Lopez Lomong learned to live with a positive attitude in very dire circumstances, as we read in his book Running For My Life.
In the refugee camp where he ended up, there was much disease and death. Most days they only ate one meal made up of food from the rubbish dump. They swam in the creek, which was filled with sewerage. Often the boys in his tent would die from malaria or malnutrition, and he and the other boys would bury them.
Choosing to See the Blessing in Hard Circumstances
Yet, this is what he writes: "Life may have been hard, but we were happy. Yes, boys died and food was difficult to come by, but at least no one was shooting at us… I never thought that life was unfair because I had to eat garbage. Instead I looked at the scraps of food from the dump as a blessing. Not all the boys could do this. I knew some who chose to feel sorry for themselves… What is the point of such complaining? After all the whining and complaining is over, you still live in a refugee camp. All the complaining in the world will not make your life any better. Instead, you must choose to make the best of whatever the situation in which you find yourself."
Well, I wonder if you needed to hear that today. I wonder if you, like me, can sometimes begin to whine about things instead of seeing the blessing?
What the Bible Teaches Us About Complaining
The Bible is full of warnings about this. The Israelites whined and complained in the desert, and it set them back terribly. Paul warns the early Christians not to grumble or complain about anything, but to shine like stars in the darkness instead. So Lomong's words here aren't just sentimental nonsense - this is a godly principle, and He can help us to see the blessing instead of complaining.
I like what Lomong said about choosing. He said some boys chose to feel sorry for themselves. Now that got me! How often do we choose self-pity, instead of choosing the positive attitude? Oh, I know it's not easy. But it can be done.
If a boy eating garbage and swimming in a sewerage-infested creek could see the blessing in his situation, what are you and I complaining about?
May we take a look at our situation and see the blessing, rather than complaining.
Share in the comments below what you’re grateful for today.
Meet John Pritchard, an early Methodist preacher who walked twelve hundred miles through an Irish winter rather than let poverty stop his ministry, and learned to see God’s help in all things. A moving true story on gratitude in hardship.