Wow!!

Just about last Friday, I decided to have my dinner at Burger King before joining up with some of my colleagues for some drinks over at Clark Quay. I ordered my favourite burger, BBQ beef and turkey bacon. Just as I was about to dig into my burger, this young man infront of the table I sat on caught my eyes. Clad in a simple white shirt with blue straps and black pants, he was placing A4 size paper on each seat of the 10 seater table he had booked. I was wondering what papers he was putting on the table. 5 minutes a later, a group of students about the age of 15 turned up and sat placed their bags on the seats. I than realised that this young 27 to 28 year old man (well, he looked my age) was a school teacher. He handed out S$10 to each student so they could order a burger meal for themselves. After every student settled in with their dinner, he spent the next hour or so coaching the students on various subjects.

That impressed me, but it didn't impress as much as what I saw from than on. After the Burger King staff cleared the table, the young teacher began the same process again of placing the A4 size notes on each seat and 5 minutes later another group of 10 students appeared and the young teacher handed out S$10 to each student for their dinner and began teaching them for the next hour. I was thinking, this guy must be a tuition teacher and the fees he charged is already included in the dinner he gave to the 20 students that came. After observing his actions for the last 2 hours, I couldn't help myself but walked over to him and asked "sorry to bother you but you've got a good tuition concept going on. I just wanted to know how much you charge for your tuition fee?". Now his answer really made me dumb founded, "I don't charge for this extra classes, these students are from not so well to do families and they have to do a lot of odd jobs and miss out on their studies. So I give them dinner after school and coach them in subjects they are weak in." And me being the Chinaman me asked "but that's S$200 for the night for you on your teachers pay???" and he answered with total nobleness in his voice,"what I am investing is just something small to what these students are going to be in the future".

I was like "WOW!!", I always knew teaching was a noble profession but this is one of the most noble guy I've had the chance to bumb into. It made me promise myself never to compromise my involment in ministry work again, never to place self above God, never to place self above others in need. I know I can't help every soul in the world, but at least those that God place in my care, I would at least try and follow the example set by this noble man.

I am still dumb founded by this teacher's action and he is not some old teacher, he is around my age who longs for the same things I long for but yet sacrifice to invest in lives. That's really what I call outward looking and not inward looking.

I now seat on my desk, at home, 3 days after that Friday night and still go "WOW!!". I pray I allow God to mold me to be as noble hearted and self sacrifising as that young teacher.