America the Blessed

Our country is one of the most blessed countries in the world. We enjoy a feeling of relative peace (despite recent events), we don't worry about mass starvation, we enjoy a measure of freedom, and we have the highest GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the world. 

Then why do we have one of the highest depression rates and the 32nd highest suicide rate in the world (out of 111 considered)?

I think the answer lies in what we consider blessings. People often focus on the physical blessings. We are always wanting something other than what we have now. We are inundated with advertising designed for that purpose, and we don't appreciate what is in front of us. This applies to things, our homes, our families, even our husbands and wives need to be manipulated to be better. We don't appreciate what we have. 

What do we do to get more stuff? 

We work more and harder. We need to make more money to have more things! This means less time with your spouse. If you have children, this means you work all day and are too tired to play with them when you get home, and there are a lot of children raised by a daycare. Work. Send your children to daycare. Also be aware of how you spend your time. How can you appreciate someone when you spend no time with them?

Are physical blessings really blessings? 

Maybe we have high depression rates because we have the highest GDP in the world. We spend all our time trying to get things. Things aren't blessings when you stop taking time to appreciate them. God has told us to "not be anxious about anything," (Philippians 4:6) but we can't help it. We rely on ourselves and our ability to make money to get things, and we stop recognizing God as the source of all of our blessings. We also stop appreciating what God has already given us. We still want something else. Philippians continues "but in everything by prayer and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God." God wants to be asked for the things we want and for us to be Thankful for what we have. 

How do we start appreciating what we have? 

In Acts 2, new Christians sold their possessions and gave to the poor. The people had all things in common. If anyone had any need, the church took care of it. Brothers relied on brothers and nobody went hungry. This charity and interconnection with everyone brought this church closer together. They experienced true joy by giving it away. Stop! Before you sell your house, money isn't the only thing that you can give. Money is necessary, but time is more valuable. You get to see joy on someone's face when you make their lives better. You see the result of your work immediately and experience joy with someone else. Once you see joy over the simple things, you realize you don't need anything more to experience it.