제8장 (은혜가 더 크다)

Ch.8. More Peaceful Than Your Disappointments
           Peaceful > Your Disappointment

제8장  당신의 낙심들보다 더 큰 평화 

I didn’t know the person who submitted the request. His name was Marcus and he was asking for financial assistance. At our church we get a lot of applications for benevolence support, but this one was unusual. He was asking for help to pay for his headstone and its inscription. I assumed we could probably say yes, but first I wanted to learn a little more. It’s not every day someone asks for help to buy their own grave marker. I thought whatever words he wanted to have inscribed might tell me a little more about him. I soon had my answer. Here’s what he wanted to have etched on his headstone:

나는 그 요구를 제출한 그 사람을 몰랐다. 그의 이름은 마커스(Marcus)였고 그는 재정적인 도움을 요구하고 있었다. 우리 교회에서는 은혜로운 지원을 구하는 청원들을 많이 받는다. 그러나 이 사람의 청원은 일상적인 것이 아니었다. 그는 그의 묘비와 그것의 각인을 위한 경비의 지출을 도와달라고 요청하고 있었다. 나는 우리가 허락할 수 있을 것이라고 생각했다. 그러나 먼저 나는 조금 더 알기를 원했다. 어떤 사람이 그들 자신의 무덤의 비석을 위한 경비를 도와달라고 요청하는 것은 일상사가 아니다. 나는 그가 거기에 새겨넣기를 원하는 무슨 단어들이 그에 대해서 조금 더 알려줄 것이라고 생각했다. 나는 곧 내 대답을 얻었다. 여기에 그가 그의 묘비에 새겨넣기를 원하는 것이 있다.
  
   내가 감사하지 않은 날들을 인하여 나를 용서하시오
   Forgive Me for the Days I Wasn’t Grateful

 Suddenly I had a number of questions. What was he dying of? How much time did he have left? Why did he want that plea to be his legacy? And is it really a sin to be ungrateful? That seemed a loittle overstated. I decided to set up a meeting with him so Icould explore these questions.

갑자기 나는 수많은 질문이 생겼다. 그는 무슨 병으로 죽어가고 있는가? 그는 얼마나 많은 시간을 남겨두었나? 그는 왜 그런 애원을 유산으로 남기려는가? 그리고 감사하지 않는 것은 정말 죄인가? 그것은 좀 과장되게 언급된 듯 보였다. 나는 그와의 만남을 만들기로 작정했고 그래서 이 질문들의 답을 알아볼 수 있었다.

                           죄? 정말로?
                           Sin? Really?

Before I had a chance to meet with Marcus, I found myself haunted by his desired epitaph. Forgive me for the days I wasn’t grateful ?

내가 마커스와 만나는 기회를 갖기 전에 나는 그의 원하는 묘비명이 내 뇌리에서 떠나지 않는 것을 발견했다.  내가 감사치 않은 날들을 인하여 나를 용서하소서.
  

 I started thinking about all my whinning and complaining over the years. Entire stretches of my life could be labeled, “Kyle wishes things were different.” I’m willing to admit this wasn’t the best attitude, but was it sin? And if it was, wasn’t it just a small, insignificant one?  I mean, ingratitude has to be on sin’s JV team, right? Was it really something I needed to ask forgiveness for, to repent of?

나는 수 년 동안에 걸친 내 모든 징징거리는 것과 불평에 대해 생각하기를 시작했다. 내 삶의 전 기간은 이같은 레벨이 붙을 수 있었다. “카일은 사물들이 달랐기를 원한다.” 나는 기꺼이 이것이 최선의 태도는 아니었다고 시인하련다. 그러나 그것이 죄인가? 그리고 만일 그것이 죄라면 그것은 그저 작고 무의미한 것이 아니었는가? 내가 말하려는 것은 감사치 않음은 죄의 JV 팀쪽에 (2군 쪽에) 있어야만 한다는 것이다. 그렇지 않은가? 그것야말로 (감사치 않고 날들을 보낸 것이) 내가 용서를 구할 필요가 있는 것이며, 회개할 어떤 것인가? 

 I began thinking about the verse that says “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1Thess. 5:18). 

 And then it hit me: this is not just a helpful suggestion or a hint for healthy living. It’s a command, like “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” and “Thou shalt not kill.”  I’m guessing God didn’t wink when he said it. He commanded it, and if we don’t do it, we’re disobeying him. Disobedience is sin, and sin is something we need to ask forgiveness for and repent of.

나는 이렇게 말하는 그 요절에 대해 생각하기를 시작했다. “어떤 환경에서도 감사하라. 왜냐하면 이것이 그리스도 예수 안에서 당신들을 위한 하나님의 뜻이기 때문이다” (살전 5:18). 그리고 그때 그 말씀이 나를 때렸다.  이것은 그저 도움이 되는 암시나 건강한 삶을 위한 힌트가 아니다. 그것은 다음과 같은 명령이다.“살인하지 말지니라.”  내가 추축컨대 하나님은 그것을 말씀하실 때 윙크하지 않으셨다. 그분이 명령하셨고 만일 우리가 그것을 행하지 않으면 우리는 하나님께 불복종하고 있다. 불복종은 죄이고 죄는 용서를 구하고 회개할 필요가 있는 어떤 것이다.

 In Exodus 16 we see the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. God had miraculously led them out of their oppressive bondage in Egypt. Now these former slaves are making their way across the desert to the land God promised them, a land they could call their own. But as they make their journey, we find them complaining.

출 16장에서 우리는 광야에서 방황하는 이스라엘인들을 본다. 하나님은 기적적으로 그들을 애굽에서의 속박으로부터 그들을 이끌어내셨다. 이제 과거 노예들이었던 이 사람들은 사막을 통과하여 하나님이 그들에게 약속하신 땅, 그들이 자기들의 땅이라고 부를 수 있던 땅으로 그들의 길을 만들고 있다. 그러나 그들이 여행을 할 때 그들이 불평하고 있는 것을 우리는 발견한다.  
  

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died

by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought
us  out  into  this desert  to  starve  this entire assembly to death.” (Exod. 16:2-3)

광야에서 온 공동체가 모세와 아론을 대적하여 불평했다. 이스라엘인들이 그들에게 말했다. “우리가 하나님의 손에 의해서 애굽에서 죽기만 했더라면! 거기서 우리는 고기 가마 곁에 앉아서 우리가 원하는 모든 음식을 먹었다. 그러나 당신들은 우리를 이 사막으로 이끌어냈고 이 온 회중아 굶어 죽게 했다.” (출 16:2-3)

 They act like they had it so good in Egypt, like it was one never-ending fondue party. “Remember the good old days?” they pine. Yeah, except they left out one thing – the slavery part! The Israelites didn’t lounge around at an all-inclusive resort. They were slaves.

그들은 애굽에서 그것을 그렇게 좋게 가진 듯 행동했다. 마치 그것이 영구한 퐁뒤 파티인 것처럼. “그 좋은 옛날들을 기억하는가?”  그들은 몹시 슬퍼했다. 암, 그들이 한 가지를 남겨 놓은 것 외에는 – 노예생활 한 그것은 빼놓고! 이스라엘인들은 모든 것을 포함하는 휴양지에서 게으름을 피우지 않았다. 그들은 노예들이었다.

