My wife and I recently sat down to watch an episode of The Bible, and it occurred to her how difficult it was in Biblical days to do just about anything. In humility of all the complaining we do about how hard life is, she said, “We have it so easy.”
As we sat on our couch, drinking water we had recently poured from the faucet in our kitchen, we watched a culture that struggled to do anything, and no one seemed to complain about it. I mean, think about it:
- Going somewhere back then meant walking, and fishing meant casting out nets and pulling them back into the boat.
- Eating dinner meant slaughtering an animal or kneading yeast, flour & water and letting it sit for hours.
- Drinking water meant hauling buckets of water back from the river or, if one was so fortunate, only hauling it back from the local well.
- Bathing involved wading through the dirty waters of the Jordan river with clothes on, and drying off meant standing out in the sun until dry.
Consequently, I didn’t notice anyone overweight in the film, except for King Herod the Great. Of course, he didn’t have to do any manual labor, and food was abundantly provided to him. Sound familiar?
We have it so easy. We really do, and the thought occurred to me of how pathetic it must appear to God, who has seen humanity through all the ages, when we complain about our life and how hard it is. Catching a glimpse of what life has been like in the past, I made a commitment to never complain about my life ever again.
Life is so good and we are so blessed, and I’m wondering if anyone else out there feels the same way and wants to join me in this commitment. If not, that’s okay. Just be sure to watch an episode of The Bible and get back to me.
#bexcellentoday 