The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

I’ll get to the point as to why in a second … however I believe this is a brilliant example of grade-A planning, something that would put most agency planners to shame.

OK, so when you are a religion, you’re not frightened of making big statements … however in the scheme of things, this isn’t too pragmatic, infact its positively gentle compared to some of the thunder and brimstone stuff they could of used.

The reason I like it is because – post rationalised by me – it comes from a deep insight about Singaporeans and their view/attitude to life.

It would be very easy to assume the only things Singaporeans really care about are shopping, status and food.

And you know what … for many that would be a pretty fair assessment.

But here’s the thing, rather than the church putting out a banner featuring a quote that goes along the lines of:

“And Jesus said if you follow the path of the Lord, you will be rewarded with an abundance of riches” *

… they realised that in this fast paced, high pressured, social judging, material acquiring land, the thing many people want even more than high priced goods or just plain ol’ cash … is peace.

That’s right, peace.

A place of quiet and calm.

A place where the pressures of the World are kept behind the door.

A place where their mind can be filled with positive thoughts rather than the worry of keeping up with expectation and ambition.

A place where the body, mind and soul can find equilibrium again … where it can rejuvenate … where they can feel human again.

And the really clever bit – again post rationalised by me – is that for some Singaporeans, their mentality is that only the uber-rich could ever be in a situation where they choose to literally turn their back on the busy and demanding World … so not only does it position the Church as a place where you can get an antidote [or at least a temporary antidote] to the high-speed rat race … but it’s also relevant to the money-hungry culture because they’ll read it as saying by following God, you can get to a point where you have such a collection of riches, you’ll be able to ‘buy’ personal peace and tranquillity.

In short, by NOT using a statement that blatantly links with the Singaporean acquisition mentality, they’ve not only found a way to differentiate themselves from the cataclysmic noises being screamed out by every brand/company on the island … but they’ve come out with something that resonates deeply with anyone who feels they are running a thousand miles an hour just to stand still … which is why as a non-religious man, this ‘ad’ really got to me, however sadly for the Church, rather than rely on God to help me find a place on inner-peace, I’ve got my mild-life crisis to get me there instead.

Still, for coming up with a statement that reflected a deeper insight that simply “SINGAPOREANS WANT IT ALL” [which let’s face it, is not exactly the sort of claim a religious organisation should be putting out, even though I would bet 90% of planners would claim that’s exactly the direction they should be taking] they get a donation to the Church roof repair fund and 3 hail Mary’s.

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