GOING TO CHINA

I know I haven't posted much lately. I have seen some interesting things and have developed some new insights, but I've been too busy to write them down.  Grade cards came out this weekn and tomorrow at eight in the morning I'm leaving for China.   God willing, my next stop is Kunming, China!

 

FRIED MARS BARS

After Mandarin class on Saturday, I stopped by the British food stall in the Far East Plaza and ate one of their famous fried Mars bars.  It was served with ice cream and Hershey's chocolate syrup. 

 

I don't normally like to call food sinful.  I think the expression is over used.  There's no reason to experience shame when you eat a chocolate chip cookie or put some gravy on a biscuit.  Just because a food insults the vain image that you have crafted for yourself after gazing in glossy magazines doesn't mean that it misses the mark of redemption and demands repentance. 

 

However, when I indulged in this desert and felt the gooey mass of oil, chocolate, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil slide down my esophagus, I realized that there were no redeeming qualities for this particular dessert.  I will probably have to run for several hours just to metabolize the thing.  For two or three hours afterward, every slight burp filled my mouth with greasy chocolate and particles of fried batter. If I were to make a habit of doling out S$2.95 for this particular food, I might just have to answer an alter call to announce my sin before the congregation.   

IN CONVERSATION

I heard a statement at lunch the other day that I thought was quite insightful. The man said, "Singapore and the U.S.A. both have law and order. In the U.S.A. the emphasis is on law and in Singapore the emphasis is on order."