its strategic location at the southern-most point of continental Asia, connecting East and West where the Straits of Malacca meet the South China Sea. 

These days, Singapore's trading hub status is anchored by a skilled workforce, stable government, reliable physical and digital connectivity, and sensible laws.


As an offshore centre for trading everything from currencies to commodities, Singapore faces an interesting (anti) competitive issue. Though we are an attractive trading venue, we are seldom a major producer or user of the traded item. 

For example, Singapore is the third largest foreign exchange centre in the world, with average daily trading values of US$929b in April 2022 (Source: MAS). But only a small minority of it (just over 5%) is in Singapore dollars.


The same is true for various other financial instruments. Ditto for other things like oil, where Singapore is the leading oil trading centre in Asia, but consumes a comparatively small amount, and obviously produces none; air connectivity (in 2022, 5 million people visited Singapore, but 32 million people passed through Changi Airport. (Source: Statista)), electronics, freight or just about anything else.

All this is great, not just for Singapore, but for our trading partners. But the rise of nationalism and the backlash against globalisation means that increasingly, many countries will look at the business that goes through offshore centres like Singapore and conclude "Hey, this belongs to me!" 


That's my money. My oil. My passengers. My freight. I want to get my cut. I want to own the pricing. I'm sure you can think of dozens of examples of big(ger) countries wanting to cut Singapore out, and it's what Singapore companies and government agencies think about all day and night, in order to maintain our competitive edge.

But the "This belongs to me!" phenomenon is counterproductive. There are some reasonable extenuating reasons to do-it-yourself - food and military security are some examples.  But economics, as demonstrated from early human history to date, teach us that specialisation and the efficient allocation of resources benefits everyone.


We don't have to all grow our own crops, fire our own pottery, mine our own ore, build our own cars or design our own airplanes. A farmer can focus on growing corn and reap the benefits of scale and deep expertise. This reduces the cost of production, and everyone benefits from cheaper corn. 

Ditto pottery, ore, cars and airplanes. There are any number of examples of hugely sub-optimal do-it-yourself national projects that demonstrate the folly of "This belongs to me!": from the hermit regime of North Korea as one extreme example, to perpetually subsidised national manufacturing fiascos. 

This invisible hand of the markets is often a wiser steward of resources than we are.  Yet we find that people still itch to keep things onshore. This belongs to me! Even if I will do it less efficiently. Even if it will hurt me. It's mine, and I want it to stay mine.


I wish I had a solution for anti-globalisation.

But "This belongs to me!" is an issue we can do something about in our personal lives.

As readers of this blog will know, my friends and I work with a school in Batam. The work has gone on now for 4-5 years. From renting one rundown shophouse, to renting a slightly larger shophouse, and now having our own purpose-built school, we've come a long way. We even recently held our very first church service on the ground.


One can't help but feel a sense of ownership, of having helped to birth a baby of sorts and caring for the baby through the growing years. I'm sure the founding principal obviously feels this even more acutely, having started the work well before we turned up.

The thought of my having to surrender this one day is... well... This belongs to me!!

But no. It doesn't. It never did.

Anything I've ever done with the school alongside my friends... belongs to God. 

Maybe you might think, yeah of course, this sort of service/charity stuff, of course it belongs to God. But you'd be surprised. It often is in this sort of work that people feel most strongly "this belongs to me!" and which causes disputes among charities, church splits, and so on. 


What about everything else in life?

I love my wife. We've supported together through both lean and good times. We've brought up two amazing children, who have done well in school, still love to spend time with us, and pro-actively choose to serve God. Who does my family belong to? This belongs to me!! But no. They don't.


I enjoy my work. I've had so many adventures, trying so many different things, failing, getting up, sometimes losing, sometimes winning. I've invested a lot of time and effort in making my career something I'm proud of. Who does my career belong to? This belongs to me!! But no. It doesn't.

My home - I love where I stay, so much that I haven't moved for coming up to 20 years. Who does it belong to? 


My savings - I've lived conservatively so I can have a nest egg. Who does it belong to? 

Even my health - I work out consistently so I can enjoy a good quality of life. Who does that belong to? 

Ministry. Family. Career. Home. Money. Health.

They don't belong to me.

They belong to God, the author and ruler of all the universe, who understands the best allocation of resources.


If I hold on to them tightly, it'll hurt when God has to pry my fingers off of them (Corrie Ten Boom).

And the hard truth is, whatever I acquire outside of God's will, eventually turn to ashes (Charles Stanley).

But if I travel light, if I work diligently on things and multiply them for the loving God who is my Master, and not for myself, then He puts even more in my hands. Not for me, but so I may multiply them for him again (the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30). 

He knows better what to put in my hand, and what to put in someone else's, so that all things may work for the good of those who believe and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

The world squabbles over its baubles and shouts "This belongs to me!"

Teach me to quietly, confidently, trustingly say instead, "This. All. Belongs. To. You".


Comments

Mei Ling said…
Love how you see your world from the big lens of God and is encouraged by your sharing
4 June 2023 at 23:55
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