What’s Your Score?

I had a train set when I was a little boy. Nothing like the one you see in the photograph. Not even close. My train ran on snap-together track laid out through the living room, through the dining room, and back to the starting mark. It was human powered; if it moved, it was because of the little boy, on his hands and knees, pushing the plastic train along. No whistle. No tooting horn. It was “beginner’s level” all the way, but, you know what: I enjoyed every minute of that childhood time. It never occurred to me to compare my plastic push train to the sleek, electric models, like the huge set in the Sanger-Harris department store window just before Christmas.

I conclude that comparing things can lead to catastrophe. There is and will always be a train better than the one I have. But it’s not really the train, is it? It’s me. It’s the measure of my appreciation, my gratitude for having any train set at all. It’s following the dictates of our culture more faithfully than the directions of Christ. It’s hard to be grateful for something you consider inferior by the commercial standards when you are surrounded by ads for “the best train set” that every child should have. “Best?” That’s the conclusion of the guy who wants to sell you that “best” ever choo-choo.

Be content with what you have is another way of saying “use your energy on things that really matter.” If the goal of my life is the best electric train on the block, I’ll never find contentment. Grown-ups do the same thing, don’t they? Better toy? There’s always one somewhere. Be grateful for the many, many things you have, instead of grumpy because of the one thing you don’t have. One measure of the quality of life is your score on the gratitude scale. What’s yours?