Set on Edge

“In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’" (Jeremiah 31:29, NIV)

This proverb is taken out of context for my rant today, but it is mentioned three times in the Old Testament, and that interests me. However, that is not why it came to mind this morning. The sour grapes in American culture have set my teeth on edge, and the naysayers weary me.

For any partaker of social media in 'Murica, it would be difficult to miss the flood of positivity from World Cup fans who have been pleasantly surprised to learn that the United States has culture, is safe to visit, is inhabited by generally friendly people, and has natural beauty as far as the eye can see. Countless WC fans from other nations have posted videos that say, "The world owes America an apology. We have believed the media and our governments too much when they say this country is filled with hatred and violence. What an amazing place America is!" Or they say, "I was fearful about traveling to America, but it turns out the only concern I needed to have was about the heat. I thought I knew what summer heat was, but what I get in my country is a cool day when compared to here!"

The comment sections of these videos are primarily positive and welcoming, but the sour grapes exist everywhere else, so why not there, too? Some people cannot help themselves, apparently, so they rain on the visitors' parade, telling them that a short time in this country can't possibly erase all the misery that truly is the American experience. However, I have seen many such visitors respond by saying, "If you think America is such a bad place, why do you live here?" or, "In my country, you wouldn't have the freedom to express your negative views!" or, "You have no idea how much freedom you really have. I didn't think I'd like it here, but now I know that I love America!"

My wife told me about these social media posts for a week before they began showing up in my algorithm. Once they began, though, they haven't stopped. Repeatedly, visitors have embraced their time in the United States to the extent that when it was time to leave, they rescheduled their flights to spend a little more time in their new "home away from home." Legal immigrants posted frequently in response to agree with these visitors. "Yes, this is why I live in America now. I became a citizen [two or five or ten or whatever] years ago. It is the greatest nation on earth!"

For about three weeks, positivity overwhelmed the loud, sour-grapes voices (which represent less than 50% of the voters) in the U.S., seemingly coinciding with the nation's men's team winning several games in the opening round of play. By the time the men's team played Belgium in the Round of 16, though, even some Sour Grapes members of Congress were openly rooting against their own country's success. They consider themselves the "adults in the room" of American politics, deeming themselves wiser than the electorate, which would make me one of their "children," and their sour grapes set my teeth on edge.

Sports and political commentators who are spitting on the US Men's Soccer team for their loss to Belgium set my teeth on edge. For the rest of the world, futbol is a national sport, and they know that's not the case in the United States. They know that soccer does not own the American psyche the way football, baseball, basketball, and hockey do. Even tennis, golf, and auto racing take greater national attention than does soccer. However, the U.S. offered world-class stadia for the 2026 World Cup, and fans have loved America for it.

For American elitists to whine over the results of the Round of 16 play, or to rage about the nation's shortcomings as being more important than her successes, or to complain--with their freedom of speech--that they lack the freedom to express themselves in this nation in ways that no other nation in the world will allow, is Sour Grapes. That sets my teeth on edge.

Is there a cure for Sour Grapes?

Yes. It begins with an acknowledgement. The United States of America is not now, nor has she ever been, a perfect nation. Her Constitution was flawed from the outset because it permitted the abomination of slavery to remain until the nation fought a war with herself to end it. It took another century for those freedoms to be codified in the Constitution. Great harm was inflicted on indigenous people groups in the settling of the land as the nation expanded. Government promises were routinely broken. Anywhere people are involved with people, there will be messy and even horrible relationships. As in all other times and places in history, nations and kingdoms rise and fall, expand and shrink, make war and make peace. Former enemies become allies. It doesn't excuse the past, but the acknowledgement and forgiveness can make the present and future possible.

The second step to the cure for Sour Grapes is gratitude. Growing up in a home where my parents frequently sat at the dining room table and discussed which bills to pay and which to put off another month, I had the firm notion that we were poor. However, I always had clothes on my back, food in my stomach, a roof over my head (though it often leaked and I had to help place containers to catch the water), and parents and siblings who loved me. Also, I frequently heard adults in my life say that what I had was a life of luxury when compared to most other nations in the world. It wasn't a concept I understood until many years later. Still, my parents taught me to be grateful and content. Not to envy or be jealous. Not to be lazy, either. Not to be content with lesser-than; to work hard to improve my situation, but to be satisfied when I did my work well, and to be grateful for whatever I earned or had. Waking up. Opportunity to work or volunteer. For the pain that told me I'd been working. The green of spring and summer. Blooms of flowers and trees. Autumn colors. Snow. Cold. (I struggle with that one.) Good health. Poor health. The Bill of Rights. Living in America. Freedoms of speech, religion, and peaceful assembly. Right to vote.

I can't stop others from being negative, spiteful, or miserable. I can't stop people from acting entitled, ungrateful, or nasty. If people are going to live in the land of Sour Grapes, I don't need to visit them, and when they try to visit me, I'm free to ignore them or push them away. Sometimes, though, they appear so suddenly that I can't avoid them. When that happens, they set my teeth on edge.

My challenge to you (and to me) is to set aside the Sour Grapes that we often want to share. Instead, find sweeter fruit to build up one another. Be forgiving. Be grateful. Our reward will be a harvest of kindness.