Jaron is in Dallas getting ready to hop on a plane headed toward the jungles of Panama with Global Expeditions. I’ve been thinking about how beneficial this will be for him. He is going to be doing real good in a very rural part of the world, and he will expand his own experiences and worldview. I realized, however, that I have a bit of a “kids these days” point of view as I shake my head ruefully at the shallowness of American teenagers. I was sitting in traffic yesterday, and as is often the case, I found four fingers pointing back at me.
I was stewing in the bumper to bumper traffic caused by multiple accidents on I-64 and Military Highway during rush hour, when the phrase “first world problem” popped into my head. We use the phrase to poke fun at our extravagance as if that self awareness makes it OK. It’s not OK. The fact that we even have the phrase is incriminating. We are spoiled, ungrateful, wanton, and selfish. Weird Al says it well.
I’ve spent some time in 3rd world countries and among the impoverished. I’ve seen joy in folks who love life, but may not have all the accountrements of modernity. I’ve seen the pain in folks who barely have enough to survive. That perspective should be life changing, but not long after I set foot back in my suburban world I forget those faces and those lives. I take what I have for granted. I don’t work to help those in need. I get frustrated in traffic.
I hope Jaron sees the world differently after his trip, and I hope he helps me to see the world differently too. I need it.