How full is your cup?
I had almost forgotten the first time it happened . I encountered a woman from my church. We had a casual conversation and she stated that she knew she had always been a pessimist. For some reason it wasn't until much later that I realized the problem with what she had said. She had called herself a pessimist and seemed very comfortable with that label. How could a Christian say that? A pessimist always sees the cup as being half empty. Half empty or half full (the usual description of an optimist) , how does either cup have room for a sovereign God and all the blessings our Father promises his people? The good we have in this life must not be our total focus and so should I want to see my cup as half full? To see it as half empty means I do not appreciate what blessings I have and so should I be content to see the cup as half empty? Neither perspective reflects a Biblical understanding.
A number of years passed. I and another woman were discussing our differences. In the middle of our talk she offhandedly mentioned that she thought she as well as many others would tend to view the cup as half empty (again that code for being a pessimist). Her comment saddened me. That view inevitably leads to a lack of joy in our lives.
I could not help but think of this passage from Jeremiah 2:13. " for my people have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water." All around us are broken cisterns of our own making. We keep falling into the mindset that says " if I can do it myself I should." The optimist is the one who says "I have enough water for my animals and this is good." while he tries to not look at the dried vegetation or think about how exhausted he is as he constantly fills the cistern with more water. The pessimist thinks "this will never be enough water. Why am I even trying?" He takes careful note of any increase in the rate of leakage. The intensity of his work decreases as he sees it as a losing battle. He may abandon his cistern in order to make another one of the same poor quality and start the same pattern again.
We are not to be either pessimists or optimists. When we act like either one we are forsaking the fountain of living waters. We are ignoring the lush vegetation around the fountain and we deny that those at the fountain are experiencing a contentment that is often foreign to us. Scripture is filled with many other passages that refer to the overflow of blessings that God has for his people. Perhaps what we are called to be are Biblical realists. We understand the nature of sin, how it has affected the world we live in, and how it has affected our own hearts.We rejoice in what God has done through Jesus to free us from the penalty of our sin. We are students of the word and are eager to live out a Biblical understanding of God's character. So which are you, half full, or half empty? May we each make the wise choice and rejoice in the fountain of living waters.
A number of years passed. I and another woman were discussing our differences. In the middle of our talk she offhandedly mentioned that she thought she as well as many others would tend to view the cup as half empty (again that code for being a pessimist). Her comment saddened me. That view inevitably leads to a lack of joy in our lives.
I could not help but think of this passage from Jeremiah 2:13. " for my people have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water." All around us are broken cisterns of our own making. We keep falling into the mindset that says " if I can do it myself I should." The optimist is the one who says "I have enough water for my animals and this is good." while he tries to not look at the dried vegetation or think about how exhausted he is as he constantly fills the cistern with more water. The pessimist thinks "this will never be enough water. Why am I even trying?" He takes careful note of any increase in the rate of leakage. The intensity of his work decreases as he sees it as a losing battle. He may abandon his cistern in order to make another one of the same poor quality and start the same pattern again.
We are not to be either pessimists or optimists. When we act like either one we are forsaking the fountain of living waters. We are ignoring the lush vegetation around the fountain and we deny that those at the fountain are experiencing a contentment that is often foreign to us. Scripture is filled with many other passages that refer to the overflow of blessings that God has for his people. Perhaps what we are called to be are Biblical realists. We understand the nature of sin, how it has affected the world we live in, and how it has affected our own hearts.We rejoice in what God has done through Jesus to free us from the penalty of our sin. We are students of the word and are eager to live out a Biblical understanding of God's character. So which are you, half full, or half empty? May we each make the wise choice and rejoice in the fountain of living waters.
Joanie,
ReplyDeletevery well said. I like the phrase biblical realist. Wise as serpents, gentle as doves... We can't afford to be pessimists in light of what Christ has done for us.
Liam
Joanie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder that our cup is not just full, but even more, it is overflowing!
Love,
Kathy Sc.