In Memory of Dr

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Question: "Why does God allow bad things tohappen to good people?"Answer: This is one of the most dicult questions in all of theology. Godis eternal, innite, omniscient (mahatahu),omnipresent, and omnipotent. Why should humanbeings (not eternal, innite, omniscient,omnipresent (ada dimana-mana), or omnipotent(yg aha !uasa) e"pect to be able to fullyunderstand God#s $ays% The boo& of 'ob deals $iththis issue. God had allo$ed atan to do eerythinghe $anted to 'ob e"cept &ill him. What $as 'ob#sreaction% *Though he slay (membunuh) me, yet$ill + hope in him ( 'ob /0). *The 1234 gae andthe 1234 has ta&en a$ay5 may the name of the1234 be praised ( 'ob /6).

 'ob did not understand $hy God had allo$ed thethings 7e did, but he &ne$ God $as good andtherefore continued to trust in 7im. 8ltimately, thatshould be our reaction as $ell.Why do bad thingshappen to good people% The biblical ans$er isthere are no *good people. The 9ible ma&es itabundantly clear that all of us are tainted (noda)by and infected $ith sin (:cclesiastes ;/6<  --- forthere is not a =ust man on earth $ho does goodand does not sin. esungguhnya, di bumi tida& adaorang yang saleh5yg berbuat bai& dan ta& pernahberbuat dosa) 5 3omans /6 --- for all hae sinnedand fall short of the glory of G24. !arena semuaorang telah berbuat dosa dan telah &ehilangan&emuliaan >llah5 'ohn /?). 3omans /<-? couldnot be clearer about the non-e"istence of *goodpeople/

*There is no one righteous, not een one5 there is

no one $ho understands, no one $ho see&s God.>ll hae turned a$ay, they hae together become

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$orthless5 there is no one $ho does good, not eenone. Their throats are open graes5 their tonguespractice deceit. The poison of ipers is on their lips.

 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are s$ift to shed blood5 ruin and miserymar& their $ays, and the $ay of peace they do not&no$. There is no fear of God before their eyes.:ery human being on this planet deseres to bethro$n into hell at this ery moment. :ery second$e spend alie is only by the grace and mercy of God. :en the most terrible misery $e coulde"perience on this planet is merciful compared to$hat $e desere, eternal hell in the la&e of re.

> better question $ould be * Why does God allo$good things to happen to bad people% 3omans 0/?declares, *9ut God demonstrates his o$n loe forus in this/ While $e $ere still sinners, @hrist diedfor us. 4espite the eil, $ic&ed, sinful nature of the people of this $orld, God still loes us. 7eloed us enough to die to ta&e the penalty for oursins (3omans A/6). +f $e receie 'esus @hrist asaior ( 'ohn /A5 3omans </B), $e $ill beforgien and promised an eternal home in heaen(3omans ?/). What $e desere is hell. What $eare gien is eternal life in heaen if $e come to@hrist in faith. Ces, sometimes bad things happento people $ho seem undesering of them. 9ut Godallo$s things to happen for 7is reasons, $hether ornot $e understand them. >boe all, ho$eer, $emust remember that God is good, =ust, loing, andmerciful. 2ften things happen to us that $e simplycannot understand. 7o$eer, instead of doubtingGodDs goodness, our reaction should be to trust7im. Trust in the 1234 $ith all your heart and

lean not on your o$n understanding5 in all your$ays ac&no$ledge 7im, and 7e $ill ma&e your

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paths straight (Eroerbs /0-A).

+n emory of 4r. 3ichard Teo (B;6 - 6<6)

9elo$ is the transcript of the tal& of 4r. 3ichard Teo, $ho is a F<-year-old millionaire and cosmeticsurgeon $ith a stage-F lung cancer but selesslycame to share $ith the 4 class his life e"perienceon B-'an-6<6. 7e has =ust passed a$ay fe$ daysago on ? 2ctober 6<6.