 Despite their constant complaining, God is gracious and provides food for them called manna;. The word manna means “What is it?” or “Whatever it is.” You’ve heard of mystery meat. This was mystery bread, and in fairness to the Israelites, “What is this?” is not unusally a question we ask when something looks especially appetizing. When you sit down for a Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t want to look at a dish and think, What is it? You don’t want to point to something and say to your relative across the table, “Can yu pass me . . . whatever it is?” If you’re a kid, you don’t want to hear your mom say, “You have to take one bite of whatever that is. Some kind of gelatin concoction your grandma made. Just puit some gravy on it. Hold your nose when you swallow and you won’t even taste it.”

그들의 계속적인 불평에도 불구하고 하나님께서는 은혜로우시고 만나라고 일컫는 양식을 그들을 위해 공급하신다. “만나”라는 단어는 “그게 무엇이지?” 혹은 “그것이 무엇이든지”란 뜻이다. 당신은 신비한 고기에 대해 들은 적이 있다. 이것은 신비한 빵이고 이스라엘 백성들에게 공평하게 말하자면 “이것이 무엇인가?”는 무언가가 특별하게 먹음직하게 보일 때 우리가 묻는 보통의 질문이 아니다. 당신이 추수감사 식사를 하려고 앉을 때 당신은 접시를 바라보고 그게 무엇이야 라고 생각하기를 원치 않는다. 당신은 무언가를 가리키고 식탁 건너편에 있는 당신의 친척에게 이렇게 말하기를 원치 않는다. “그게 무엇이든지 . . . 내게 넘겨줄 수 있어?” 만일 당신이 아이라면 당신의 엄마가 이런 말을 하는 것을 원치 않는다. “너는 그것이 무엇이든지 한 입을 먹어야 해. 나는 그것이 무엇인지 몰라. 너의 할머니가 만드신 젤러틴 혼합음료의 일종인지. 그 위에 소스를 그저 얹어. 네가 삼킬 때 코를 잡아 그러면 그 맛도 모를거야.”
       

Nevertheless, these people are starving and God miraculously provides manna. But instead of being thankful for God’s provision they complain. They don’t say grace; instead they grumble. Here’s how The Message paraphrases it:

그럼에도 불구하고 이 사람들은 굶고 있고 하나님은 기적으로 만나를 공급하신다. 그러나 하나님의 공급 때문에 감사하는 대신에 그들은 불평한다. 그들은 은혜를 말하지 않는다. 대신에 그들은 투덜댄다. 성경 메시지 (the Message) 역이 그것을 어떻게 해석하는지 여기에 있다.

 The riffraff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, “Why can’t we have meat?  We ate fish in Egypt – and got it free! - to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic.
But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna.” (Num. 11:4-6)    

백성들 가운데 섞인 무리들이 (the riffraff) 탐욕을 가지고 곧 이스라엘 백성들로 투덜대게 만들었다. “왜 우리는 고기를 가질 수 없는가?  우리는 애굽에서 물고기를 먹었다 – 공짜로 – 오이와 수박에 대해서는 말할 것도 없고, 큰 상추같이 생긴 채소와 양파와 마늘을 먹었다. 그러나 여기서는 아무 것도 좋은 맛이 나지 않는다. 우리가 얻는 것은 모두 만나, 만나, 만나 뿐이다.” (민 11:4-6)

Well, finally, God has heard enough complaining. He gives Moses a message to share with everyone, and we discover just how seriously God takes complaining:

그래서 마침내 하나님께서는 충분한 불평을 들으셨다. 그분은 모세에게  모든 사람과 나눌 메시지를 주신다. 그리고 우리는 하나님께서 얼마나 심각하게 불평을 여기시는지 발견할 뿐이다.

Tell the people: “Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The LORD heard you    when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the LORD will give you meat, and  you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two  days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month - until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it – because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Num. 11:18-20)   

백성에게 말하라. “내일을 준비하여 자신들을 성결히 하라. 내일 너희는 고기를 먹을 것이다. 여호와께서 너희가 울부짖을 떼 들으셨다.  ‘우리가 먹을 고기를 갖기만 한다면! 우리는 애굽에서 더 형편이 좋았다! 지금 여호와께서 너희에게 고기를 주실 것이다. 그리고 너희는 그것을 먹을 것이다. 너희는 그저 하루, 이틀, 닷새, 열흘, 스무 날 동안 먹을 것이 아니라 온통 한 달간 먹을 것이다 – 그것이 너희 콧구멍에서 나와서 그것을 싫어할 때까지 – 왜냐하면 너희는 너희 가운데 계시는 여호와를 배척했기 때문이다. 너희는 그분 앞에서 울부짖고 말했다. ‘우리는 왜 애굽을 떠나기까지 했지?’”

 Did your mom or dad ever say, “You want to cry? I’ll give you something to cry about!”? That’s what’s happening here. “You want meat? Oh, I’ll give you meat. You’ll eat meat until it’s coming out of your nose.”

당신의 엄마나 아빠가 이렇게까지 말했는가? “너는 울고 싶어? 나는 네가 울 거리를 주겠어!” 그것이 여기서 일어나고 있는 그것이다. “너는 고기를 원해? 오, 내가 너에게 고기를 줄게. 너는 네 코로 그것이 나오기까지 고기를 먹을 거야.”

 Their lack of gratitude isn’t a wink-wink sin; it’s a big deal to God. In fact, hundreds of years later, in Ps. 95, God was still talking about the offensive, faithless complaining of the Israelites in the desert.

 In fact, over a thousand years later, we read in Heb. 3 that God was still talking about all the complaining and whining that took p-lace in the desert.

그들의 감사의 결여는 눈을 깜박깜박하여 신호를 보내는 죄가 아니다.. 그것은 하나님께 큰 문제이다. 사실, 수 백년 후에 시 95편에서 하나님은 여전히 광야에서 이스라엘 백성들의 그 공격적이고 믿음없는 불평에 대해서 말씀하고 계셨다.  사실, 천 년 후에 우리는 히브리서 3장에서  하나님께서 여전히 광야에서 일어난 모든 불평과 징얼거림에 대해 말씀하고 계셨다.

 The question is, why? Why does God take grumbling and complaining so seriously? It’s because he takes it personally. He graciously provides for his children, but instead of noti9cing and being grateful, the people complain. Of course he takes that personally.

문제는 왜? 이다. 왜 하나님께서 투덜대고 불평함을 그렇게 심각하게 다루실까? 그 이유는 그분이 그것을 개인적으로 (personally) 받으신다는 것이다. (하나님에게 모독적으로 대하는 것) 하나님은 은혜롭게 그의 자녀들에게 공급하시지만 바라보고 감사하는 대신에 그 백성은 불평한다. 물론 하나님은 그것을 개인적으로 받으신다 (인격적 모독으로 언잖게 받으신다).

 As I am a father, this characteristic of God makes sense to me. I work hard to provide for my children and make sure they are taken care of. I understand that sometimes they won’t be grateful or appreciate, but when they are grumbling or complaining that can be especially frustrating.

내가 한 아버지이기 때문에 하나님의 이 특징은 내게 이해가 된다. 내가 내 자녀들을 부양하기 위해 열심히 일한다. 그리고 그들이 돌봄을 받고 있다고 확신한다. 나는 종종 그들이 감사하거나 알아주지 않을 것을 이해한다. 그러나 그들이 투덜대거나 불평하고 있을 때 그것은 특별하게 나를 실망시키고 있을 수 있다.
                 

