The Temptation of First World Problems

We are so tempted to feel hopeless even in the most mundane moments and experiences of our lives.  What if we changed the lens from which we view the world to one of hope?

First World Problems 
Vince Amlin

God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?" And he said, "Yes, angry enough to die." Then the Lord said, "…And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?" - Jonah 4:9,11 

Recently, a friend told me she'd had a meeting cancelled at work because the person she was supposed to meet with had a flat tire on his jet. The internet has given us a term for such trouble: first world problems. Slow wifi connection? Lousy in-flight movies? No Trader Joe's in town?! You've got first world problems. 

For Jonah it’s the death of his favorite plant. (Really he's pouting about having to save his enemies. Plus, his clothes still smell like the inside of a fish.) God uses Jonah’s pain to teach the prophet a lesson: If you care this much for a shrub, how do you think I feel about the Assyrians? 

God’s response helps us put our problems in perspective. Dissatisfied with that soy latte? Consider your neighbors without access to clean water. Heated car seats not warming up fast enough? Imagine what it's like to be sleeping outside. When we become too absorbed with ourselves, God refocuses our attention. 

When we suffer, it can remind us that the same spirit is within the stranger and the enemy. Our pain becomes a point of connection with those we have fought with or forgotten. The death of a beloved plant or of a beloved cell phone battery can send us out, looking for others with problems (sometimes just a little worse than ours.) 

Prayer 
Refocusing God, in my pain and discomfort reveal my connection to the stranger and the enemy.t