7i good morning to all of you. y oice is a bithoarse (Hho$rsH garau, sera&), so please bear(tahan, betah) $ith me. + thought +Dll =ust introducemyself. y name is 3ichard, +Dm a medical doctor.>nd + thought +Dll =ust share some thoughts of mylife. +tDs my pleasure to be inited by prof.7opefully, it can get you thin&ing about ho$... asyou pursue this.. embar&ing (memulai)  on yourtraining to become dental surgeons, to thin& aboutother things as $ell.

ince young, + am a typical product of todayDssociety. 3elatiely successful product that societyrequires.. Irom young, + came from a belo$aerage family. + $as told by the media... andpeople around me that happiness is about success.>nd that success is about being $ealthy. With thismind-set, +De al$ays be e"tremely competitie,since + $as young.

Jot only do + need to go to the top school, + need tohae success in all elds. 8niform groups, trac&,eerything. + needed to get trophies, needed to be

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successful, + needed to hae colours a$ard,national colours a$ard, eerything. o + $as highlycompetitie since young. + $ent on to medicalschool, graduated as a doctor. ome of you may&no$ that $ithin the medical faculty,ophthalmology is one of the most highlysoughtHsee&5 after specialities. o + $ent after thatas $ell. + $as gien a traineeship in ophthalmology,+ $as also gien a research scholarship by J8 todeelop lasers to treat the eye.

o in the process, + $as gien 6 patents, one forthe medical deices, and another for the lasers.>nd you &no$ $hat, all this academicachieements did not bring me any $ealth. oonce + completed my bond $ith 27, + decidedthat this is ta&ing too long, the training in eyesurgery is =ust ta&ing too long. >nd thereDs lots of money to be made in the priate sector. +f youDrea$are, in the last fe$ years, there is this rise inaesthetic medicine. Tons of money to be madethere. o + decided, $ell, enough of staying ininstitution, itDs time to leae. o + quit my traininghalf$ay and + $ent on to set up my aestheticclinic... in to$n, together $ith a day surgery centre.

 Cou &no$ the irony is that people do not ma&eheroes out aerage GE (general practitioner),family physicians. They donDt. They ma&e heroesout of people $ho are rich and famous. Eeople $hoare not happy to pay K6< to see a GE, the sameperson hae no qualms paying ten thousanddollars for a liposuction, 0 thousand dollars for abreast augmentation, and so on and so forth. oitDs a no brainer isnDt% Why do you $ant to be a gp%

9ecome an aesthetic physician. o instead of healing the sic& and ill, + decided that +Dll become a

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gloried beautician. o, business $as good, erygood. +t started oL $ith $aiting of one $ee&, thenbecame $ee&s, then one month, then 6 months,then months. + $as oer$helmed5 there $ere =usttoo many patients. Manities (&esombongan) arefantastic business. + employed one doctor, thesecond doctor, the rd doctor, the Fth doctor. >nd$ithin the st year, $eDre already ra&ing inmillions. 'ust the st year. 9ut neer is enoughbecause + $as so obsessed $ith it. + started toe"pand into +ndonesia to get all the rich +ndonesiantai-tais $ho $ouldnDt blin& an eye to hae aprocedure done. o life $as really good.

o $hat do + do $ith the spare cash. 7o$ do +spend my $ee&ends% Typically, +Dll hae car clubgatherings. + ta&e out my trac& car, $ith spare cash+ got myself a trac& car. We hae car clubgatherings. WeDll go up to epang in alaysia. WeDllgo for car racing. >nd it $as my life. With otherspare cash, $hat do i do% + get myself a Ierrari. >tthat time, the F0? $asnDt out, itDs =ust a spiderconertible, F<. This is a friend of mine, aschoolmate $ho is a fore" trader, a ban&er. o hegot a red one, he $as $anting all along a red one, +$as getting the siler one.

o $hat do + do after getting a car% +tDs time to buya house, to build our o$n bungalo$s. o $e goaround loo&ing for a land to build our o$nbungalo$s, $e $ent around hunting. o ho$ do ilie my life% Well, $e all thin& $e hae to mi"around $ith the rich and famous. This is one of theiss 8nierse. o $e hang around $ith thebeautiful, rich and famous. This by the $ay is an

internet founder. o this is ho$ $e spend our lies,$ith dining and all the restaurants and ichelin

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@hefs you &no$.

o + reach a point in life that + got eerything formy life. + $as at the pinnacle of my career and all.

