I feel like all I ever hear these days is complaints. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has an opinion about why the world is not as it should be. Everyone seems to think they know exactly what the problem is and exactly how it should be fixed. Everyone has something: their pet peeve, their political position, their current bother. Whatever it is, no matter how huge or insignificant it is, they are going to complain about it.
I complain about not getting enough sleep. My dad complains about more rules at my little brother's school. My mom complains about people being inconsiderate. My sister complains about having me as a sister. My boyfriend complains about...just about everything (until I remind him he has the most awesome girlfriend ever, which seems to put things in perspective).
Why do we do this? Why is it so easy to focus on the negative and ignore the positive? There are so many things for us to be thankful for. Simply having a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs should be enough. But then we add our health, friends, family, and, most of all, Jesus, and the reasons we complain seem to wane in comparison.
Living in the United States of America, arguably the best nation in the world, we are incredibly blessed. We have a beautiful, diverse nation, the home of the American Dream. No other nation compares with the United States, and yet we still find reasons to complain. We complain about healthcare. We complain about gas prices. We complain about the President spending too much of our money. We complain about the President not doing enough. We complain about potholes. We complain about the snow not being plowed fast enough in the winter. We complain about everything we possibly can.
But when was the last time we appreciated what a great nation we have been blessed with? I know that I'm not really one to talk; I have plenty of opinions when it comes to politics and government. I'm planning on majoring in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, for goodness' sake. Those opinions are great and all, but if they are not tempered with a gratefulness for this nation, they are just complaints. And complaints are stupid.
