Do you recognize this person?

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can be cheerful ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook people taking things out on you when if through no fault of yours something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax at any given moment,
If you can always sleep without the aid of drugs,
Then you are probably…

Have any guesses?

…the family dog.

This was in a newsletter from Bible Related Ministries with my good friend, Pastor David Bauer. As you read the description, you were probably thinking, “Who can that be?” The answer is nobody.

Think about that dog and how grateful he is because of the smallest scrap that falls from your table. Think how thankful that dog is just to see you walk through the door. Dogs certainly are content with just scraps.

I want to remind you God doesn’t treat us like that. He is so far above us He could treat us that way, but He doesn’t. He doesn’t give you just the scraps of His blessings; He gives you a seat at the table. He makes you part of His family, and He will never forsake you. It is astounding that God does this for us.

However, as seen in the list above, even though He treats us royally, we often don’t treat Him with the same devotion as a dog treats us. If we truly were content, the problems of this world would seem much smaller.