 ThatDs me one year ago in the gym and + thought +$as li&e, haing eerything under control andreaching the pinnacle (punca&) .

Well, + $as $rong. + didnDt hae eerything undercontrol. >bout last year arch, + started to deelopbac&ache in the middle of no$here. + thoughtmaybe it $as all the heay squats + $as doing. o +$ent to G7, sa$ my classmate to do an 3+, toma&e sure itDs not a slipped disc or anything. >ndthat eening, he called me up and said that $efound bone marro$ (sumsum) replacement in yourspine (tulang bela&ang). + said, sorry $hat doesthat mean% + mean + &no$ $hat it means, but +couldnDt accept that. + $as li&e *>re you serious% +$as still running around going to the gym you&no$. 9ut $e had more scans the ne"t day, E:Tscans - positrons emission scans, they found thatactually + hae stage F terminal lung cancer. + $asli&e NWhoa $here did that come from% +t hasalready spread to the brain, the spine, the lier andthe adrenals. >nd you &no$ one moment + $asthere, totally thin&ing that + hae eerything undercontrol, thin&ing that +De reached the pinnacle of my life. 9ut the ne"t moment, + hae =ust lost it.

 This is a @T scan of the lungs itself. +f you loo& at it,eery single dot there is a tumour. We call thismiliaries tumour. >nd in fact, + hae tens of thousands of them in the lungs. o, + $as told thateen $ith chemotherapy, that +Dll hae about -

Fmonths at most. 4id my life come crushing on, of course it did, $ho $ouldnDt% + $ent into depression,

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of course, seere depression and + thought + hadeerything.

ee the irony is that all these things that + hae,the success, the trophies, my cars, my house andall. + thought that brought me happiness. 9ut i $asfeeling really do$n, haing seere depression.7aing all these thoughts of my possessions, theybrought me no =oy. The thought of... Cou &no$, +can hug my Ierrari to sleep, no... Jo, it is not goingto happen. +t brought not a single comfort duringmy last ten months. >nd + thought they $ere, butthey $ere not true happiness. 9ut it $asnDt. Whatreally brought me =oy in the last ten months $asinteraction $ith people, my loed ones, friends,people $ho genuinely care about me, they laughand cry $ith me, and they are able to identify thepain and suLering + $as going through. Thatbrought =oy to me, happiness. Jone of the things +hae, all the possessions, and + thought those $eresupposed to bring me happiness. 9ut it didnDt,because if it did, + $ould hae felt happy thin&about it, $hen + $as feeling most do$n..

 Cou &no$ the classical @hinese Je$ Cear that iscoming up. +n the past, $hat do + do% Well, + $illusually drie my ashy car to do my rounds, isitmy relaties, to sho$ it oL to my friends. >nd +thought that $as =oy, you &no$. + thought that $asreally =oy. 9ut do you really thin& that my relatiesand friends, $hom some of them hae dicultytrying to ma&e ends meet, that $ill truly share the

 =oy $ith me% eeing me driing my ashy car andsho$ing oL to them% Jo, no $ay. They $on#t besharing =oy $ith me. They $ere haing problems

trying to ma&e ends meet, ta&ing public transport.+n fact i thin&, $hat + hae done is more li&e you

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&no$, ma&ing them enious (cemburu, iri hati) , =ealous of all + hae. +n fact, sometimes eenhatred (&ebencian).

 Those are $hat $e call ob=ects of eny. + haethem, + sho$ them oL to them and + feel it can llmy o$n pride and ego. That didnDt bring any =oy tothese people, to my friends and relaties, and +thought they $ere real =oy.

Well, let me =ust share another story $ith you. Cou&no$ $hen + $as about your age, + stayed in &ing:d$ard M++ hall. + had this friend $hom + thought$as strange. 7er name is 'ennifer, $eDre still goodfriends. >nd as + $al& along the path, she $ould, if she sees a snail, she $ould actually pic& up thesnail and put it along the grass patch. + $as li&e$hy do you need to do that% Why dirty your hands%+t#s =ust a snail. The truth is she could feel for thesnail. The thought of being crushed to death is realto her, but to me itDs =ust a snail. +f you canDt getout of the path$ay of humans then you desere tobe crushed, it#s part of eolution isnDt it% What anirony isnDt it%