When the Warriors were in the middle of setting the NBA record for the most wins (before a loss at the beginning of the 2016 season), I splurged and bought tickets for my son and me to watch them play the Indiana Pacers. I wanted him to remember attending a game during this historic streak. The tickets cost more than I should’ve paid, but it was a great memory-making night.

워리어스 팀이 (the Warriors) 최다승을 위한 NBA 기록을 세우는 중간에 있을 때  (2016 시즌의 초기에 패배하기 이전) 나는 내 아들과 내가 그들이 인디애나 페이서스 (Indiana Pacers)와 경기하는 것을 관람하기 위하여 돈을 엄청들여서 표들을 샀다. 나는 내 아들이 이 역사적 연속 경기 중에 한 게임에 참석한 것을 기억하기를 바랬다. 그 티켓들의 값는 내가 지불해야만 했던 것보다 더 비쌌다. 그러나 그 밤은 추억을 만드는 굉장한 밤이었다. (a great memory-making night).
                 

 But let’s imagine that once we were at the game, my son says he’s hungry, so I get up and get him some peanut M&Ms. Imagine that I give him the M&Ms and he takes one look and says, “I don’t like peanut M&Ms! I only want plain M&Ms! I’m not going to eat these.” Now imagine that he spends the rest of the game complaining about the peanut M&Ms. And says things like, “I don’t even know why we’re here; we could’ve stayed home and had plain M&Ms and watched the game on TV!”

그러나 이런 상상을 해보자. 우리가 그 게임에 언젠가 있었는데 내 아들이 배가 고프다고 말해서 내가 일어나 그에게 몇 개의 M&Ms. 땅콩을 사주었다. 상상해보자. 내가 그에게 M&Ms. 피넛을 주고 내 아들은 한 개를 받고 바라보고 말한다. “나는 M&Ms 피넛을 좋아하지 않아요! 나는 그저 보통의 M&Ms 을 원해요! 나는 이것들을 먹지 않을래요.” 내 아들이 그 게임의 남은 시간을 그 피넛에 대해 불평하면서 보낸다고 상상해보자. 또 이같이 말한다고 상상해보자. “나는 우리가 왜 여기에 있는지 알 수도 없어요. 우리는 집에 머물러있을 수도 있었고 보통의 피넛을 먹고 TV에서 그 게임을 볼 수 도 있었어요!”

 That wouldn’t just hurt my feelings, it would make me frustrated and angry. I’d probably tell him to shut his mouth and suck the chocolate off the peanuts. But maybe it would be a good strategy to swing by Sam’s and buy a five-pound bag of plain M&Ms on the way home and tell him he’s going to eat those M&Ms until they are coming out of nose.

그것은 내 감정들을 그저 상하게만 하지는 않을 것이고 나로 하여금 실망하고 화나게 만들 것이다. 나는 아마 그에게 입을 닥치고 피넛에서 초코릿이나 빨아먹으라고 말할 것이다. 그러나 아마도 귀가 길에 쌤즈 가게에 들러 5파운드 짜리 플레인 M&Ms 피넛을 사서 그에게 그 피넛들이 코에서 나오기까지 먹으라고 말하는 것이 좋은 작전일 것이다.

 God has freed his people from slavery and oppression and is leading them to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. He has provided for all their needs so they don’t have to worry about a thing. How do the people thank him? “Yeah. That’s all great, God, but could you do something about the food?”

하나님께서는 자기 백성을 노예생활과 압박에서 해방하셨고 젖과 꿀이 흐르는 약속의 땅으로 인도하고 계시다.  그분은 그들의 필요들을 공급하셨고 그래서 한 가지라도 걱정할 필요가 없었다. 그 백성은 얼마나 그분께 감사하는가? “예, 그것은 모두 대단하지요. 하나님. 그러나 당신은 음식에 대해서 무언가를 할 수 있었습니까?”

 God takes complaining personally, because complaining overlooks the greatness of the grace we have received. It undermines the Good News of the gospel and ignores the generosity and faithfulness of God. This kind of complaining is offensive to God, because at its core complaining is blasphemous. It’s a way of saying, “I don’t believe God is taking care of me. I don’t believe he will keep his promises. I don’t believe he can redeem what I’m going through.” When you strip it down, complaining is a refusal to trust God and acknowledge his grace in your life.

하나님은 불평을 인격적 모독으로 받아들이신다. 왜냐하면 불평은 우리가 받은 바 은혜의 위대함을 간과하기 때문이다. 그것은 복음의 밑을 파헤치고 하나님의 관대하심과 신실하심을 경시한다. 이런 종류의 불평은 하나님께 범죄이다. 왜냐하면 그 핵심에서 불평은 신성모독적이기 때문이다. 그것은 이같이 말하는 식이다. “나는 하나님이 나를 돌보고 계시다고 믿지 않는다. 나는 하나님이 약속을 지키신다고 믿지 않는다. 나는 그분이 내가 경험하고 있는 것을 구속할 수 있다고 믿지 않는다.” 당신이 그것을 분해한다면 불평은 하나님을 신뢰하기를 거부하고 당신의 삶에서 그의 은혜를 인정하기를 거부하는 것이다.
                  

 Whining is the opposite of worship, and complaining is the rival of grace. We might flinch at that. Perhaps we’d say complaining is the opposite of thanksgiving, not grace. But grace and thanksgiving are closely related in the Bible, even intertwined. We see this in the way we talk. In fact, when we want to express thanksgiving to God before a meal, we often refer to it as “saying grace.”

징얼거림은 예배의 반대이고 불평은 은혜의 경쟁자이다. 우리는 그것에 움찔할지 모른다. 아마도 우리는 불평이 감사의 반대이고 은혜의 반대는 아니라고 말할 것이다. 그러나 은혜와 감사는 성경에서 긴밀하게 연관되어있고 오히려 합쳐져 있다. 우리는 우리가 말하는 방식으로 이것을 본다. 사실상, 우리가 음식 앞에서 하나님께 감사를 표현할 때 우리는 자주 “말하는 은혜”로서 (“saying grace” 식전 감사기도) 그것을 언급한다.

 When we complain, we stop paying attention to what we have and become fixated on what we don’t have. Complaining has a way of pulling the shade down on the window of grace. It keeps the light of God’s grace from the shining in. The Israelites ignored that they were free for the first time in generations because of their myopic obsession with what was on the dinner menu.

우리가 불평할 때 우리는 우리가 가지고 있는 것에 주목하기를 중단하고 우리가 갖고 있지 않은 것에 집중하게 된다. 불평하는 것은 은혜의 창문 위에 그늘을 끌어내리는 방식을 갖는다. 그것은 하나님의 은혜의 빛이 비쳐들어오는 것을 막는다. 이스라엘 백성들은 저녁 식사 메뉴에 있는 것에 대해 근시안적인 사로잡힘 (망상 obsession) 때문에 세대들 속에서 생전 처음 그들이 자유했다는 것을 무시했다. 
              
                         은혜로 착색된 렌즈들
                        Grace-Colored Lenses

 A while back I was at a movie theater, standing in line at the concession stand, thankful for the opportunity to spend a small fortune on some snacks. A guy at the counter three or four people ahead of me was clearly upset with the theater employee about something. I wasn’t close enough to hear exactly what he was upset about, but his voice was raised and his tone was harsh. The young woman working the stand listened patiently but was clearly embarrassed by the situation. Finally the man finished his fit and stormed past me with his large popcorn and drink. I briefly considered sticking out a foot and tripping him, but I wasn’t positive that’s what Jesus would do, so as he walked by I just let out a passive-aggressive laugh and shook my head at him condescendingly.

