Remember those silly jokes you used to get on Laffy Taffy wrappers? Here are a few examples I found online:
Why do bees have sticky hair? — they use honeycombs
What kind of trees sew? — pine trees, they always have needles around
Why did the little cookie (biscuit) cry? — because his mother was a wafer so long.
As soon as you're finished guffawing, I have one more for you that I made up myself.
What kind of party doesn't require invitations? - A pity party!
*Cue drum, cymbals and canned laughter*
Since I've been throwing one for myself for the last week and a half, I figured the infamous pity party was a fitting topic for today's blog. As most of you probably know, pity parties are a funny thing. You start out feeling sorry for yourself over one thing but before you know it, everything in your life is falling apart and it all deserves its own pint of Ben and Jerry's. Take me, for example. I started lamenting over my lack of a significant other but by the time the week had ended I was a poor, fat, slob with no friends and no future. I know it sounds silly but I'm also willing to bet that most of you, even if you don't want to admit it, can completely identify!
As I was on my way to work today, I started thinking about this strange phenomenon. Why do we get so "poor, pitiful me" in the first place? (And why on earth do they call them parties?) And how do we combat them? Get out of them? Prevent them from happening in the first place? I can't say that I have ALL the answers, but I can say one thing for sure. As with many of my other struggles in life, pity parties have selfishness at their very core. Think about it. What's the typical dialogue (or monologue, really) at a pity party? "Why ME?" "Could MY life get any worse?" "I don't understand why everyone else seems to be so happy but I just can't catch a break!"
That's not to say that my concerns aren't legitimate, but you have to admit, they are very self-focused. Sure, I long for a fulfilling relationship with the opposite sex, but I'm not the first or only person in the world to struggle this way. And sure, finances can get the best of me sometimes, but one look at the poverty most of the world is in and anyone can see that I'm living large by comparison. As hard as it seems to do, if I could just shift my focus from ME to others (or better yet, from me to GOD), I think the pity party would lose much of its steam, if not die out all together.
As I continued to ponder this throughout the day, I came up with an interesting comparison. I recently read the literary sensation, The Hunger Games. If you're not familiar with the story, I'll quickly fill you in. The action takes place in a futuristic land known as Panem. After an uprising, the Capitol institutes The Hunger Games to remind the people of their rebellion and attempt to squash any future revolts. Each year the children of the 12 Districts of Panem must participate in a "reaping" in which one boy and one girl from each district is chosen to participate and fight to the death until one remains and is crowned the victor. For the people in most of the districts, life is a struggle and the reaping only adds to their plight. For the citizens of the Capitol, however, life is a series of decadent soirees, cosmetic improvements and tuning into their favorite reality show, The Hunger Games.
Now that you have the background, allow me to make my point. In the book, Katniss (who has just volunteered for the games to save her younger sister from certain death) meets the people of the Capitol and is immediately struck by their frivolous behavior and shallow way of life. While many of the people in her district are struggling just to put food on the table, those in the Capitol have more than they know what to do with. These self-absorbed men and women consider wrinkles and unkempt eyebrows a tragedy. They watch the games in earnest but become bored if a day or two passes and no one dies. Most of us recognize that the characters who truly deserve pity are those fighting for their next breath but a closer look at our own lives would likely reveal traits on par with the citizens of the Capitol.
If I were to sit here and list all of my blessings and privileges, I could certainly fill volumes, so how is it that I even begin to feel sorry for myself? Again, it goes back to focus. Is my focus on me? Is my focus on what I don't have instead of all that I do? Or, is my focus where it belongs as a Christian - on Christ?
The next time you or I find ourselves planning a pity party, we need to sing this simple song as a reminder of where our focus and energy should be directed:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth shall grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
Why do bees have sticky hair? — they use honeycombs
What kind of trees sew? — pine trees, they always have needles around
Why did the little cookie (biscuit) cry? — because his mother was a wafer so long.
As soon as you're finished guffawing, I have one more for you that I made up myself.
What kind of party doesn't require invitations? - A pity party!
*Cue drum, cymbals and canned laughter*
Since I've been throwing one for myself for the last week and a half, I figured the infamous pity party was a fitting topic for today's blog. As most of you probably know, pity parties are a funny thing. You start out feeling sorry for yourself over one thing but before you know it, everything in your life is falling apart and it all deserves its own pint of Ben and Jerry's. Take me, for example. I started lamenting over my lack of a significant other but by the time the week had ended I was a poor, fat, slob with no friends and no future. I know it sounds silly but I'm also willing to bet that most of you, even if you don't want to admit it, can completely identify!
As I was on my way to work today, I started thinking about this strange phenomenon. Why do we get so "poor, pitiful me" in the first place? (And why on earth do they call them parties?) And how do we combat them? Get out of them? Prevent them from happening in the first place? I can't say that I have ALL the answers, but I can say one thing for sure. As with many of my other struggles in life, pity parties have selfishness at their very core. Think about it. What's the typical dialogue (or monologue, really) at a pity party? "Why ME?" "Could MY life get any worse?" "I don't understand why everyone else seems to be so happy but I just can't catch a break!"
That's not to say that my concerns aren't legitimate, but you have to admit, they are very self-focused. Sure, I long for a fulfilling relationship with the opposite sex, but I'm not the first or only person in the world to struggle this way. And sure, finances can get the best of me sometimes, but one look at the poverty most of the world is in and anyone can see that I'm living large by comparison. As hard as it seems to do, if I could just shift my focus from ME to others (or better yet, from me to GOD), I think the pity party would lose much of its steam, if not die out all together.
As I continued to ponder this throughout the day, I came up with an interesting comparison. I recently read the literary sensation, The Hunger Games. If you're not familiar with the story, I'll quickly fill you in. The action takes place in a futuristic land known as Panem. After an uprising, the Capitol institutes The Hunger Games to remind the people of their rebellion and attempt to squash any future revolts. Each year the children of the 12 Districts of Panem must participate in a "reaping" in which one boy and one girl from each district is chosen to participate and fight to the death until one remains and is crowned the victor. For the people in most of the districts, life is a struggle and the reaping only adds to their plight. For the citizens of the Capitol, however, life is a series of decadent soirees, cosmetic improvements and tuning into their favorite reality show, The Hunger Games.
Now that you have the background, allow me to make my point. In the book, Katniss (who has just volunteered for the games to save her younger sister from certain death) meets the people of the Capitol and is immediately struck by their frivolous behavior and shallow way of life. While many of the people in her district are struggling just to put food on the table, those in the Capitol have more than they know what to do with. These self-absorbed men and women consider wrinkles and unkempt eyebrows a tragedy. They watch the games in earnest but become bored if a day or two passes and no one dies. Most of us recognize that the characters who truly deserve pity are those fighting for their next breath but a closer look at our own lives would likely reveal traits on par with the citizens of the Capitol.
If I were to sit here and list all of my blessings and privileges, I could certainly fill volumes, so how is it that I even begin to feel sorry for myself? Again, it goes back to focus. Is my focus on me? Is my focus on what I don't have instead of all that I do? Or, is my focus where it belongs as a Christian - on Christ?
The next time you or I find ourselves planning a pity party, we need to sing this simple song as a reminder of where our focus and energy should be directed:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth shall grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
1 comments:
Best one yet Amy, love it & needed it!! Thanks :-)
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