Gratitude

The toilet in my house is a capricious jerk. Overload it with "material" and it will sometimes go on strike, mutely demanding that I sit there waiting to flush a second and sometimes a third time before it'll swallow its foul load.

I have decided that this is wonderful.

See, it doesn't always refuse to do its job. Sometimes a miracle occurs. I press the lever and whoosh-gurgle-gurgle-SHLLUURRP... the bowl is clear! When that happens I am reminded of how amazing it is to have indoor plumbing. For a moment, I am grateful for the miracle of modern sanitation. As I leave the bathroom I turn off the light. Then back on. Then off again. A light! Mein Gott! A working, flick-of-a-switch electric light!

I have heard it said that ingratitude is the source of all sin.

I know, I know—I can't say the word "sin." It's unpopular not just for the moral absolute it implies, but also for the way American Christians have applied it so liberally to all the wrong sorts of things. 

But think about it. 

Think about what ingratitude does to us. Think about how it snakes its way into relationships, whispering discontent and leading inevitably to jealousy, contempt, and cruelty. 

Who more ungrateful than our current democracy-disintegrating President? A man who's been given everything and yet apologizes for nothing. Is grateful for nothing. Runs around desperately grasping, grasping, grasping for more. The man uses the highest opportunity for service as nothing more than a chance to inflate his ego and bank account. For shame!

I have been told I focus too much on the negative. Well guess what? Not today! 

Today I have for you a delightful little video from a friend of mine, director and actor Matt Nunn. Matt directed a short film I wrote called LOCKER 212. He also directed (and starred in) this delightful little short film you're about to love called "Gratitude." Matt's a humble guy and a terrible self-promoter, so I only discovered it by accident last night on the randomnets.

Enjoy!

Be grateful!