Comments and opinions regarding the military belongs to me and do not reflect that of my employer. Reflections pertaining to the Christian faith is personal and hypothetical based solely on observations. It does not accurately illustrate the church’s opinion on the Singapore military obligations.

Standard disclaimer applies. You know the drill.

I trod into church yesterday wearing army pixelated uniform last afternoon. It was a bad choice. In general sense, it’s not considered fashion savvy to don a military dressing, especially on weekends. It just happened that I have a briefing to attend earlier that morning and didn’t have time to get home to change.

My point is, things didn’t get pretty even in the halls of holies.

There was, and I’m sure there still is, this disdain for the green in the house of God. The part where I’m being questioned why I’m dressed this way was understandable though.

What I felt repulsive was the questionable looks I received when I mentioned wearing green as a part of my plausible long term career. When I touched on how the army ensured every night was safe enough for everyone to sleep in without bombshells raining above our heads, it was thought as a joke. I was the recipient of weird stares akin to one contracting leprosy.

It’s no longer considered cool in this age to have values, say patriotism flowing in our blood. In fact, if one was tested positive for an ounce of patriotism, it’s likely that he be sent to the laboratories to have experiments carried out for possible extra-terrestrial activity.

And it’s not enough to stop here. I got to be ridiculed for the uniform’s poor aesthetics; and also on how boring it could get to be back in camp on a Saturday; and the ultimatum is still: to have a job associated with the military.

So much for speaking life, being Christ-like and gracious to one another.

In a way, I appreciate the candour. But it was way over the limit when one’s happiness is on the expense of another’s job and uniform he wears. Da Wei’s testimony on living an alternative life in the army seemed to have evaporated and cleanly forgotten — as if Jesus’ blood had a memory cleansing effect.

Friends, when we first talked about the love of Christ and preached the gospel, many took this love literally as a joke and questioned the authencity of such a universal love. This love was branded idealistic and was scarred with skepticism by the religious community and the non-religious alike.

So, when I decided to serve the country because she created me a home, crafted a future that is safe for living and provided me with an opportunity to pursue my studies, why am I smeared with the same skepticism on my decision to serve? When do we stop holding dear to such values any more? Why are we blithely unaware that Singapore’s safety is in every way as fragile as other countries in the region?

I can appreciate the consensus on why youths and the church disliked the army.

Like the Singapore government, the church possibly experienced young people leaving because of military committments — long training hours, burnt weekends and opportunities lost to head connect groups, zones and ministries.

And for a church that’s committed to raise a generation of youths to serve God and give their best times of their lives to God, naturally, they’ll be concerned with their spiritual walk. Interestingly, when juxtaposed alongside, it’s somewhat amusing (probably worrying, pun unintended) to know that the similar group of on-fire faith preachers are lacking in faith when facing a life-changing scenario which banks heavily on faith.

For the concerned parents and church goers, the army entails a bleak outlook of military life blanketed with profane, energy drain and servility. Rather than “wasting” time exercising regimentation and subjected to hours of mental combat simulations that were instructed in substandard English peppered with hokkien expletives, there is no wonder why parents and church goers chose to view military phase with much negativity.

Today, young church leaders cheered in joyous unison when they were assigned a routine vocation, forget about holding leaderships appointments and striving for the best. They prefer to play their guitars and hit the drums. Suddenly, it’s not applicable to apply Pastors’ Bigger sermon on this situation. Sure we want growth, but selectively and for a revival in the army camps will be nice, but not very popular eh?

Little did they (church leaders) realise that their outlook on military life can greatly influence the hundreds that look up to them as role models. It’s saddening to see how we choose to frame doctrines and shape them to cater our needs and wants. Never mind on the different perspectives. We choose to believe in God, only when it’s convenient.