 There + $as being trained as a doctor, to becompassionate, to be able to empathise5 but +couldnDt. >s a house ocer, + graduated frommedical school, posted to the oncology departmentat J87. >nd, eery day, eery other day + $itnessdeath in the cancer department. When + see ho$they suLered, + see all the pain they $ent through.+ see all the morphine they hae to press eery fe$minutes =ust to reliee their pain. + see themstruggling $ith their o"ygen breathing their last

breath and all. 9ut it $as =ust a =ob. When + $ent toclinic eery day, to the $ards eery day, ta&e

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blood, gie the medication but $as the patient realto me% They $erenDt real to me. +t $as =ust a =ob, +do it, + get out of the $ard, + canDt $ait to gethome, + do my o$n stuL.

Was the pain, $as the suLering the patients $entthrough real% Jo. 2f course + &no$ all the medicalterms to describe ho$ they feel, all the suLeringthey $ent through. 9ut in truth, + did not &no$ ho$they feel, not until + became a patient. +t is untilno$5 + truly understand ho$ they feel. >nd, if youas& me, $ould + hae been a ery diLerent doctor if + $ere to re-lie my life no$, + can tell you yes + $ill.9ecause + truly understand ho$ the patients feelno$. >nd sometimes, you hae to learn it the hard$ay.

:en as you start =ust your rst year, and youembar& this =ourney to become dental surgeons,let me =ust challenge you on t$o fronts.

+neitably, all of you here $ill start to go intopriate practice. Cou $ill start to accumulate$ealth. + can guarantee you. 'ust doing an implantcan bring you thousands of dollars, itDs fantasticmoney. >nd actually there is nothing $rong $ithbeing successful, $ith being rich or $ealthy,absolutely nothing $rong. The only trouble is that alot of us li&e myself couldnDt handle it.

Why do + say that% 9ecause $hen + start toaccumulate, the more + hae, the more + $ant. Themore + $anted, the more obsessed + became. 1i&e$hat + sho$ed you earlier on, all + can $as basicallyto get more possessions, to reach the pinnacle of 

$hat society did to us, of $hat society $ants us tobe. + became so obsessed that nothing else really

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mattered to me. Eatients $ere =ust a source of income, and + tried to squeeOe eery single centout of these patients.

> lot of times $e forget, $hom $e are supposed tobe sering. We become so lost that $e serenobody else but =ust ourseles. That $as $hathappened to me. Whether it is in the medical, thedental fraternity, + can tell you, right no$ in thepriate practice, sometimes $e =ust adise patientson treatment that is not indicated. Grey areas. >ndeen though it is not necessary, $e &ind of adocate (penyo&ong, pengan=ur) it. :en at thispoint, + &no$ $ho are my friends and $hogenuinely cared for me and $ho are the ones $hotry to ma&e money out of me by selling me NhopeN.We &ind of lose our moral compass along the $ay.9ecause $e =ust $ant to ma&e money.

Worse, + can tell you, oer the last fe$ years, $ebad mouth our fello$ colleagues, our fello$competitors in the industry. We hae no qualms(rasa cemas) about it. o if $e can put them do$nto gie ourseles an adantage, $e do it. >ndthatDs $hat happening right no$, medical, dentaleery$here. y challenge to you is not to lose thatmoral compass. + learnt it the hard $ay, + hope youdonDt eer hae to do it.

econdly, a lot of us $ill start to get numb to ourpatients as $e start to practise. Whether is itgoernment hospitals, priate practice, + can tellyou $hen + $as in the hospital, $ith stac&s of patient folders, + canDt $ait to get rid of thosefolders as soon as possible5 + canDt $ait to get

patients out of my consultation room as soon aspossible because there is =ust so many, and thatDs

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a reality. 9ecause it becomes a =ob, a ery routine =ob. >nd this is =ust part of it. 4o + truly &no$ ho$the patient feels bac& then% Jo, + donDt. The fearsand an"iety and all, do + truly understand $hatthey are going through% + donDt, not until $hen thishappens to me and + thin& that is one of thebiggest a$s in our system.

