Hong Kong is a city of contrast. It is a city of contrast between the haves and have-nots. The have-nots could be earning as low as HK$20/hr. (US$2.5/hr.). Yet a meal can be either HK$20 or HK$2,000. This allows the haves and have-nots to co-exist in this dynamic city called the Pearl of the Orient.
It is also a city of contrast between new and old. Traditionally, old low rise buildings are often demolished to make way for new high rise ones, allowing the developer to increase the salable floor areas by up to 10 folds. Hence property development is big business here, producing some the richest men (and a few women) in the world.
In the past decade or so, there is an increasing trend to conserve old buildings of historical value. One recent case that caught the imagination of the public
was Wing Lee Street, a row of terraced apartments, made famous by a recent Hong Kong movie. Despite of its derelict condition, the conservationists won the fight against a Government led Urban Renewal Scheme.Also, creative landlords convert old unattractive buildings into
trendy apartments. Old ground floor shops became chic art/antique shops or restaurants.The longer I stay in Hong Kong, the more I fall in love with the city, which is also my birth place. The people are amazingly adaptable, creative and hard-working. But one thing has not changed – it is the dream of almost everyone to get rich one day. I
was one of them since young. But God changed my dream to something much greater. No amount of money can buy the satisfaction and peace that I have now. I was one day having dinner in a restaurant. Sitting nearby were two young ladies in their early 30s and they were comparing notes on property speculation. They 
spoke with such excitement about the properties they have bought and their appreciation in value. Money was clearly something very close to their hearts, because where one’s treasure is, there one’s heart will be also [Matt 6:21]!
spoke with such excitement about the properties they have bought and their appreciation in value. Money was clearly something very close to their hearts, because where one’s treasure is, there one’s heart will be also [Matt 6:21]! 
A rich man can have so much yet has nothing in the end if he does not know the Lord. Even in the present, he can only satisfy his carnal nature – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride. But the soul is sadly empty and unfulfilled. Yes “I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave…….You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” [Ps 16:7-11 NIV]I am excited about what God has installed for me in this city of Hong Kong and the vast country of China. I wish all these people can understand the love of God that I have experienced. They will be able to understand the joy of living in God’s Kingdom, just like the Israelites after rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem, there was great celebration. “At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. The singers also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem.......for the singers had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem………on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. [Neh 12:27-30,43 NIV]
I will continue to pray for this city and this nation. I pray that one day many will hear the Gospel and humble themselves. “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion……..See to it…..that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.” [Heb 3:7-14 NIV]
I am working harder now than when I was half my age. I derived a lot of satisfaction in getting a job well done. Now 5 weeks into my job, I am seeing great results, with God’s help. So be warned against laziness, it is not God’s way. “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. [Prov 24:30-34 NIV]
Amen and amen!
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