Money, muscles and microphones
=====MONEY=====
The weird thing is, no one in my family is a spender. My favourite weekday office attire is Uniqlo-sourced rather than, well, whatever brand people are supposed to be wearing, I honestly don't even know (see "I have one suit"). My weekend attire goes even more rapidly downhill and, following some bargain-hunting, today comprises $4.90 Ts and $6.90 pants with a label that literally says "Fashion" for some reason. My watch is a scratched 2nd/3rd hand Fitbit off Carousell. Our supermarket run comprises making a beeline for whatever is on the "Clearance" aisle and happily browsing through what's new and exciting there.
I don't think all this is even about me trying to save money... I genuinely prefer this lifestyle, because it reduces the cognitive burden of the number of choices I have to make on a daily basis. And my wife and children are pretty much the same.
And yet I cannot stop myself from regularly tracking whether I'm beating my current score. Money. It somehow has a magnetic effect on me that I constantly have to drag myself away from. Nobody here is even close to being a billionaire, but I’m guessing many of us can identify with billionaire John D Rockefeller, who, when asked how much money was enough, replied "One more dollar!" It's all just madness.
=====MUSCLES=====
OK, maybe you say, ah I'm not concerned about money. But perhaps you're like me in another way. Health is wealth! Same, same.
On average, I exercise 4-5 times a week. As long as my schedule allows it, I target resistance work twice a week and zone 2 cardio twice a week. I get in a short mobility routine almost daily. Then to get my endorphin fix, I have a weekly HIIT workout. These high-intensity workouts used to be 2-3x a week, but age and injury now restrict me to once a week sessions.
With the help of GenAI, I spend time optimising my workout routine, my diet, my supplements and even my sleep, so that I can maximise my healthspan.
I mean, all this is good. It's good to take responsibility for my health and body. But when I look at myself in my old pictures, wow, there's a big difference. You just can't replicate the fresh-faced look of youth! And it's not just on the outside. It's on the inside too - I have regular appointments with a slew of doctors for various ailments.
You may have heard of Bryan Johnson, the technopreneur who went all-in on biohacking in an attempt to live forever. All-natural, optimised diet (which frankly sounded awful to eat). Sleeping in an oxygen chamber. Plasma infusions. Exercise routine calibrated to a T. Brought his "biological age" down to his 30s. Then in May this year, he announced that he had been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis. Oops.
Muscles - they're great, but you know, they don't last either.
=====MICROPHONES=====
You know what else I spend time on? Microphones.
You might have guessed this, but lawyers (not all, but many) like to talk. I'm not an extrovert, but I enjoy oration. There's something about articulating thought as word that fascinates me. But if I'm honest, it's not just that. Otherwise, it would be enough to stand in the mirror and talk to myself.
There's an adrenaline rush that comes from being in the spotlight. Sometimes this is on a physical stage - I enjoy speaking at conferences and make it a point to speak at a few every year. Sometimes this is through social media - I share this blog on various platforms, and it's the residue of a childhood dream to be in the published media. And these days, anyone with an internet connection can pretty much do that!
Again, there's nothing wrong with any of this per se. Being on a platform has given me the opportunity to meet and bless people that I would never ordinarily have gotten to know.
But really, again, if I'm totally honest, I also like feeling important (or at least, giving myself the impression that I am important). Yet one day, the microphones will be taken down, because I won't have this or that nice-sounding title. And then what? Will I cling onto smaller and smaller stages, reminiscing about the good old days until no one cares to listen?
=====THE MOURNFUL, MEEK AND MERCIFUL=====
There's nothing wrong per se with money, muscles or microphones. If we happen to have them, they can all be gifts from God, for us to steward well. As long as we still have resources, health or platforms to use for God's glory, let us use them wisely and not wastefully.
But as with most gifts, there's a risk that I fall in love with the gift and forget the Giver. Without the Giver, money mutates to greed. Muscles mutate to vanity. Microphones mutate to pride.
As I progress through these latter years, I am reminded that "Where some might say the good life resides in muscles, microphones and money, Jesus says it belongs to the mournful, meek and merciful. Instead of belonging to those at the top of society, the Kingdom of God belongs to those who relate rightly with others and live humble lives in pursuit of justice and peace".
I'm thankful for good gifts and I'm accountable for using them well while I still have them. But instead of spending so much time and energy on my finances, my diet and workouts and my profile, let me be more like those who Jesus refers to in His sermon on the mount:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted;
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth;
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled;
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
There's so much more I can do in the unseen spaces. Sitting in a quiet home with the lonely elderly. Holding the hands of the sick and desperate. Standing beside a friend whose life is in the middle of a storm. Praying for friends, family and neighbours with no one seeing. No titles that matter. No crowds. No microphones in sight.
Because significance is in the low places.
That's where the real answers are, that's where the real joy is, and that's where real life begins.
Credit to the BibleProject's "One Story That Leads to Jesus" Bible-in-a-Year plan, on the framework of Money/Muscles/Microphones vs the Mournful/Meek/Merciful
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