The guy is smug but he's satisfied at that surface-level of thinking. I kind of envy that. I kind of envy the thought of just thinking about what's right in front of me and not thinking beyond that. There's a bit of eternity in that way of thinking. Just living in the now.
There are two kinds of people -- those who think deeply and those who don't. Neither is better than the other. There are benefits to both. Possibly we can switch to the other kind of thinking, but I kind of think we are born into one or the other mindset.
A problem occurs when we expect others to think like we do. If I am a deep thinker and judge another person because she is not, I am wrong. Or if a surfacy thinker judges me for my thinking too much, she too is wrong.
We should seek to understand each other rather than trying to mold each other into our own image. When we seek understanding we are fulfilling the second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
No one likes to be judged. If we left all the judging to God we might be a lot more loving and Christ-like. Yeah, people frustrate each other and do each other wrong, but why waste time judging? Forgive and move on.
The psalmist in Psalm 119:17 requests something of God. He says, "Deal bountifully with Thy servant, That I may live and keep Thy word."
We can deal bountifully with each other. Think good things of each other. Say good things about each other. Do good things for each other. Love, believe in, hope for.
Paul writes about love eloquently in 1 Corinthians 13. He writes, "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails"
Just think if we lived and showed this kind of love daily to all in our lives!
Let's try.