얼마 전에 영화 극장에 있었고 매점에서 줄을 서 있었다. 어떤 스낵들을 먹을 작은 행운을 소비할 기회에 감사하면서. 내 앞에 셋 혹은 네 사람 앞 카운터에서 한 사내가 무언가에 대해서 극장 점원에게 분명히 화가 나 있었다. 나는 그가 무엇에 대해 화가 났는지 정확히 들기에 충분히 가까이 있지 않았으나 그의 목소리는 격앙되어있고 그의 어조는 거칠었다. 그 스탠드에서 일하는 젊은 여성은 인내하면서 듣고 있었지만 그 상황 때문에 분명히 당황스러워 하고 있었다. 마침내 그 사내는 그의 발작을 마치고 그의 커다란 팝콘과 음료를 가지고 내 옆을 확 지나갔다. 나는 간단히 생각하기를 발을 걸어서 그를 넘어뜨릴까 생각했으나 예수님이 라면 그렇게 하리라고 자신할 수 없어서 그가 내 곁을 걸어갈 때 수동적이고 공격적인 웃음을 내며 그를 향하여 잘 난체하며 머리를 저었다. 

 

 When I reached the counter I asked the young lady, “What was the guy’s problem?” She explained he was angry because he thought she put too much popcorn in his bucket! He didn’t think he  could carry it without spilling some.

내가 카운터에 이르렀을 때 나는 젊은 그 여성에게 물었다. “저 사내의 문제가 무엇이오?” 그녀는 그 남자가 그의 바구니에 너무 많은 팝콘을 넣었다고 생각했기 때문에 화가 났다고 설명했다. 그 남자는 팝콘 얼마를 흘리지 않고는 그것을 가지고 갈 수 있다고 생각지 않았다.

It was then that I knew . . . Jesus definitely would have tripped him.

내가 안 것은 그때였다. . . 예수께서는 확실히 그의 다리를 걸러넘어뜨렸을 것이다.

Talk about losing perspective. He looked at his bucket over-flowing with delicious, buttery popcorn and got upset because some of it was probably going to spill on the way back to his seat.

균형감을 (perspective) 잃는 것에 대해 말하자. 그 남자는 맛있고 버터를 바른 팝콘으로 흘러넘치는 바구니를 바라보았고 그것의 일부가 그의 자리로 돌아가는 길에 아마도 흘러넘칠 것 같아서 화를 냈다.

Research has proven that the more we complain, the more we find things to complain about.1 One study separated participants into two groups. The first group was assigned to keep a daily “irritation journal” of things that annoyed them. Participants in the second group were told to keep a “thanksgiving journal” of things they were grateful for. They found those who kept thanksgiving journals had greater overall energy and enthusiasm, slept better, and were less depressed. They also discovered that what each group was assigned to do, intentionally, they started doing unintentionally. People who had to list annouances became increasingly discontent. People who had to list positives became increasingly grateful. Grumbling, like grace, has a way of becoming the lens through which we look at life.

조사에 의하면 우리가 불평을 더 할수록 우리는 불평할 대상을 더 많이 발견한다고 증명한다. 1  한 연구는 참가자들을 두 부류로 나누었다. 첫째 그룹은 그들을 괴롭힌 것들의 매일의 “짜증일기”를 (irritation journal) 쓰게 할당되었다. 두 번째 그룹의 참가자들은 그들이 감사할 대상의 감사 일기들을 쓰라는 말을 들었다. 그들은 감사일기를 쓴 이들이 대체적으로 더 큰 원기와 열정을 가지고 더 잘 잤고 덜 우울했다는 것을 발견했다. 그들은 또한 각 그룹이 의도적으로 하도록 할당된 것을 그들이 비의도적으로 하기를 시작했음을 발견했다. 골칫거리들을 열거해야만 했던 사람들은 점점 더 불만족하게 되었고 긍정적인 것들을 열거해야만 했던 사람들은 점점 더 감사하게 되었다. 투덜거림은 은혜처럼 그것을 통해서 삶을 바라보는 렌즈들이 되는 방도를 가지고 있다. 
                               footnote
  1 Harvard Mental Health Letter, “In Praise of Gratitude,”  Harvard Health
     Publications, Nov. 2011, 
     http://www.health. harvard. edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude.

 Complaining keeps us focused on what we wish was different rather than being thankful for what we have. This is why so many people who visit third-world countries come back more grateful for what they have. They’ve been given the gift of perspective. If you’re on social media, you may have seen the hashtag #FWP. It stands for “First World Problems.” Typically this is used to make fun of people who are complaining about “problems” that should be viewed as blessings. Some actual examples from the internet:

불평하는 것은 우리가 지금 우리가 가지고 있는 것을 인해서 감사하기보다는 다른 것을 원하는 것에 초점을 맞추게 한다. 제3세계 나라들을 방문하는 그렇게 많은 사람들이 그들이 지금 갖고 있는 것을 인해서 더 감사하며 귀국하는 이유가 이것이다. 그들은 균형잡힌 관점이라는 선물을 받았다. 만일 당신이 대중 매체에 들어가보면 당신은 #FWP 라는 hashtag (인터넷 해시태그, 소셜네트워크서비스(SNS : social network service)인 트위터에서 '#특정단어' 형식으로, 특정 단어에 대한 글이라는 것을 표현하는 기능)를 아마 보았을 것이다. 그것은 “First World Problems” (제1세계의 문제점들) 의 뜻이다. 전형적으로 이것은 축복들로 여겨져야만 하는 “문제점들”에 대해서 불평하고 있는 사람들을 조롱하는데 사용되는 말이다. 인터넷으로부터 몇 가지 실제적인 예를 들면,

   “So frustrating to get home from the grocery store and not be able to fit the food in the fridge.”
   “This movie is taking soooo long to download.”
   “I’m so sick of eating at all the restaurants near work.”
   “Ugh. I hate it when my Apple watch doesn’t register the  right distance when I run on the beach. It’s clearly

    gonna be one of those days . . .”

  

   “식료품 가게에서부터 집에 도착해서 냉장고 안에 음식을 맞춰 넣을 수 없어서 불만” 
   “이 영화는 다운로드하기에 너무 너무 너무 시간이 오래 걸리고 있다” 
   “나는 내 직장 근처의 모든 식당들에서 먹는데 질려있다”
   “웩, 나는 내 애플 시계가 내가 해변을 따라서 달릴 때 바른 거리를 올려주지 않을 때 그것이 밉다. 일이 잘 안 풀리는 날이 될 것이 분명해 . . .”

 

 Complaining causes us to become increasingly obsessed with our less-than-perfect circumstances. Gratitude, on the other hand, isn’t dependent on circumstances. It recognizes that God’s grace  is  reason  enough  to  be thankful in all circumstances.

불평하는 것은 우리로 하여금 우리의 약간 부족한 환경들로 점점 더 강박감에 사로잡히게 만든다. 반면에 감사는 환경들에 좌우되지 않는다. 그것은 하나님의 은혜는 모든 환경들에서 충분히 감사할 수 있는 이유라고 인정한다. 

 I know this will make me sound a little pathetic, but I sometimes struggle with contentment on airplanes. Yep, instead of appreciating the miracle of flight and being grateful that I can make a journey in a few hours that not too many years ago would have required months, I find myself discontent because I’m not in first class. I walk past first-class passengers, with their massive amounts of legroom and armrests the size of small beds, to my cramped little space in coach. I immediately put my arm on the slender armrest, because you have to stake out that territory from the beginning. Then I grab the Sky Mall magazine and it ruins me. It’s full of inventions you never knew existed but now realize you can’t live without. Just like the Israelites, I find myself forgetting what I have and grippingt about what I don’t have.

