Sunday our pastor preached a sermon on thankfulness. Specifically being thankful as opposed to being angry and cynical (what he considers the exact opposite of thankfulness). Two great points he made.
- In general, he sees people who are really angry and/or cynical. More angry than they were 15-20 years ago. People are angry about the government, taxes, the state of small business, the photography industry, their school system, police, war, and the list could go on for days. I see it all the time too. I don’t quite understand why everyone is so angry. We don’t have to be – which leads to point two.
- Anger is a choice. Someone may provoke you. Someone may wrong you. Ultimately, though, it’s your choice to be angry or cynical. On the flip side, it’s also your choice to be thankful – no matter what the circumstance. So the photography industry has been turned on it’s side, how does cynicism solve the problem? Your neighbor is now a “photographer” – is being angry at them going to change their mind?
I tend to not be an angry person, and for that I think I’m lucky because in part it’s how I was raised/trained to live. I don’t always choose to be thankful, but I’m going to try.
If you’re interested in hearing the whole sermon, you can find it at the church website.
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