I was listening to a podcast the other day previewing the Old Testament lesson that will be read in many congregations this Sunday (but not ones that are celebrating “St. Michael and All Angels”).  It is a story all about anger and complaining – if you look at it from one perspective.  Or, from a different perspective, it is a story of abundance.  As I listened, I was amazed (once again) at how one’s perspective can completely change one’s story … and I got wondering how often my “Oldtimers Disease” drives me to an unhealthy perspective.
 
“The people of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Oh that we had meat to eat!  We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.  But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.’” (Numbers 11.4-6).  I am not sure how long it had been since God had rescued his people from slavery and led them through the Red Sea, but I do know that this is not the first time that they have whined about their life. (did you notice “wept again).  As I read the conclusion of the previous chapter, it leads me to think that they had just left Mount Sinai three days prior to this story.
 
And what are they saying?  “Oh, if we could only go back to the GOOD OLD DAYS … back in Egypt where we had plenty to eat, no problems, and life was so good!”  This is what I am calling “Oldtimers’ Disease.” 

What was this disease doing to them?  It was destroying their ability to appreciate God’s miraculous and abundant response to their need (“there is nothing at all but this manna to look at” … that sweet and nutritious bread which was given to them every morning freely by God’s grace).  And it was also warping their memory of what actually took place during those GOOD OLD DAYS.
 
The podcast contained the story of a “seasoned pastor” talking about perspective.  He was reflecting upon the life of the congregation he served, a congregation in a changing neighborhood whose membership had gone from many hundreds years ago to the present 35.  He said, “If I am looking at things from the perspective of years ago, the 35 members we have today is very discouraging.  However, if I look at this congregation as a new church plant in our community, then 35 is an amazing start to bring the Gospel of Jesus to this community.”  Oh Lord, open our eyes to continually see your miraculous and abundant response to our needs!
 
Every circumstance in our lives provides us with a variety of potential perspectives.  And all too often I fear, we choose to follow whining Israel’s example.  We view the past through rose-colored glasses while refusing to even consider the gracious possibilities and opportunities God is placing before us.
 
And one does not even need to be “old” to suffer from Oldtimers’ Disease!  It also is evident when parents become overly focused on how cute their children were as toddlers … and when children whine when having to go home after a long and fun-filled day!  It’s as if we have no interest in praising God for the wondrous (miraculous) work he does in the teenage years and the overnight hours of sleep.  Oh Lord, open our eyes to continually see your miraculous and abundant response to our needs!
 
As the story in Numbers continues we hear Moses whining to God about being overworked.  Then, “the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to (Moses), and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders.  And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied.” (Numbers 11.25)  By pouring out his Spirit on 70 coleaders, the Lord changed Moses’ perspective from overwhelm to overabundance.  And, when you think about it, those 70 men had been there the entire time, it’s just that Moses was not using them!  Oh Lord, open our eyes to continually see your miraculous and abundant response to our needs … which you provide long before we ever see it!
 
In an effort to keep my life in proper perspective, I have been looking back at previous Thursday Thirsts.  It looks like I started using Mail Chimp to send them eleven years ago, shortly before I turned 60.  I think I may have started writing it before then but have no records (or copies) prior to January 2013.
 
With the intention of sharing with you what I am finding, starting this coming Monday I will be sending you a “Monday Memory Moment” ever week.  It simply will be a copy of an old Thursday’s Thirst sent out on Monday morning.  The message is to be a constant reminder that we are God’s people – called into his mission and supplied with an over-abundance of his Spirit.  Consider it you antidote (vaccine) to Oldtimers’ Disease.

Oldtimers’ Disease