나는 이것이 나로 하여금 좀 불쌍하게 들리게 한다. 그러나 나는 종종 비행기들을 탈 때 만족과 싸운다. 맞아요. 비행의 기적을 알아주고 많지 않은 해들 전에는 몇 달을 요구했을 여행을 내가 두 어 시간 안에 할 수 있는 것에 감사하는 대신에 나는 내가 일등석에 있지 않은 것 때문에 불만인 나 자신을 발견한다. 나는 걸어서 일등석 승객들을 지나서 비행기 안의 좁은 공간의 답답하고 비좁은 내 공간으로 가는데 일등석 승객들은 다리를 뻗을 넉넉한 공간과 작은 침대 사이즈의 팔걸이를 갖고 있다. 나는 즉각 내 팔을 가녀린 팔걸이에 얹는다. 왜냐하면 시초부터 그 영토가 자기 것이라고 분명히 해야 하기 때문이다. 그리고나서 나는 스카이 몰 잡지를 (the Sky Mall) 잡는데 그것이 나를 망친다. 그것은 당신이 결코 있었는지도 몰랐는데 그것이 없이는 당신이 지금 살아갈 수 없는 창안물들로 가득하다. 이스라엘 백성들처럼 나는 내가 갖고 있는 것을 잊고 내가 갖고 있지 않은 것에 대해 파악하는 나 자신을 발견한다.

God wants me to be thankful, but when I complain I lose sight of what I have to be thankful for.

하나님은 내가 감사하기를 원하신다. 그러나 내가 불평할 때 나는 내가 감사해야만 할 대상을 보지 못한다. 

 A close friend of mine recently decided that instead of selling his used car or trading it in, he was going to give it to his sister, who really needed it. The vehicle was worth about ten thousand dollars, it was in good shape, and he gave it to his sister she said thanks, but that was about it.

내 가까운 친구가 최근 그의 중고차를 팔거나 대신에 웃돈을 주고 새 차와 바꾸는 대신에 그의 자매에게 그것을 줄 예정이었는데 그 자매는 그 차가 정말 필요했다. 그 차는 약 1만 달러 가격이었는데 모양도 좋은 상태였다. 그리고 그는 그 차를 양도하기 전에 정비까지 시켰다. 그가 그것을 그의 자매에게 주었을 때 그녀는 감사하다고 말했으나 그 감사는 그 차에 대한 것이었다.

 A few weeks later his sister sent a text complaining about having to pay taxes on the vehicle, and a little later she complained about having to put two new tires on it. When he saw her recently, she started telling him that the air-conditioning wasn’t blowing cold enough. My friend was more than annoyed by her complaining. As he finished telling me about it, here is the conclusion he reached: “I should’ve just traded it in. Believe me, that will be the last time I do anything like that.” He was trying to be generous and thoughtful, and instead of being grateful she was constantly whining.

두 어 주간 후 그의 자매는 자동차 세금을 지불해야만 하는 것에 대해 문자로 불평을 써보냈다. 그리고 조금 후에 그녀는 자동차에 새 타이어 두 개를 끼워야 하는 것에 대해 불평했다. 그가 그녀를 최근 만났을 때 그녀는 자동차 에어콘이 충분하게 찬 공기를 불어주지 않고 있다고 말하기 시작했다. 내 친구는 그녀의 불평에 더 많이 괴롭힘을 받았다. 그 친구가 내게 그것에 대해 말하기를 마쳤을 때 그가 도달한 결론이 이것이다. “나는 그것을 그냥 웃돈을 얹어 새 차와 바꾸었어야 했어. 정말이야,나는 그같은 짓을 다시는 안 할거야.” (that will be the last time I do anything like that). 그는 관대하고 사려깊으려고 애썼지만 감사하는 대신에 그녀는 끊임없이 징징거리고 있었다.
          

 Complainers are going to complain. It doesn’t matter how generous the provision or how thoughtful the gift, they will still find something to complain about. The more you complain the more you find something to complain about. The Israelites made up stuff to be upset about. They acted like they sat around all day in Egypt eating meat: “Hey, guys, remember when we were in Egypt we sat around the Hibachi grill and drank espressos? Those were the days.”

불평꾼들은 계속 불평하고 있다. 그 선물이 얼마나 관대한지, 얼마나 감사한지는 중요치 않다. 그들은 여전히 불평할 거리를 찾을 것이다. 더 많이 불평할수록 당신은 더 많이 불평거리를 찾는다. 이스라엘 백성들은 그것에 대해 화를 낼 재료를 모아들였다. 그들은 애굽에서 고기를 먹으면서 온 종일 빈둥거리며 세월을 보낸 것처럼 행동했다. “이봐, 당신들, 우리가 애굽에 있을 때  우리는 히바치 석쇠 둘레에 앉아서 에스프레소를 마셨지? 그 때가 좋았지.” (번역자 첨부: 부가설명. 일본 스테이크 하우스에서 요리(볶음밥, 스테이크 등)를 손님이 보는 앞에서 바로 만들어 주는 요리 방법을 말한다.)
    
                         불평은 전염성이 있다
                      Complaining Is Contagious

 Like grace, complaining has a way of spreading. Complaining spreads from one person to another and can infect an entire community. It just takes one whiny family member, one negative neighbor, or a couple of critical church members fro the community to become infected.

은혜처럼 불평은 퍼뜨리는 방식을 갖고 있다. 불평은 한 사람에게서 다른 사람으로 펴지고 온 공동체를 감염시킬 수 있다. 그것은 공동체가 감염되기 위하여 한 사람의 징징대는 가족, 한 명의 부정적인 이웃, 비판적인 한 부부를 필요로 한다.

 

Complaining is contagious because the person is pointing out to everyone else how things could be better. Walk into a room and tell everyone it’s too cold, and soon everyone will feel chilly. You won’t notice the Thanksgiving stuffing is dry until someone points it out. It never bothered you that the game wasn’t in high definition until a buddy starts talking about how much better it would be to watch the game in HD.
불평은 전염성이 있다. 왜냐하면 그 사람은 일들이 더 잘 될 수 있는 방법을 다른 모든 사람에게 가리키고 있다. 방안에 걸어 들어가서 모든 사람에게 방이 춥다고 말하라. 그러면 곧 모든 사람이 방이 썰렁하다고 느낀다. 당신은 누군가가 그것을 지적해낼 때까지 그 추수감사 음식의 소가 (the Thanksgiving stuffing 만두 같은 음식 속에 넣는 재료) 메마르다고 눈치채지 못할 것이다. 한 친구가 그 게임을 HD (고화질 TV) 에서 관람하는 훨씬 더 좋을 것이라고 말하기를 시작하기까지는 그 게임이 고화질에 있지 않다는 것이 당신을 결코 괴롭히지 않았다. 

 In Numbers 11, the grumbling started with the “riffraff,” who soon had everyone complaining. God’s people should have been positive and grateful because God had rescued them and provided for them, but instead the noise God hears from heaven is grumbling.

