Photo by Louis R licensed via Creative Commons
By Cornel Bongco
Tapsi is a popular and a favorite meal among Filipinos. It actually came from two words, tapa and sinangag!
Tapa is made from thinly sliced beef that is marinated in a solution of salt, sugar, and soy sauce.
Sinangag is simply fried rice! And the combination of the these two, gives it a distinct Pinoy touch that is loved by millions of Filipinos and probably eaten almost daily in various parts of the country!
What Life and Leadership Lessons could we learn from Tapsi?
We all recognize that the flavor of tapa comes from the fact that flavors of salt, sugar, and soy sauce were blended.
The old fashioned way of producing salt is placing filtered sea water in salt beds and using the hot rays of the sun to make the sea water evaporate so what remains is salt. Isn’t it the same way sometimes when the Lord tries to distill something in our hearts as we wait and and wait and wait for His reply to some of our petitions? Sometimes the hot rays of life make irrelevant things evaporate so we could realize and celebrate the salt, the more important things in life, the things and principles that remain.
The old fashioned way of producing sugar is to squeeze the juice from sugar cane using a process that leaves the sugar cane almost dry. Today, a lot of other sources of sugar (like stevia leaves and coconut sap) are being developed but still the same process of juicing the source to almost dry is evident. When dry seasons come, think about it as the Lord giving you and the world something sweet to enjoy later.
Soy sauce also undergoes several processes, the soy beans get marinated in water, then squeezed, then fermented, then cooked. Just like a lot of things people undergo through in real life when they get flooded, squeezed with problems, made to wait like being fermented then made to pass through extreme heat as in cooking! All these to produce soy sauce and its distinct saltiness!
The blend of these ingredients just like the blending of so many of our experiences (whether good or bad) makes the solution for the marination of the beef so that it could be converted into tapa! Isn’t it just like our very own lives with all the flavor and color of our experiences and this is what God uses to change the flavor of someone else’s life? Marination is just like discipleship! The longer we keep godly company the more the flavor of a godly life brings us to the throne of grace so we would be able to trust God more! Leaders know that the valuable time they spend with those they develop as leaders means time in rubbing off some of the flavor of God’s grace in their very own lives.
What about sinangag or fried rice? Rice, in most cases, is really steamed or cooked! Leftover rice, go to the trash bin at times, but a good and conscientious housemate would find ways to reintegrate leftovers so that it would be as tasty, if not tastier, than yesterdays treat! Leaders should learn from sinangag and try to learn to reinvent themselves, their organization’s vision, missions, and strategies so that it will always appear and “taste” fresh to all stakeholders!
May you feel a special touch of God’s grace as you enjoy your favorite Tapsi!
