Recently I had the opportunity to watch a movie that I wanted to watch some months ago. The film was a Singaporean film titled “Where Got Ghost?” and was released during the Hungry Ghost Month sometime in August. I had wanted to watch it because I have this fascination for ghost stories, especially those from Singapore. This particular movie is not a horror or ghost movie in the strict sense of the word. It is, as the producer called it, a “hor-medy” a horror plus comedy.
The movie is made up of three different stories revolving around ghosts. But it was the last portion that really caught my attention. One thing about this movie is that it scares you but at the same hilarious as well. For those who understand mandarin and hokkien, the lines are really quite hilarious. The 3rd portion centres around a family and their deceased mother, entitled “Ghost in the House” This is the continuation from another movie entitled “Money No Enough 2”
In the opening scene, we see three brothers and their family praying ton their deceased mother and asking for her blessings to strike lottery. Throughout the segment, they receive visits from their mother. As one would expect, they are scared out of their wits and decided to move their mother’s tablet to a remote temple, something like our columbarium. The decision was made when they encountered a friend who was rich and claimed that he strike every kind of lottery through his deceased mother’s blessings. This sealed the two brother’s decision to stop praying to their mother.
And so the eldest brother brought the tablet to the temple. But, lo and behold, the tablet refused to go. And the eldest brother asked his 2 other brothers to come and all 3 of them put the tablet in the temple and left. Even then, they kept complaining about how unlucky they were.
As they were driving in the heavy rain, they suddenly encountered the spirit of their mother and swerved their car to avoid colliding with her and ended up in a ditch. As they got out and stood in the rain, suddenly an avalanche occurred right in front of them. If the spirit of their mother did not appear they would have perished under the avalanche.
This woke them up and they went back to the temple to bring back their mother’s tablet. On the way out, they encountered their rich friend who was wailing and said that he has been diagnosed with cancer. He then told the 3 brothers that in the end, no matter how money one has, health and safety is still the best blessing one can receive.
You may wonder why I’m sharing about this movie. I can hear my friends asking “What kind of crap are you watching?” or “You Catholic ah?” To me, every movie has a lesson to be learnt. This particular segment reminds me of how I should be thankful for the blessings that I have, not to constantly complain about what I do not have.
Many a times, all of us, are guilty of complaining that life is unfair, that we wish for more things in our lives, more money, better job, better life etc etc…. the list never ends. We’re like a kid who’s constantly asking Santa Claus for Christmas gifts. But our hearts will never be satisfied. No matter how much we have, we will crave for more.
Most of us constantly besiege God for this and that and complain when we don’t get it. We grumble and grumble, as if God owes it to us to grant us riches and material wealth. I was reminded of this when a friend of mine told me that I should be grateful for the things I have because there are many out there who don’t even have basic stuff like shelter and food. And here we are complaining all the time and wasting things that are precious to those who do not have them.
In the Old Testament, King Solomon, when asked by God to make 3 wishes, never asked for riches or immortality or the destruction of his enemy. He asked God for wisdom, and God, pleased with this request granted him wisdom and more. We should really emulate what King Solomon did. Riches and material wealth will pass away. With the increasing occurrences of natural disasters, all our accumulated wealth may just be swept away and what do we have left?
We should, instead, treasure those around us, our family and friends. Our health is already a constant blessing from God. There is saying that says “Many people who in the first half of their lives spend their health looking for wealth, and in the last half spend their wealth looking for health” What is the use of money if we are lying in bed surrounded by oxygen tubes and respirators? Can our money or riches help us then?
Many a times, we fail to see the blessings that we receive from God. These blessings are often very small but they can be very significant. It can be something small like a nice message from our friends or families or our good health, not falling sick despite it all. But are we able to see that as a blessing or we take it as a given? That is something that we need to really think about.
Ultimately, our challenge in life is to be able to recognise the little things that are a blessing to us instead of continually besieging God for the things that we may want but may not necessarily need.
The movie is made up of three different stories revolving around ghosts. But it was the last portion that really caught my attention. One thing about this movie is that it scares you but at the same hilarious as well. For those who understand mandarin and hokkien, the lines are really quite hilarious. The 3rd portion centres around a family and their deceased mother, entitled “Ghost in the House” This is the continuation from another movie entitled “Money No Enough 2”
In the opening scene, we see three brothers and their family praying ton their deceased mother and asking for her blessings to strike lottery. Throughout the segment, they receive visits from their mother. As one would expect, they are scared out of their wits and decided to move their mother’s tablet to a remote temple, something like our columbarium. The decision was made when they encountered a friend who was rich and claimed that he strike every kind of lottery through his deceased mother’s blessings. This sealed the two brother’s decision to stop praying to their mother.
And so the eldest brother brought the tablet to the temple. But, lo and behold, the tablet refused to go. And the eldest brother asked his 2 other brothers to come and all 3 of them put the tablet in the temple and left. Even then, they kept complaining about how unlucky they were.
As they were driving in the heavy rain, they suddenly encountered the spirit of their mother and swerved their car to avoid colliding with her and ended up in a ditch. As they got out and stood in the rain, suddenly an avalanche occurred right in front of them. If the spirit of their mother did not appear they would have perished under the avalanche.
This woke them up and they went back to the temple to bring back their mother’s tablet. On the way out, they encountered their rich friend who was wailing and said that he has been diagnosed with cancer. He then told the 3 brothers that in the end, no matter how money one has, health and safety is still the best blessing one can receive.
You may wonder why I’m sharing about this movie. I can hear my friends asking “What kind of crap are you watching?” or “You Catholic ah?” To me, every movie has a lesson to be learnt. This particular segment reminds me of how I should be thankful for the blessings that I have, not to constantly complain about what I do not have.
Many a times, all of us, are guilty of complaining that life is unfair, that we wish for more things in our lives, more money, better job, better life etc etc…. the list never ends. We’re like a kid who’s constantly asking Santa Claus for Christmas gifts. But our hearts will never be satisfied. No matter how much we have, we will crave for more.
Most of us constantly besiege God for this and that and complain when we don’t get it. We grumble and grumble, as if God owes it to us to grant us riches and material wealth. I was reminded of this when a friend of mine told me that I should be grateful for the things I have because there are many out there who don’t even have basic stuff like shelter and food. And here we are complaining all the time and wasting things that are precious to those who do not have them.
In the Old Testament, King Solomon, when asked by God to make 3 wishes, never asked for riches or immortality or the destruction of his enemy. He asked God for wisdom, and God, pleased with this request granted him wisdom and more. We should really emulate what King Solomon did. Riches and material wealth will pass away. With the increasing occurrences of natural disasters, all our accumulated wealth may just be swept away and what do we have left?
We should, instead, treasure those around us, our family and friends. Our health is already a constant blessing from God. There is saying that says “Many people who in the first half of their lives spend their health looking for wealth, and in the last half spend their wealth looking for health” What is the use of money if we are lying in bed surrounded by oxygen tubes and respirators? Can our money or riches help us then?
Many a times, we fail to see the blessings that we receive from God. These blessings are often very small but they can be very significant. It can be something small like a nice message from our friends or families or our good health, not falling sick despite it all. But are we able to see that as a blessing or we take it as a given? That is something that we need to really think about.
Ultimately, our challenge in life is to be able to recognise the little things that are a blessing to us instead of continually besieging God for the things that we may want but may not necessarily need.
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