The Paper – Editorial January 2013
Half Full or Half Empty
At some time or other I guess we have
all been caught up in that old discussion about whether the glass is half full
or half empty! To the pessimist things
are always bad, and consequently the glass is half empty, whilst to the
optimist it is half full, and things are looking good. In reality there is no difference to the
amount of liquid it contains! Our
perception is what makes the difference.
But when applying this analysis to our own lives, it becomes clear that
the optimist, with the more positive attitude, will probably be better able to
cope with the ups and downs of life. The
foundation of our ability to cope with the many things that seem to “go wrong”
in life is our ability to be able to accept things that happen differently to
how we might have expected or hoped, and to be able to move on from there. We need to be able to accept that in many
cases circumstances are beyond our control, while yet believing that something
else is in control!
This reminds me of a book in which the
author presents what he calls “cat and dog theology”. He puts it this way: Dogs have masters, but cats
have staff. A dog says, “You pet me, you
feed me, you shelter me, you love me, you must be God”. A cat says, “You pet me, you feed me, you
shelter me, you love me, I must be God”. (1) Now without wanting to get into a dispute, or
offend any of our feline or canine lovers, this illustration highlights the
diverse attitudes that we can hold when interacting with the world around
us. We can express thankfulness to the
world around us for providing the opportunities for us to enjoy our life’s
routines, or we can develop an expectation that demands that everything must be
right for us! And again it is our perception
or attitude that makes the difference.
However the question I would like to
focus on is not whether our personal attitude is to see the glass as being half
empty or half full, nor whether we think we are at the centre of the Universe
or just at an extremity of it, but how do we fill that glass up and how do we
maintain a feeling of self-worth in such a large and diverse environment? It has been observed by many that although on
average we have such a high level of ownership of material possessions today,
we also have in society in general a high level of personal mal-adjustment,
evidencing itself in people’s inability to actually enjoy those things which we
have the ability to own. King Solomon,
in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible says:
“Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should
rejoice in his own works”. (Ecclesiastes
chapter 3, verse 22)
Christianity teaches that all goodness
comes from God, and that we can only be fully in tune with life when we have developed
a personal relationship with Him. Christians
recognise that God has given us a handbook with valuable life principles (the
Bible), and sent Jesus Christ into this world to show us a life style and
pattern that we would do well to follow.
It is by following Him that our glass can be filled. He said “ whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water ... shall be in him a
well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John chapter 4, verse 14) and again, “ask and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full”. (John
chapter 16, verse 24)
We would like to invite you to visit us,
or a Church in your local Community, to talk about the Christian life-style,
and Jesus’ claim that if you follow Him your glass can be full. See Church Notices in this Paper for times of
Meetings at the Christian Israelite Church at 196 Campbell Street – a place which
has been in continuous service in this Community since 1853 - 160 years.
(1)
Bob
Sjogren & Gerald Robison, Cat and Dog
Theology, Authentic Media, Waynesboro, USA, 2003, pg 15.
Rodney Gray – Pastor Christian Israelite Church, 196
Campbell Street, Sydney (www.cichurch.com)
.
