I love the movie City Slickers. Have you ever seen it? Three friends take a vacation to be cowboys on a cattle drive. There is a really compelling scene in the movie where the three friends are sharing about what was their very best day and what was their worst day. When Billy Crystal’s character is asked, “Ok, what was your worst day?” He hesitates and then says, “Worst day… ok, a couple of years ago, Barbara (his wife) finds a lump. And you know, it turned out to be nothing, but that whole day was…” and then, he just shakes his head.
His friends express dismay because they didn’t know about it. “You never said anything!” They said. But then one of the friends said, “Yeah, but that was a good day!” “How?” said Billy. “Because it turned out to be nothing.” His friend said. “Yeah, but the whole day until then was horrible!” Billy said. “Yeah,” said his friend, “But it came out good!” “You’re a real, ‘the glass is half empty’ kind of guy.”
How about you? Would you consider Billy’s day as the worst ever… or the best ever? Would you tend to focus on the anxiety before the diagnoses, or instead on the joy after the diagnoses? I try to be a “the glass is half full” kind of guy and I usually, but not always, pull it off. Do you know what I think is the key to being a “the glass is half full” kind of person? Gratitude.
Did you know that psychological studies show that thankful people are more optimistic about life? A Harvard Medical School study in 2021 found… “In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, Giving Thanks Can Make Your Happier
The Apostle Paul wrote: “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
Do you want to be a “the glass is half full” kind of person? Paul encourages us to grow deeper in our faith in Christ as we become more and more convinced of the truth of the gospel, and the result will be that our lives will overflow with thankfulness. Christians ought to be grateful people. When we know that our Lord “works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) we can approach life with confidence that God is always working in our lives for good. And when you have that kind of confidence in God… it’s not too big of a leap to see the glass half full. I like to say, “Faith is simply understanding how big God is… and then acting like we truly understand how big He is.” PS
As Thanksgiving Day draws near spend some time pondering all of the reasons you have to be grateful. How has God blessed you? What are the very best gifts in life that you enjoy right now? Christians ought to be “glass half full” people because our salvation has been purchased… in full by our Loving Savior.
Leave a Reply