Money talks
SO, Mercedes and the Zung Fu people have finally done it, and the Spirit of Hong Kong has been revealed in gleaming paintwork and alloy wheels.
'Oh Lord, please send me a Mercedes Benz', the latest TV advert for the car-above-all cars pleads in sweet melodies and soft focus family life pictures designed to tug at our heart strings.
Is this the ultimate blasphemy, subtly packaged to nag persistently away at the Hong Kong conscience? Surely, I deserve to be rewarded with a Mercedes? 'I've toiled from daybreak into the dark of night.' Christians will know that the Lord is not usually in the business of sending a Mercedes Benz to satisfy our every whim. But at this time of year they will be thanking God for sending Jesus as their Saviour, remembering the lowliness, simplicity and meekness of His coming, and trying to share some of the spirit of that sacrificial life and death by giving to others.
How ironic that at the same time the god of Hong Kong will be worshipped and adored by record sales figures and status symbol mania in order to satisfy our craving for getting and receiving.
The negro-spiritual melody style which the Mercedes song uses, originally carried a cry from the heart for justice and help in the face of oppression, cruelty and indifference. The Mercedes song, by contrast, is an appalling insult to any sense of true value and worth in our society. Sadly its message will be received by many.
They will be dreaming wistfully for their ultimate fulfilment, and praying that one day they will achieve it. 'Lord, please send me a Mercedes Benz.' But there are many who will testify that these are empty dreams, devoid of real satisfaction.
Hong Kong, you need to know that there is an answer. Satisfaction can still be found. There is rest for your soul. It's not to be found in the Mercedes three-legged circle but in the shape of the Cross.
