The beginning of the second of six chapters of The God Show. The very beginning is HERE (then scroll up for more).
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They are the happiest people in the world. That’s what Good Morning America and 60 Minutes say surveys over 30 years consistently show. Yet, the average person pays sky-high taxes -- 60% of their income. Jobs are plentiful, but there aren’t many opportunities for promotion and higher pay.
It rains on these happy people more than half the year. And although everyone lives within a half-hour of the coast, summers aren’t made for swimming -- August highs average 69 degrees. No tropical beaches. No mountains or rolling hills either; the highest point is 560 feet above sea level, one-sixth of the highest point in either Connecticut or Massachusetts, which combined are the same size as this whole happy country.
In the middle of winter you go to work in the dark (the sun doesn’t rise until 9:30 am) and by the time the kids get home from school it’s dark again (3:30 in the afternoon).
So why are the people in Denmark so happy?
GMA and 60 Minutes say it’s their culture of low expectations of everyday life. Pleasure is not expected; it’s considered a gift, a sweet surprise.’ They don’t compare themselves to others. They’re not always wanting more; no bigger house, fancier car, better paying job. They’re happy with what they’ve got.
Don’t expectations influence how you experience things? You hear about a movie that’s supposed to be good. You expect maybe a 7 or 8. If the movie is 5 or 6, you’re disappointed.
But if you expect a nothing movie, like a 3 or 4, and it ends up being a 5 or 6 -- Hey! Not bad! Same movie, different expectation.
When we lived in Detroit, 60 degrees in January was warm, but if it was 60 on a July afternoon it would be cold. Same temperature, different expectation.
Before I considered buying a 4-Runner, I couldn’t pick one out on the road. After doing research and deciding to get one, they were suddenly all over the place. It was the same when my wife was talking about Coach purses and after that I noticed, yeah, everybody’s got one. Once I was sensitized to 4-Runners and Coach purses, I recognized their presence . They had always been there, but now I was paying attention.
Maybe it can be the same with God. When you don’t expect to see Him, often you don’t. But if you do expect to see Him, and are sensitive -- there He is! This is good news if you feel God is distant or hiding or uncaring. It’s also good news if you feel you’re living a disconnected life with your religious activity and church attendance over there, and the rest of your everyday life over here (of course it’s bad news if you’re living that kind of life and like it).
It might also be intimidating news. You can’t hide. He’s all over the place.
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