민수기 11장에 보면 투덜거림이 “섞여있는 사람들” (riffraff)과 함께 시작되었는데 그들은 곧 모든 사람이 불평하게 만들었다. 하나님의 백성들은 긍정적이고 감사해야만 했다. 왜냐하면 하나님께서 그들을 구출하셨고 그들에게 필요한 것을 공급하셨기 때문이다. 그러나 그 대신에 하늘로부터 하나님께서 들으시는 소음은 투덜댐이다.

                            감사할 이유들
                        Reasons to BE Grateful

 In his book Seeing through the Fog, former megachurch pastor Ed Dobson  tells  about his first twelve years of living with LouGehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a degenerative disease with no known cause or cure. Dobson shares his ongoing struggle to give thanks while living with an incurable condition. He writes:

이전의 초 대형교회의 (megachurch) 목사였던 에드 답슨은 (Ed Dobson)은 그가 쓴 책 “안개를 통해 보기” (Seeing through the Fog)에서 그가 루게릭 병 (Lou Gehrig’s disease) 혹은 근 위축성 측색 경화증을 (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis = ALS) 앓으면서 산 그의 첫 12년간에 대해 말한다. 이 병은 그 원인이나 치료가 알려지지 않은 퇴행성 질환이다. 돕슨은 그의 계속되는 투쟁을 다른 이들과 나누고 불치의 조건을 가지고 살면서도 감사를 한다.

   There are many things for which I am not grateful. I can no longer button the buttons on my shirt. I can no longer put    on a heavy jacket. I can no longer raise my right hand above my head. I can no longer write. I can no longer eat  with my right hand. I eat with my left hand, and now even that is becoming a challenge. And over time all of these challenges will get worse and worse. So what in the world do I have to be grateful for? So much.
 Lord, thank you for waking me up this morning. Lord, thank you that I can turn over in my bed. Lord, thank you that I can still get out of bed. Lord, thank you that I can walk to the bathroom. . . .  Lord, thank you that I can still brush my teeth. . . Lord, thank you that I can still eat breakfast. Lord, thank you that I can still dress myself. Lord, thank you that I can still drive my car. Lord, thank you that I can still walk. Lord, thank you that I can still talk. And the list goes on and on. I have learned in my journey with ALS to focus on what I can do, not on what I  can’t do. I have learned to be grateful for the small things in my life and for the many things I can still do. 2  

                             footnote

내가 감사치 않는 많은 것들이 있다. 나는 더 이상 내 셔츠의 단추들을 끼울 수 없다. 나는 더 이상 무거운 자켓을 입을 수 없다. 나는 더 이상 내 머리 위로 내 오른손을 들어올릴 수 없다. 나는 더 이상 글을 쓸 수 없다. 나는 더 이상 내 오른손으로 먹을 수가 없다. 나는 내 왼손으로 먹을 수 없고 지금 그것은 도전이 되고 있다. 그리고 시간을 보내면서 이 모든 도전들이 더욱 더 악화될 것이다. 그래서 도대체 (what in the world) 나는 무엇을 두고 감사해야만 하는가? 그렇게 많다.
주님, 이 아침에 저를 깨워주심에 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 침대에서  몸을 돌릴 수 있음을 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히 침대에서 일어날 수 있음을 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 욕실로 걸어갈 수 있음을 감사합니다.  . . . 주님, 제가 여전히 이를 닦을 수 있음을 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히 아침을 먹을 수 있어서 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히 스스로 옷을 입을 수 있어서 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히     운전할 수 있으니 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히 걸을 수 있어서 감사합니다. 주님, 제가 여전히 말할 수 있어서 감사합니다. 그리고 그 감사 항목은 계속 됩니다. 저는 이 병과 함께 가는 여행에서 제가 할 수 있는 것과 할 수 없는 것에 초점을 맞추기를 배웠습니다. 저는 저의 사소한 것들을 인하여 그리고 제가 여전히 할 수 있는 많은 것들을 인하여 감사하기를 배웠습니다.2  

                               footnote 

 

 2 Ed Dobson, Seeing through the Fog: Hope When Your World Falls Apart

(Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2012),            69-70
 
 Here’s a guy who is on a painful, debilitating march to death. It would seem that he has plenty to complain about, but he’s not looking at life through that lens. He’s looking at his circumstances through the lens of grace and he is grateful.

 2 에드 돕슨, “안개를 통해서 보기: 당신의 세계가 결딴날 때”

(콜로라도 스프링스: 데이빗 씨 쿡 출판사, 2012) 69-70 페이지 
     Ed Dobson, Seeing through the Fog: Hope When Your World Falls Apart (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2012),      69-70.

여기에 고통스럽고 쇠약해져가다가 죽음에 이르는 (a guy on a painful, debilitating march to death) 한 남자가 있다. 그는 불평할 많은 거리들을 갖고 있는 듯 보일 것이다. 그러나 그는 그 렌즈를 끼고 삶을 바라보고 있지 않다. 그는 은혜의 렌즈를 통해서 그의 환경들을 바라보고 있고 감사하고 있다.
 
                        

축복들에 대해 불평하기 ?
Complaining about Blessings

Recently I decided to sit down and look back on my life through the lens of God’s grace. What I have discovered is that I can look back on parts of my life I would have complained about to discover God’s grace in them instead. I may have wished at the time things were different, but now I can see how grace has redeemed those things in my life today.

최근에 나는 앉아서 하나님의 은혜의 렌즈를 통해서 내 삶을 되돌아보기를 작정했다. 내가 발견한 것은 하나님의 은혜를 내 삶의 부분들 안에서 감사하는 대신에 불평했을 수도 있는 그 부분들을 되돌아 볼 수 있다는 것이다. 나는 그 당시에 모든 게 다르기를 바랬는지도 모른다. 그러나 오늘 내 삶에서 은혜가 그것들을 어떻게 구속했는지를 볼 수 있다. 

For example, I’m in my dream job because of a disgusting toilet. Let me explain. One of the greatest joys I have in my life these days is pastoring at an amazing church in Louisville, Kentucky. I know it is only by God’s good grace that I have the privilege of being a part of what he is doing in this church. I’m incredibly thankful and grateful for the privilege. But what I realize now is what God used to bring me to this place often involved circumstances I complained about and situations I wished were different at the time.

예를 들자면, 나는 역겨운 화장실 때문에 내가 꿈꾸던 일을 한다. 요즘 내 삶에서 내가 가지는 가장 큰 기쁨들 중 하나는 켄터기 루이스빌에 있는 놀라운 교회에서 목회하는 것이다. 내가 이 교회 안에서 하나님이 하고 계시는 것의 한 부분이 되는 특권을 갖는 것은 오직 하나님의 선한 은혜로 된 것이라는 것을 나는 안다. 나는 믿을 수 없을 만큼 그 특권을 감사하고 또 감사한다. 그러나 내가 지금 깨닫는 것은 하나님께서 나를 이곳으로 데려오시기 위해 사용한 것은 내가 그것에 대해 불평한 환경들과 또 내가 그 당시에는 다르기를 바랬던 환경들을 포함한다.

 

Let me trace God’s grace through these circumstances (I’m going to attempt to reverse engineer God’s grace; stick with me on this).
내가 이 환경들을 통해서 하나님의 은혜를 추적하는 것을 허락하시라. (나는 하나님의 은혜를 역으로 분석하려는 시도를 하고 있었다. 이것에 나와 함께 해주시기를.)

