An old friend and his family will be returning to Malaysia in about 3 weeks. They have been living in Melbourne for more than 7 years. Last Saturday we had a farewell dinner for him, in the normal Saturday night venue of my mate Alex’s home.

After dinner we sat down to chat a bit about their years here in Melbourne and also prayed together for a bit. They told us they had never spent Christmas in Melbourne, having returned to Malaysia every single summer. They also constantly telephoned friends and relatives in Malaysia and envied their access to hawker food through all hours and the late hours in shopping centers.

I suppose all of these add up. These little “indicia’s” of not really looking ahead but constantly looking back would, in the end, add up and cause this reverse shift.

Tress and I also think another family is likely to do the same, before too long. This Singaporean family we know, who appear not to have settled down completely after maybe 3 years here. Unlike our old friends from Klang however, neither the man nor his wife have found a vocation here. They live a retired lifestyle and apart from busying themselves with their children, the occasional visitors and maybe church activities, their activities appear to have been geared for leisure. The golf games, the beautiful garden they keep and the great food they cook all suggest this.

Lately, our conversations with them have revealed that they could well be contemplating a move back to Singapore. Perhaps if they find something to do – such as starting a business themselves or finding work suited to his very highly qualified and senior status – they may settle down but unless they look entirely ahead, there’s every chance Melbourne would be a temporary home.

I am not suggesting these are not positive outcomes. They most definitely can be. After all like Rick Warren famously said, our life purpose must be to prepare for eternity. Who is to say that preparation is best made in a place where opportunities for children are fairer and better and rules for most things are fair and transparent?

Malaysia has its quirks and downsides all of which have been amply articulated in numerous forums. It unfairly favours one race and religion and corruption and abuse of powers are routine. Crime and disintegration of law and order pervades. To the human mind, it would look like a no-brainer if one has a choice to live elsewhere (all things being equal). God’s ways aren’t our ways however, so who knows. In fact His ways are better than our ways. So if He knows we’d (probably) better prepare for our eternity by living under Malaysian craziness, I guess that would be best.

It’s a weird measure but if I seriously want to live under a different set of principles I guess I’d have to view things differently.