Being Content Purpose

The Cyclical Pattern of Thanks

“You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

– 2 Cor. 9:11

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©iStockphoto.com/Mari

There is a graphic making the rounds on Facebook that reminds us of how truly manufactured our season of thanks can  be. Contrasting our day of giving thanks for all that we have with the increasingly frenetic tendency to spend the next day acquiring what we don’t, the image helps us see that perhaps our day of thanks has become a habit rather than a heart-check. After all, if we were truly thankful for the many blessings that we enjoy, would people literally get trampled the very next day in order to beat their fellow man in saving a few dollars on a blu-ray player at Wal-Mart? The reports of the Black Friday injuries have seemingly become just as proliferate as the ads announcing the sales.

For the Christian, however, the focus on thanksgiving shouldn’t happen on just one day, or even in just one month. Our lives should be characterized by a spirit of gratitude because we stand in daily recognition that everything that we have has been given to us by our Heavenly Father (I Cor. 4:7). Because of this, because He supplies our needs and often gives in abundance beyond that, we can, and should give in kind to others. Our gratitude should produce generosity. We have been given much, and therefore we should give much in return (2 Cor. 9:6-8).

The truly exceptional thing about this is that as our gratitude prompts us to give generously to others, the inclination to give thanks will likely increase in their own lives as well. In other words, there is a cyclical pattern of thanks. God is generous with us, which prompts us to give thanks and extend that generosity to others, which then prompts them to give thanks to God for our generosity.  Our giving becomes a conduit by which God receives what He is due – increasing praise and thanks.

Because of this, we should desire to give all the more. After all, as Christians, we should take satisfaction in our God receiving the adoration and gratitude He is due. The fact that He allows us to be a part of that process, the fact that He uses the generosity He has extended to us to propel our generosity towards others, and that results in greater thanksgiving to Him, should engender even greater thanksgiving in our lives. Because of this cyclical pattern of thanks, our giving takes on heavenly significance. What is temporal has been redeemed for eternity.

So as we enter this season of thanksgiving, let us not only think about how we can thanks but how the gratitude that we have should prompt us to extend the generosity that we have experienced to others. May we do so in increasing measure and as a result, may our Heavenly Father receive even more of the thanks that He so richly deserves.

 

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Being Content

Better Than Worry

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©iStockphoto.com/mpinheir

It’s surprising the things that we can make us swell up with pride. Winning a board game can prompt us to gloat and brag as if we just found the cure for cancer. A deft move in a pick-up game of basketball makes us think that we are Michael Jordan. Successfully balancing our checkbook causes us to think that we could teach those Wall-Stree traders and Washington politicians a thing or two about how to manage resources. Our own little sphere of influence often becomes our world, and when we are successful in it, we want notice to be taken.

One of the things that may be the most surprising pride inducers is our ability to worry. I see this mostly with women – but I don’t think men are immune from it. We tend to think our ability to stress over details and the careful attention we pay to the possibilities of what may go wrong, is worthy of commendation. It is as if we believe an unwritten rule that says “She who worries most, cares the most” and it prompts us to say things like “I’m your mother; it’s my job to worry.” Of course, nowhere in the Bible is worry a part of a mother’s or anybody else’s job description. Scripture in fact teaches us that we should not “be anxious about anything” (Phil. 4:6) and yet we often act as if this doesn’t apply to the “big things.” We cling to stress over what happens to us and to others as if our ability to do is some sort of prize.

This however, is not God’s desire for His children. He offers us something better than worry – He offers Him. In doing so, He promises His children that He has given us  “all things that pertain to life and godliness”(2 Peter 1:3). While we want to cling to our worry, He desires to give us the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control that are demonstrative of a life that is walking in step with Him (See Gal 5:22-23). We think our worry will somehow protect or isolate us from the bad things that could happen, as if our ability to ponder the possibilities somehow keeps the worse things from becoming reality. Yet, even the great worriers among us have challenges and hurdles that we must face. Our worry doesn’t preclude us from enduring bad things, and we would be silly to think it does, but it can prevent us from enjoying God’s peace as we persevere through them.

In teaching His disciples about the generosity of our Heavenly Father, Christ made it abundantly clear that when we turn to God with our cares and concerns, He doesn’t desire to turn us away empty-handed (Mt. 7:7-11). This doesn’t mean that He will give us what we specifically ask for, but it does mean that what He grants us will be good – and that it will be for our benefit and for His glory. It also means that clinging to Him and trusting in His provision will be far better than holding on to the worry that we are tempted to trust instead.

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