Before coming to be a pastor in Louisville, I was leading a church I had started in Los Angeles County. Coming out of seminary, I didn’t want to start a church; I wanted to preach. I had applied to about a dozen churches, but none of them even called me back. Apparently they weren’t interested in a twenty-one-year-old preacher with no experience. I realized the only way I was going to be able to preach at a church was to start one. At the time, it didn’t seem fair. I certainly wasn’t thankful and thought to myself, I wish things were different.

루이스빌에서 목사로 오기 전에 나는 LA 카운티에서 시작한 교회를 이끌고 있었다. 신학대학원에서 나오면서 나는  교회를 시작하기를 원치 않았다. 나는 설교하기를 원했다.  나는 대략 열 두어 교회에 지원을 했으나 한 군데도 내게 응답 전화조차 하지 않았다.  분명코 그들은 경험이 없는 21세 설교자에 흥미가 없었다.  내가 한 교회에서 설교할 수 있는 유일한 방법은 한 교회를 시작하는 것이라고 깨달았다. 그 당시에 그것은 가망이 있어 보이지 않았다. 나는 확실히 감사치 않았고 스스로 생각했다. 이것은 내가 원하는 것과는 다르다고. 

The reason I wanted to be a preacher is because I fell in love with it in college. I never thought I would be a preacher. I always thought I would be a youth pastor. That was the plan. In fact, my freshman year I applied to a bunch of churches hoping to be their youth pastor, but no one was interested.

내가 설교자가 되기를 원하는 이유는 내가 대학시절에 그것과의 사랑에 빠졌기 때문이다. 나는 설교자가 될 것이라고 생각조차 안했다. 나는 항상 청소년 담당 목사가 될 것을 생각했다. 그것은 계획이었다. 사실, 대학 1학년 시절에 나는 그 교회의 청소년 목회자가 되기를 희망하면서 많은 교회들에 신청을 했으나 하나도 흥미를 끌지 못했다.
 

Then, one weekend, a small church in town was desperate for a preacher. They called me on a Thursday and asked me to preach that Sunday. On Sunday, I walked into a sanctuary where a couple dozen elderly people made up the congregation. Thankfully, they asked me to come back the next week, and then the next week after that, and I preached at that church for four years.

그 때 한 주말에 한 작은 교회가 목요일에 내게 전화를 해서 그 주일에 설교하기를 요청했다. 주일날에 나는 한 교회 안으로 걸어 들어갔는데 거기에는 20 여명의 장년 신자들이 회중을 이루었다. 감사하게도 그들은 그 다음 주에 다시 오기를 요청했다. 그리고나서 또 그 다음 주간, 그리고 나는 4년 동안 그 교회에서 설교했다.

 The reason I felt comfortable preaching that first weekend, even though I was only eighteen at the time, was because when I was sixteen I had a job as a tour guide at the Precious Moments Chapel in my hometown. Yes, you can laugh. Thousands and thousands of guests would come to the Precious Moments Chapel every year, and I spoke to large crowds of them as their tour guide. Precious Moments has a biblical foundation, so I would get to present the gospel regularly. I never planned on working at Precious Moments. At the time, I didn’t want to be working at all, and I wished things were different.

그 첫 주말에 내가 편안한 설교를 느낀 이유는 내가 비록 그 당시에 그저 18살이지만 내가 열 여섯 살 때 내가 사는 동네의 프레셔스 모먼츠 교회에서 (Precious Moments Chapel : 고귀한 순간들 교회당) 여행 가이드로서 일을 가졌기 때문이었다.  당신은 웃을 수 있다. 매년 수 만의 방문자들이 그 교회에 오곤 했다. 그리고 나는 여행 가이드로서 그 큰 군중들에게 말했다. 그 교회는 성경적 기초를 가지고 있고 그래서 나는 복음을 정기적으로 제시하는데 착수하곤 했다. 나는 결코 그 교회에서 일할 것을 계획하지 않았다. 그 당시에 나는 전혀 일하고 있기를 원치 않았고 나는 일들이 다르기를 원했다.

The reason I had to get a job was because not long after getting my driver’s license I borrowed my mom’s car to drive to Taco Hut. Taco Hut was not a safe place to eat. But I ate there anyway.

내가 일을 잡아야만 했던 이유는 내 자동차 면허증을 얻은 지 오래 지나지 않아 나는 내 엄마의 자동차를 빌려서 타코 헛 (Taco Hut)으로 운전을 했다. 내 고향 타코 헛은 먹기에 안전한 장소가 아니었다. 그러나 나는 어쨌든 거기서 먹었다.
  (번역자 첨부:  본서에서 타코 헛은 저자의 고향동네 이름이다)

After eating at Taco Hut, I drove home and pulled my mom’s car into the driveway and I ran into the house. I came out a little later and saw my mom’s car in the middle of the road. It had rolled down the driveway and smashed through our mailbox. Yes, the car had significant damage. My parents told me I had to pay for the repairs. I was not thankful for those circumstances. I wished things were different, so I got a job to pay for the damages.

타코 헛에서 먹은 후에 나는 집으로 차를 몰았고 내 엄마의 차를 차도에 들여놓고 집으로 돌진했다. 나는 조금 후에 차에서 나와 내 엄마의 차가 차로 한 가운데 있는 것을 보았다. 그것은 차로를 따라 굴렀고 우리 집 우체통을 부쉈다. 그래서 차가 상당한 손상을 입었다. 내 부모님들은 내게 그 수리비를 지불해야 한다고 말씀하셨다. 나는 그 환경들에 감사치 않았다. 나는 상황들이 다르기를 원했다. 그래서 그 손상을 지불하기 위하여 일을 잡았다.
               

The reason the car rolled back down the driveway was because I forgot to put it in park. There was no way I was going to use the bathrooms at Taco Hut. They were just too sketchy. So I sped home in a panic to get in and use the bathroom – and so neglected to put the car in park.

차가 차로 아래로 굴러간 이유는 내가 기어를 주차에 두기를 잊어서였다. 내가 타코 헛에 있는 식당의 화장실들을 사용할 방도가 없었다. 그것들은 그저 너무 믿을 수 없는 것이었다. (그 욕실들은 호텔 캘리포니아와 같았다. 당신은 들어갈 수 있으나 결코 거기를 떠날 수 없었을 것이다. 사용하기에 아주 불결하고 불편했다는 뜻).  그래서 나는 집에 들어가서 욕실을 사용하려고 피크닉에서 집으로 속도를 냈다. 그래서 나는 차를 제대로 주차하기를 소홀히 했던 것이다.

 Are you still with me? Are you putting these pieces together? The reason I have my dream job preaching at our amazing church today is because the bathrooms in my hometown Taco Hut were disgusting!

당신은 여전히 나와 함께 하고 있는가? 당신은 이 조각들을 합치고 있는가? 내가 오늘날 우리의 놀라운 교회에서 설교하는, 꿈에 그리던 일을 가지는 이유는 내 고향 타코 헛에 있는 욕실들이 혐오스러웠기 때문이었다!

Think about the most complaint-worthy thing in your life right now. Go ahead. Before you complain about it, consider what God’s grace may be working to accomplish. What if God is going to take you through this thing and it’s actually going to bring a blessing later? Ultimately our reasons for circumstantial complaining are very few because we worship a God of resurrection. If God can turn the death of Jesus into our salvation, he can do just about anything with whatever we’re going through.

