Jono Miller

I think I can say I have had enough of the mall. I spent the greater part of the day in the Dubai Mall, wandering around, observing people, marvelling at the abundance of wealth. Following are two pieces I wrote today, one at the bottom of the mall after an hour of aimless wandering, and the second piece at the viewing platform of the Burg Khalifa.

Islamterialism

Dubai
Do buy
How high?
To the sky

Glitter glitter gold
Outside hot, inside cold
Look, desire, deliberate, sold
Another sordid tale of wealth, told

Please cover your shoulders
Please cover your knees
Please leave your pockets open
Mannequin dressed in a miniskirt
For business the rules we will ease
Sharia here is but token

I sit here watching the crowds flow past
Sipping my latte alone
All this wealth, for what? I ask
Throw the dog another bone?

One man buries his treasure
Another his multiplies
One woman wears a burqa
Another is showing her thighs

You wash in that bathroom
I'll wash in mine
Agnostic, Christian
Or follower of Allah divine
What is the difference?

We all want a little bit more
We all want to reach the top
We clamour and climb not to be poor
But in the end we all must stop

What will it profit a man if gain the whole world but lose his soul

422 metres

So I didn't make it to the top. Here I sit a little over half way up the tallest building in the world. I cast my gaze upwards and can barely see the mast at the top. I peer through the heavy duty glass over the railing and see multi level skyscrapers dwarfed below. What is this that man has devised and built? It is a genius work of engineering. It is an aesthetically pleasing structure. I rove my eye in every direction and all I see is sand, sand more sand and the Gulf of Arabia. Kilometres of superbly maintained highways snake in and around the developed and yet to be developed commercial centres of this Middle Eastern hub.
What am I doing here? What brings a humble teacher from NZ up the world's highest structure? We are pioneers. We climb mountains. We split atoms. But we do things with a purpose - otherwise we are just grandstanding.
So what next? I descend those 124 stories in less than a minute walk on out and resist the barrage of sales people trying to sell me my own photo and a plethora of other proofs to proclaim I have been here. Then what?
One man had a vision to build the world's highest building. What is your Burg Khalifa? What is your Everest? What is your calling? It matters not the height. It matters not the significance in the eyes of the world. It matters everything what God has called you to. He created you for Himself and commissioned you to celebrate this good news with those who yet remain ignorant and unaware. This is your mountain. This is the high calling beckoning you. So push the button and open the elevator and get going!!!