If only...

I have been thinking on how much of a complaining society we have become. We complain about what we don’t have and we complain about the things that we do have. Is anyone content anymore? Or has the American Dream so distorted my “needs” that I can’t even come close to being happy with what I have? I had a discussion about this with a co-worker last year. She said her pastor had given a sermon on complaining in which he asked the church “What if everything that you complained about was suddenly taken away from you?” Sounds great right? Not dealing with any of those problems anymore. But let’s think about that. Here is a list of things I have complained about (either verbally or in my thoughts) over the last 6 months. House, Truck, Wife, Kids, Church, Friends, Job, Family members. I will stick with a short list to make my point. Where would I be if I lost all of those things that I have complained about? Miserable!! My life would be an absolute disaster. And yet I still sit around complaining about all of the things I have. If I would just slow down and think about it, the things I complain about the most are some of the greatest blessing I have in life. Now I am not saying you need to be like the Crucifixion scene in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, Where those being crucified are singing Look on the bright side of life. But I am encouraging us all to think twice next time we start to complain about something. “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Philippians 2:14. Or as Gideon’s (my oldest son) new Veggie tell book puts it. “Whenever we get to complainin fer long, we try to remember that complainin is wrong. 'Cuz God loves us all, he done gived us a lot! We're right thankful fer all the things that we've got” --The Hillbilly Peas.