“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)
Growing Dominion, Part 18
When it comes to health issues, we are not mindful enough of optical illusions. One of the basic illusions proceeds from the progress that God has given to us, and the reason we fall for the illusion is our ingratitude. Now it is not a sin to make a mistake, but it is a sin to make a mistake because we are ungrateful.
In 1900, the average life expectancy in the United States was 47.3 years. The average life expectancy for blacks at that same time was 33 years. 101 years later, in 2001, the average life expectancy is 77.2 years, and for blacks it is now 72.2 years. In the course of one century, the life span of blacks has more than doubled, and the life span of Americans generally has increased by thirty years. This is something that we are generally unaware of, and our ingratitude is pronounced. When was the last time you heard anyone giving thanks to God for it?
But it has created a situation we are aware of. Suddenly, on a massive scale, we have a whole lot of people encountering old age for the first time. In fact, we have a large number of people encountering middle age for the first time. So what do we do on receipt of this blessing? Like Israelites on the opposite bank of the Red Sea, drowned Egyptians behind them, we complain about it! We are now dealing with a host of ailments that we are experiencing for no other reason than the fact we are still alive. All kinds of age-related creakiness is coming upon us, and a health care crisis is looming in front of us. We see it this way because we are a nation of pampered ingrates.