We#re being trained to be healthcare proiders,professional, and all and yet $e donDt &no$ ho$e"actly they feel. +Dm not as&ing you to getinoled emotionally, + donDt thin& that isprofessional but do $e actually ma&e a real eLortto understand their pain and all% ost of us $on#t,alright, + can assure you. o donDt lose it, mychallenge to you is to al$ays be able to putyourself in your patientDs shoes.

9ecause the pain, the an"iety, the fear are eryreal een though itDs not real to you, itDs real tothem. o donDt lose it and you &no$, right no$ +Dmin the midst of my 0th cycle of my chemotherapy. +can tell you it#s a terrible feeling. @hemotherapy isone of those things that you donDt $ish een yourenemies to go through because itDs =ust suLering,lousy feeling, thro$ing out, you donDt een &no$ if you can retain your meals or not. Terrible feelingP>nd een $ith $hateer little energy no$ + hae, +try to reach out to other cancer patients because +truly understand $hat pain and suLering is li&e.9ut itDs &ind of little too late and too little.

 Cou guys hae a bright future ahead of you $ith allthe resource and energy, so +#m going to challengeyou to go beyond your immediate patients. To

understand that there are people out there $ho aretruly in pain, truly in hardship. 4on#t get the idea

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that only poor people suLer. +t is not true. > lot of these poor people do not hae much in the rstplace, they are easily contented. for all you &no$they are happier than you and me but there areout there, people $ho are suLering mentally,physically, hardship, emotionally, nancially and soon and so forth, and they are real. We choose toignore them or $e =ust donDt $ant to &no$ thatthey e"ist.

o do thin& about it alright, een as you go on tobecome professionals and dental surgeons and all.

 That you can reach out to these people $ho are inneed. Whateer you do can ma&e a largediLerence to them. +Dm no$ at the receiing end so+ &no$ ho$ it feels, someone $ho genuinely carefor you, encourage and all. +t ma&es a lot of diLerence to me. That#s $hat happens aftertreatment. + had a treatment recently, but +#ll leaethis for another day. > lot of things happened alongthe $ay, thatDs $hy + am still able to tal& to youtoday.

+Dll =ust end of $ith this quote here, itDs from thisboo& called Tuesdays $ith orris, and some of youmay hae read it. :eryone &no$s that they aregoing to die5 eery one of us &no$s that. The truthis, none of us beliee it because if $e did, $e $illdo things diLerently. When + faced death, $hen +had to, + stripped myself oL all stuL totally and +focused only on $hat is essential. The irony is thata lot of times, only $hen $e learn ho$ to die then$e learn ho$ to lie. + &no$ it sounds ery morbid(abnormal, td& $a=ar) for this morning but itDs thetruth, this is $hat +#m going through.

4on#t let society tell you ho$ to lie. 4on#t let the

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media tell you $hat youDre supposed to do. Thosethings happened to me. >nd + led this life thin&ingthat these are going to bring me happiness. + hopethat you $ill thin& about it and decide for yourself ho$ you $ant to lie your o$n life. Jot accordingto $hat other people tell you to do, and you haeto decide $hether you $ant to sere yourself,$hether you are going to ma&e a diLerence insomebody elseDs life. 9ecause true happinessdoesnDt come from sering yourself. + thought it$as but it didnDt turn out that $ay.

>lso most importantly, + thin& true =oy comes from&no$ing God. Jot &no$ing about God Q + mean,you can read the bible and &no$ about God Q but&no$ing God personally5 getting a relationship $ithGod. + thin& that#s the most important. That#s $hat+#e learnt.

o if + $ere to sum it up, +#d say that the earlier $esort out the priorities in our lies, the better it is.4on#t be li&e me Q + had no other $ay. + had to learnit through the hard $ay. + had to come bac& to Godto than& 7im for this opportunity because +#e had ma=or accidents in my past Q car accidents. Cou&no$, these sports car accidents Q + $as al$aysspeeding , but someho$ + al$ays came out alie,een $ith the car almost being oerturned. >nd +$ouldn#t hae had a chance. Who &no$s, + don#t&no$ $here else +#d be going toP :en though + $asbaptised it $as =ust a sho$, but the fact that thishas happened, it gae me a chance to come bac&to God.

Ie$ things +#d learnt though/

. Trust in the 1ord your God $ith all your heart Qthis is so important.

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