What is Our Problem?
There are times that I think that I have it rough. I don’t live in as nice a house as I would like. I would prefer a bigger yard (even though I complained how long it took to cut the lawn when I did have a big yard). I would like to travel more (even though I have been to more places than many people). I would like to be able to get the toys that my kids want (even though they break them almost immediately).
But then I think about the rest of the world. I can’t even imagine living in a place like North Korea. Does anyone really know what is happening between Ukraine and Russia? Syria is out of the news but people are still dying. ISIS is committing all sorts of atrocities in Iraq including driving the Christian population out. People are dying on both sides in Gaza and Israel.
I get so worked up about my things that I forget my global context. Whether or not I feel like it, I am very rich and prosperous. We hear about one crime in our city and we feel in danger but so many people never know if they will get through the day.
We need to be thankful for what we have. This does not mean that we are thankful that others have it worse. We need to do what we can to help, whether that is prayer or financial support. But where we need to start is understanding the lack of importance of our first world problems.
