I just got off the phone with my addictions counselor. She informed me that gambling is a disease and that I should consider cognitive-behavioral therapy. When I asked about the fatality rate, she hesitated a moment and then forwarded me to the suicide prevention hotline.
The reason I share my fictional problems with you is mostly to draw attention to the natural thought progressions that are common to most people. For example: Most people wouldn’t hesitate to give you a substantial list of things they would buy if they were to win the lottery.
Following that same theme I had this thought. If a man was to approach you and give you $1,000,000 you would consider yourself to be an unbiased recipient of his benevolence. If however, you had rescued that same man’s son from a fire and he offered you a $1,000,000 you would firmly refuse his offer.
I couldn’t help but think about the widespread application of that very same thought pattern in relation to our everyday decision making. Our instinctual tendency is to take everything that comes our way, because we may never have the opportunity again. When we give sacrificially, we can never be content to receive what others might consider to be an appropriate compensation.
It starts to become evident that our happiness isn’t always associated with an unexpected good fortune, but rather the inherent result of walking in humility. I heard it said once that the answer to every problem is this: How can I humble myself in this situation? I truly believe that the frivolous things of life sometimes are mistaken as free gifts. If we are not careful they will rob us of our ability to decipher our purpose in life and the capacity to enjoy it.