바로 지금 당신의 삶에서 가장 불평하기에 적합한 것에 대해 생각해보시라. 더 나아가 보자. 당신이 그것에 대해 불평하기 전에 하나님의 은혜가 성취하기 위해 일하고 있을지도 모를 것을 생각하라. 하나님께서 이것을 통해서 당신을 데리고 가시려는 것이라면, 또 그것이 실제적으로 나중에 축복을 가져오는 것이라면? 궁극적으로 환경적인 불평들을 위한 이유들은 아주 적다. 왜냐하면 우리는 부활의 하나님을 예배하기 때문이다. 만일 하나님께서 예수님의 죽음을 우리의 구원 쪽으로 돌리실 수 있다면 그분은 우리가 무엇이든지 통과하고 있는 것에 대해 그대로 하실 수 있다.

 Now convinced? I would encourage you to try to reverse engineer God’s grace in your life. You may find reasons to be grateful for God’s grace at work in many of the circumstances you wish were different and a lot of what you complained about along the way.

확신이 서지 않는가? 나는 당신을 격려하여 당신 삶 속에서 하나님의 은혜를 역분석하려고 노력하게 하련다. 당신은 아미도 당신이 다르기를 바라는 많은 환경들에서 하나님의 은혜가 일하시는 것과 그 과정에서 당신이 불평한 많은 것을 인하여 감사할 이유를 발견하리라.

 When you got dumped by someone you really cared for, you may have wished things were different, but now that you are married to the love of your life you can look back and see God’s grace.

당신이 정말로 돌보아준 누군가에 의해서 실연당했을 때 당신은 아마도 일들이 다르기를 원했을 것이다. 그러나 당신이 당신 삶의 사랑과 (the love of your life) 결혼했기 때문에 당신은 되돌아보고 하나님의 은혜를 볼 수 있다.

When you didn’t get accepted into that program at school, or you didn’t get that promotion at work, it may not have seemed fair and you may have wished things were different, but now that you are doing what you love you can look back and see God’s grace

당신이 학교에서 그 프로그램에 받아들여지지 않았을 때 혹은 당신이 직장에서 진급하지 않았을 때 그것은 가망이 없어 보였고 당신은 아마도 일들이 다르기를 바랐을 것이다. 그러나 당신이 사랑하는 것을 하고 있기 때문에 당신은 뒤돌아보고 하나님의 은혜를 볼 수 있다.

When you were diagnosed with cancer and going through chemotherapy, you almost certainly wished things could be different, but you saw Jesus during that time in your life and you can look back and see God’s grace.

암 진단을 받고 화학 요법을 받을 때는 상황이 달라지기를 바랐을 것입니다. 하지만 그 시기에 예수님을 보았고, 그 시기에 하나님의 은혜를 되돌아볼 수 있었습니다.

 

 Sometimes we look back and realize that we were complaining about a blessing. God’s grace was at work in our lives, but we were too busy grumbling to be grateful for it.

종종 우리는 뒤돌아보고 우리가 축복에 대해 불평하고 있었다는 것을 깨닫는다. 하나님의 은혜는 우리 삶 속에서 활동하고 있지만 우리는 불평하기에 너무 분주하여 그것에 대해 감사하지 못하고 있다.

            내가 감사치 않은 날들 때문에 저를 용서하소서
            Forgive Me for the Days I Wasn’t Grateful

 I received the request from Marcus asking the church to help pay for his headstone and thought. I have to meet this guy. Soon, I did.

나는 마커스로부터 교회가 그의 묘비를 위한 지불을 도와달라는 요청을 하는 요구를 받고 생각했다. 나는 이 남자를 만나야 한다고. 곧 나는 그를 만났다. 

 Turns out Marcus woke up one morning jaundiced. He described himself as “orange as a pumpkin.” He had been a heavy drinker earlier in his life and assumed he had cirrhosis of the liver. He went to the hospital for testing – and within an hour was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was told he had only a few days to live.

마커스가 어느 아침 깨었을 때 황달에 걸린 것이 판명된다. 그는 자신을 “호박같은 오랜지”라고 묘사했다. 그는 그의 삶의 초기부터 심한 알콜 음주자였고 간경변을 가졌다고 생각되어졌다. 그는 검사하러 병원에 갔고 한 시간 내에 췌장암을 가졌다고 진단을 받았다. 그는 살 날이 2-3일 뿐이라는 말을 들었다. 
                   

He was put on chemo and the progression of the cancer slowed, giving him more time than the doctors predicted.

그는 화학치료를 받았고 암의 진행은 느렸고 의사들이 예측한 것보다 더 시간을 그에게 주었다. 

I asked Marcus about being grateful in such difficult circumstances.

나는 마커스에게 이런 힘든 환경들 속에서 감사할 수 있음에 대하여 물었다.

 He answered, “It started . . . it started slowly. I began being grateful for the little things like clothes, my next meal, those material things, you know, that we consider our daily bread. And I began to see things through . . . through different eyes. Now I see things in an eternal light: how this life will have a profound effect on my next life, and how anticipation of the next life is having a profound effect on this life I have now. And it’s been truly amazing.”

그는 대답했다. “그것은 (감사는) 시작했고 . . 그것은 천천히 시작했습니다. 나는 의복들, 내 다음 식사, 그 물질적인 것들, (당신도 아시듯) 우리가 우리의 일용할 양식이라고 생각하는 그것들처럼 작은 것들 때문에 감사하기를 시작했습니다. 그리고 나는 사물을 꿰뚫어보기 시작했습니다. . . . 다른 눈들을 통해서. 지금 나는 영원한 빛 속에서 사물을 봅니다. 이 삶이 내 다음 삶에 심오한 영향을 어떻게 가질지, 그리고 다음 생에 대한 기대가 어떻게 내가 지금 가지고 있는 이 삶에 심오한 영향을 가지고 있는지를. 그리고 그것은 참으로 놀라웠습니다.”

 I asked about the inscription he wanted on his headstone. He said, “I want to forward a message on to any wayward passerby who comes across my headstone and maybe identifies with it, and who has the eyes to discern the message. And the simple line is: forgive me for the days I was not grateful. And in that one sentence it states my problem: I was not grateful. And it also includes the solution: forgive me. And that’s the message that I want to pass on.”

나는 그의 묘비에 새기기를 원하는 글에 대하여 물었다. 그는 대답했다. “나는 내 묘비를 가로질러 가는 고집스런 행인들에게 메시지를 제시하고 싶습니다. 그리고 아마도 그것은 그것을 확인할 것이고 또 그 메시지를 분별하는 눈을 가진 사람들에게 메시지를 주고 싶습니다. 그리고 그 다순한 문장 한 줄은 이것입니다. 내가 감사치 않고 살아온 날들 때문에 저를 용서하소서. 그리고 그 단 한 문장 속에서 그것은 내 문제점을 언급합니다. 나는 감사치 않았습니다. 그리고 그것은 또한 해결을 포함합니다. 나를 용서하세요. 그리고 그것은 내가 전달하고픈 메시지입니다.”

 Message received.
God, forgive us for the days we were not grateful.

메시지는 받아들여졌다. 하나님, 우리가 감사치 않은 날들을 인하여 우리를 용서하소서. 

 

 Give us the grace to recognize your grace and to know that your grace is always reason enough to be thankful, even when we wish things were different.

하나님은 우리에게 그분의 은혜를 인정하고 그분의 은혜가 항상 감사하기에 충분한 이유라고 아는 은혜를 우리에게 주신다.  우리가 사물들이 달랐기를 원했던 그 때에 조차도. (내가 기대했던 대로 되지 않았던 때에도 그분의 은혜를 알게 하시는 은혜를 주셨다).