So Many Unhappy Americans?

You can’t believe everything you read on the internet, with the exception, of course, of what you see right here.

Such was the case with something sent to me this week. The subject was about unhappy Americans. Although credit was given to TV host David Letterman, Jay Leno, or who knows who else, the actual source ‘seemed’ to be from a blog like this one. It was a supposed response to a Newsweek Magazine article that revealed how that the majority of Americans are unhappy with the direction of their own country – a reality easily substantiated by the current ratings of Congress and the White House. But whatever the true source, the author surely touched on something that most every American needs to hear, and especially by any who really are irritated at life in the U.S.

So exactly why are so many Americans so unhappy and reportedly bent on major change as the Presidential polls would indicate? If it is because of a national veering away from Biblical norms and standards, that would be a good thing – and hopefully a God thing. But if it is just a selfish dissatisfaction and the lust for more ‘stuff’’, then the issue may not be so much that they are unhappy, but simply ungrateful!

Here is a sample of the questions listed for unhappy Americans to reconsider:

A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?
B. Is it the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter?
C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state.
F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.
H. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
I. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. And this all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents - neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
J. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy?

Then after offering what should be a thought-provoking list, the author writes near the end of the article, “Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. We are the most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.”

These were some harsh words, but reflect a good deal of accuracy. Often Americans have taken life in their land for granted. But for Christians in America, blessing is not limited to the material realm nor should such things be their focus. Paul addressed the believer’s extended blessings in Ephesians 1:3 when he wrote. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

In the light of those great and eternal blessings, Christians have been admonished to carry out two simple commands in their lives:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

For a 21st century American Christian, a thankful attitude is not an option. And with that should arise a Godly sense of peace, joy, and contentment with life not based on their material possessions or the current political direction of the nation.

Bill Breckenridge