Every now and then, I'll brew myself a pot of coffee and reminisce to a couple of years ago when I didn't have a coffee pot. I couldn't find one in Korea until I started working with Americans. I'll jokingly refer to the "instant coffee" days as the time I really sacrificed. At least I hope I'm joking.
I was reminded of this as I read an article about Lent, and why it's good for Protestants to practice. It had some good points, but one statement made me laugh a bit. The author said when she went through coffee withdrawal she would be reminded of Christ's suffering. Yes, it was stated like that. Now, I quit drinking coffee before, and it's given me nasty headaches, but I'm pretty sure scourging, crucifixion and the weight of the sins of mankind would hurt, oh, let's say a gazillion times more. Just a hunch.
Why do we equate willpower to actual suffering? It's because we are used to a few nice things, even the "poor" among us. We equate "have" to "deserve". We love to demand our rights.
Expats, even those in ministry, can be the worst. I've heard people groan like starving POWs because while they have fast food and coke here, "it's just not the same." Forget Tibet; free the whiny white people who CHOSE TO LIVE HERE. They're the real martyrs.
We have no idea what persecution means. This is more than a rant, it's a lament.
I feel a coffee headache coming on. I'd better go lie down.
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1 comment:
So good, Matt.
I still haven't commented yet on the video you posted, "everything's amazing, nobody's happy", but my favorite line was:
"How quickly the world owes you something you didn't know existed ten seconds ago."
I can't decide if its a good or bad thing that God chooses that culture to send out the most missionaries in the history of the world.
Peace.
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