#949

First World Woes & Eternal Truths

A World Of Inconveniences

Ever have a bad day? Week? You know like when you wake up late and can’t stop to get your fancy coffee? Or you’re refrigerator goes out and a new one won’t be delivered for a week and then it gets delayed? Then the brakes go out on your car and it’s a holiday weekend and that was your only vehicle? Then carnivorous ants are all over the designer cookies you left out on the counter overnight? You can’t seem to catch a break only to have your remote go dead and you don’t have the batteries it needs to run forcing you to go online to order them (remember, you don’t have a car) and you want them overnight so you order three things you don’t need to get them the next day? And when you get the batteries, your cable goes out so you have to watch live television? Oh the pain! The lyrics to a song by "Weird Al" Yankovic called First World Problems pretty much hits the nail on the head:

My maid is cleaning the bathroom, so I can't take a shower

When I do, the water starts getting cold after an hour

I couldn't order off the breakfast menu, 'cause I slept in 'til two

Then I filled up on bread, didn't leave any room for tiramisu

Oh no, there's a pixel out in the corner of my laptop screen

I don't have any bills in my wallet small enough for the vending machine

Some idiot just called me up on the phone

What!? Don't they know how to text? OMG! I bought too many groceries for my refrigerator

Forgot my gardener's name, I'll have to ask him later

Tried to fast forward commercials. Can't, I'm watching live TV

I'm pretty sure the cookies in this airport lounge ain't gluten free

My barista didn't even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte!

Can't remember which car I drove to the mall

My Sonicare won't recharge, now I gotta brush my teeth like a Neanderthal!

The thread count on these cotton sheets has got me itchin'

My house is so big I can't get WiFi in the kitchen

Uh, I had to buy something I didn't even need just so I could qualify for free shipping on Amazon!

Yankovic uses humor to make his point and he’s really good at it.

First World Problems

We do need to define our terms before moving on. The term First World Problems is explained this way from a Wikipedia search:

First World problem is an informal term for the issues in First World nations that are complained about in response to the perceived absence of more pressing concerns. It has been called a subset of the fallacy of relative privation and is also used to acknowledge gratefulness for not having worse problems, such as those in the Second or Third Worlds. It has been used to minimize complaints about trivial issues and shame the complainer, to generate humor at the expense of first world culture, and as good-humored self-deprecation.

The article then tells us where the term came from:

The term First World problem first appeared in 1979 in G. K. Payne's work Built Environment but gained recognition as an Internet meme beginning in 2005, particularly on social networking sites like Twitter (where it became a popular hashtag). In 2012, UNICEF NZ conducted a survey of First World problems in New Zealand, finding "slow web access" to be the most common.

I can certainly relate to having slow Internet access especially if I need it for work, but I think the point is made. When I go shopping I have not one, not two, not three, but four aisles of cereal to choose from. I’ve been to some countries where you’re doing good to have more than one kind of cereal to buy. Electricity almost never goes out like it does in other parts of the world. We have first class hospitals, doctors, nurses, specialists and more if we get sick or injured. And we may not have the job we want but there is no shortage of jobs overall. One can always find exceptions to the rule, but if you live in the United States you are blessed beyond measure. You would think that we wouldn’t complain as much, but we do. It’s easy really, almost too easy.

My Experience In India

If you haven’t traveled overseas, especially to more 3rd world areas you have no clue how blessed we are. I’ll share one experience myself and the team had back in 2018 when we went to India to minister to the people of Kolkata. You might recognize the city when it was named Calcutta, but whichever name you know it as, it is one of the most impoverished cities in the world. Mother Theresa lived there and is considered a saint for her work there. While we were there we had the opportunity and really the privilege to work with a Christian daycare where children ranging from kindergarten to teenagers were picked up from the slums of the city for education. Some of these children lived in cardboard homes. On Fridays a ministry from a hospital, Mission of Mercy sent doctors to treat them for fevers and stomach issues caused by drinking the dirty water. One would think these young ones would be depressed, angry or distrustful but they were all smiles and happy we were there. And their uniforms were clean every day. I know after the first day I went back to my air conditioned hotel room complete with a shower and bottled water and vowed to not complain about how long the hot water lasted or really anything else. The air quality was less than clean, but I knew I only had to deal with it briefly. And for people who are so poor they were some of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen in my travels. Perspective really is everything.

It's Not Wrong

Yes, we in America have it good. And yes, our problems for the most part don’t stack up to starving and going without clean water for long periods of time. I get all that, but when people get cancer or get in an accident or lose a loved one that is a universal pain. People like Job who lost almost everything or like Joseph who spent long periods of time in jail when he was innocent speak to us that bad things happen to good people all the time. I’m not going to belittle anyone who suffers true loss whether they are in America, Africa, or Timbuktu. Once we stop griping and complaining over the things of little consequence we need to move on to things that really matter. The Apostle Paul gives us sage advice when he wrote this:

How grateful I am and how I praise the Lord that you are helping me again. I know you have always been anxious to send what you could, but for a while you didn’t have the chance. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; 13 for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. (Phil 4:11-13, TLB)

The last verse makes it on to a lot of plaques or framed on a wall, but the context makes it clear that Paul made it a point of being thankful and content no matter what circumstances he was in. In an article from gotquestions.org we see not only what the word contentment means, but how to learn it:

The Greek term Paul used, translated as “content” in English, describes a state of being satisfied or satiated with things as they are. Paul had “learned the secret,” meaning he “learned the mystery” of contentment. This expression implies acquiring special information.

It’s A Learned State

This is actually good news since it doesn’t require anything special nor is it expensive to acquire:

Contentment is learned, and we gain it through experience. Like Paul, James had learned to be joyful and optimistic through trials and testing because he understood them to be privileged occasions for growth—to become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2–4). Paul’s deficiency, his weakness in hardship, was an opportunity for God’s “all-surpassing power” to shine forth through him (2 Corinthians 4:7–9). He had discovered that the indwelling power of Christ supplied him with strength, grace, peace, and contentment no matter what life threw at him (Philippians 1:6; 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 3:16). When Paul hit a roadblock or faced a storm, He drew on the deep well of resources springing from his faith in God and his life hidden in Christ (Philippians 1:21; 3:10; see also John 15:5).

In the book of Hebrews we see that the author also expands on this contentedness. And Paul writes about it more as well:

The author of Hebrews described contentment as being satisfied with what we have, knowing God will never fail us or leave us (Hebrews 13:5). Paul told Timothy, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6–8).

Our Outlook Helps Us

The great apostle knew who held his present and his future and that kept him grounded when circumstances would have easily justified him literally falling apart:

Paul was content in every circumstance because his life was anchored in Christ and focused on eternity: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16–18; see also Colossians 3:1–3).

Good spiritual vision is a key attribute but not getting too attached to the things of this life helps as well:

To be content as believers, we must resist the temptation to become over-attached to the things of this world (1 Corinthians 7:31). The opposite of contentment is anxiousness and worry. Jesus told His followers, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, ESV). If our heavenly Father feeds and cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, certainly He will take care of us, His treasured children. Jesus continued, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:32–33, NLT; see also Philippians 4:6). Trusting God in everything, … is the secret of being content.

Whether your problems are first world ones or not, God is in the details and will see us through. Let’s rest in that.