Kleptomaniac: The urge to steal
Have you ever stolen anything before? No, I do not mean stealing someone's heart or someone's attention, but stealing stuff from shop, or from others. I mean stole real things from a store or shop. I did.
I remembered vividly. I stole a comb and a pair of socks from P-Mart in Jurong Point in 1997, just a few months after I started to study in NTU. Money is difficult, and in order to save money, I decided to steal. Guess what, I was caught by the security guard. I was confronted, and thankfully, after some lecture from the kindly guard, he allowed the then teary-eyed me to go without keeping any record. That invisible record, however, is forever imprinted in my heart.
I happened to watch a show on TV today on Kleptomaniac - or the addiction to steal.
The short drama is derived from a real-life story, featuring a teenage girl, Kai Xin, who is not successful in academic, and due to bad influence from friends, and lack of care and love from parents, started to steal and slowly become addicted to the act.
The things that Kleptomaniac steal, may not be valuable, but it can be anything, for it is the thrill of stealing that they liked. Apparently, this addiction can hit anyone, from teenagers to old man, poor and rich, common and famous persons (e.g. Winona Riders).
=== here the story goes ===
KaiXin was caught and put into Andrew Grace Home because she was under 16. The movie featured a kindly pastor, who counseled her and found out the reasons behind her stealing act. KaiXin then revealed that there is some sort of 'emptiness' in her heart, and she will not be satisfied until she stole anything. She will get frustrated if she did not steal anything.
The pastor confronted, and asked her to search her heart, did she really fill 'ok' after stealing? or is the 'emptiness' still there? She said, yes. The pastor then said that what she is lacking, is the goal of life, a dream, a hope, or even care or concern from the love ones.
It is no surprise, that KaiXin's parents may not have shown enough love to her, yet keep on demanding on her result without wanting to know about her. It is highly possible, that she did shoplifting in order to catch the attention of the parents.
As the story goes, KaiXin grew in her faith and learnt about lessons of life from the pastor. The pastor says that if you know that there is something that you are lacking, all you need is to find the thing you are lacking, and fill it.
She was given day off, when she can go out. She met her old friends, and shared about the lessons she learnt in AG home. Unfortunately her friends are unappreciative, and instead, they brought her to their old haunt, and encouraged her to steal again. She hesitated, but finally decided to steal, again.
The change in the heart of KaiXin only revealed when she returned to the gate of AG home. She felt unworthy. She seemed regretted. Then she went in to meet the Pastor. The Pastor upon meeting her, gave her a gift, as an encouragement for her improvement. She refused to accept, and confessed that she stole.
The pastor looked upset, and calmly trying to find out why? She admitted, it was her own decision, although it was due to her friends urging. She said, she felt guilty and ashamed and unworthy because the pastor was so nice to her, and yet she did something like that again.
The pastor then looked pleased, he said,"you felt guilty because you shoplifted, now your heart is not lacking of anything already, because you already know what is right and good". He passed her her gift, and said, "you have improved, take this gift"
KaiXin then reported herself to the police, and because of multiple instances of stealing, was admitted to the women's prison for 18 months. She was only 16.
She took O level in the prison, and she come out of the prison as a new person. She continued to study in the poly, and worked parttime. And she is finally free from the urge to shoplift, because now she has a goal to live, and her life is not empty anymore.
=== end of story ===
I was so touched that I cried at the end of the show, when the mother embraces the daughter at the prison gate.
There are many lessons that I have learnt from this 30 minutes show. I reflect on the chance given to me by the security guard. I reflect on the second chance given to us, by our heavenly Father. I hope that as reader of this blog, you too may learn some lesson.
The life of KaiXin is transformed. I believe the transformation is made possible by Christ, through the guidance of the kindly pastor.
I pray and hope that I too can live a transformed life everyday, transformed to be more like Christ, and lead people to Christ.
I remembered vividly. I stole a comb and a pair of socks from P-Mart in Jurong Point in 1997, just a few months after I started to study in NTU. Money is difficult, and in order to save money, I decided to steal. Guess what, I was caught by the security guard. I was confronted, and thankfully, after some lecture from the kindly guard, he allowed the then teary-eyed me to go without keeping any record. That invisible record, however, is forever imprinted in my heart.
I happened to watch a show on TV today on Kleptomaniac - or the addiction to steal.
The short drama is derived from a real-life story, featuring a teenage girl, Kai Xin, who is not successful in academic, and due to bad influence from friends, and lack of care and love from parents, started to steal and slowly become addicted to the act.
The things that Kleptomaniac steal, may not be valuable, but it can be anything, for it is the thrill of stealing that they liked. Apparently, this addiction can hit anyone, from teenagers to old man, poor and rich, common and famous persons (e.g. Winona Riders).
=== here the story goes ===
KaiXin was caught and put into Andrew Grace Home because she was under 16. The movie featured a kindly pastor, who counseled her and found out the reasons behind her stealing act. KaiXin then revealed that there is some sort of 'emptiness' in her heart, and she will not be satisfied until she stole anything. She will get frustrated if she did not steal anything.
The pastor confronted, and asked her to search her heart, did she really fill 'ok' after stealing? or is the 'emptiness' still there? She said, yes. The pastor then said that what she is lacking, is the goal of life, a dream, a hope, or even care or concern from the love ones.
It is no surprise, that KaiXin's parents may not have shown enough love to her, yet keep on demanding on her result without wanting to know about her. It is highly possible, that she did shoplifting in order to catch the attention of the parents.
As the story goes, KaiXin grew in her faith and learnt about lessons of life from the pastor. The pastor says that if you know that there is something that you are lacking, all you need is to find the thing you are lacking, and fill it.
She was given day off, when she can go out. She met her old friends, and shared about the lessons she learnt in AG home. Unfortunately her friends are unappreciative, and instead, they brought her to their old haunt, and encouraged her to steal again. She hesitated, but finally decided to steal, again.
The change in the heart of KaiXin only revealed when she returned to the gate of AG home. She felt unworthy. She seemed regretted. Then she went in to meet the Pastor. The Pastor upon meeting her, gave her a gift, as an encouragement for her improvement. She refused to accept, and confessed that she stole.
The pastor looked upset, and calmly trying to find out why? She admitted, it was her own decision, although it was due to her friends urging. She said, she felt guilty and ashamed and unworthy because the pastor was so nice to her, and yet she did something like that again.
The pastor then looked pleased, he said,"you felt guilty because you shoplifted, now your heart is not lacking of anything already, because you already know what is right and good". He passed her her gift, and said, "you have improved, take this gift"
KaiXin then reported herself to the police, and because of multiple instances of stealing, was admitted to the women's prison for 18 months. She was only 16.
She took O level in the prison, and she come out of the prison as a new person. She continued to study in the poly, and worked parttime. And she is finally free from the urge to shoplift, because now she has a goal to live, and her life is not empty anymore.
=== end of story ===
I was so touched that I cried at the end of the show, when the mother embraces the daughter at the prison gate.
There are many lessons that I have learnt from this 30 minutes show. I reflect on the chance given to me by the security guard. I reflect on the second chance given to us, by our heavenly Father. I hope that as reader of this blog, you too may learn some lesson.
The life of KaiXin is transformed. I believe the transformation is made possible by Christ, through the guidance of the kindly pastor.
I pray and hope that I too can live a transformed life everyday, transformed to be more like Christ, and lead people to Christ.
posted by Suhandy Yao Wei Xuan @ 1:37 pm
1 Comments:
At 10:29 pm ,
Anonymous said...
Both stories, KaiXin's and yours, are very inspiring. Thanks for sharing. Andy
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home