Friday, August 9, 2019

JOHN Good Morning! I’m John Branning the Lead Pastor of Central United Methodist Church. A certain monastery enforced a vow of silence. Each monk could utter only two words every five years, and those two words had to be spoken in the presence of the abbot. One of the monks, when give his opportunity to speak, said “Bad food!” Five years later, his two words were, “Bed hard!” When given his third opportunity to speak five years later, he said, “I quit!” “Well,” said the abbot, “you might as well quit. All you’ve done since you’ve been here is complain!” While I’m not sure I would call this monk a heavy complainer, I know that complaining seems to be a part of human nature. We all tend to want what we want when we want it. And when our needs aren’t met on our time schedule, we tend to complain. Gratitude for and awareness of one’s blessings is the best remedy I know of for a serious case of chronic complaining. Gratitude leads to a change of attitude. I bet when you add it all up you have been blessed beyond your needs. Come visit us at Central where we believe that life is better connected.