Last week we looked at the creation story and how that can shape us. Now, we begin our reflections on virtue with gratitude, a powerful virtue that shapes our experience of life.
Reading
1 Thess 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.”
Reflection
The apostle Paul often demonstrates his own gratitude (Phil 1:3-5; 1 Thess 1:2-3) and here in his letter to the Thessalonians instructs Christians that they too should be grateful. It is important to note that Paul says that Christians should be grateful “in” all circumstances, not “for” all circumstances. When everything is going bad and we are experiencing difficulties, we should not be grateful for that, but rather amidst such circumstances, we can still know God’s love and care and be grateful that God never leaves us or forsakes us.
You see gratitude is very important when considering how we experience life. If we live with the conviction that God has already provided us with a wonderful Saviour, a place in his family, the privilege of being part of what he is doing in this world, then we approach life and consumption with a different framework. The theologian G. C. Berkouwer says, “Grace is the essence of theology; gratitude is the essence of ethics.” When we realise who God is and what God has done for us and gifted to us, the most appropriate response, in and through our lives, is one of deep and lasting gratitude.
Jo-Ann Tsang and her colleagues investigated undergraduate students to measure their levels of materialism, life satisfaction and gratitude. Their results, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences indicated that as materialism increased, feelings of gratitude and life satisfaction decreased. Further analysis revealed that materialists felt less satisfied with their lives mainly because they were experiencing less gratitude. It seems the more we have, the more we can take for granted, and the less grateful we are. The antidote to this is to take note of what we already have, what we can and should be grateful for, and then to practice gratitude to God and to those around us.
By cultivating and practising gratitude, we will actually appreciate what we have and not always need to consume more. We will also become more aware of the good things in our lives, which will give us more reason to give thanks to God. By cultivating gratitude for what we have received we become more conscious consumers not always needing more because of some perceived lack. The trick is to remember the things we wanted, that we have already obtained, and allow that to fuel our gratitude to God and others.
Prayer
Gracious God we give thanks to you for every good gift of creation. We are grateful for life, that we have air to breathe and days to enjoy. We are grateful for our various relationships with family and friends. We are grateful for work and support, peace and security. We realise that if you never gave us anything more for the rest of our lives then he has already given us, you would still have given us a reason to be eternally grateful.
Questions
What are you grateful for?
How can you communicate your gratitude to God and those around you?
Related posts
Friday, 12 June 2020 — LIFT International
What's it really like to be a female human trafficking investigator? “I feel like I read the emotions and body language of other women well and that helps us collect evidence and be sensitive to trafficking survivors,” says a human trafficking investigator, as a female, working on the frontlines. Tearfund’s partner LIFT sat down with an investigator from their team to ask her what her job is like and why she does this work.
Read more
Wednesday, 10 June 2020 — Bonnie Graham
Open up your front door, take a few steps outside and look around. Whether it’s a flower growing out of a crack in the pavement, or the sound of the sea, chances are you’ll all be able to find some sort of beauty in your surroundings. Planet Earth is such a gift, isn’t it? One that we need to treasure. So why aren’t we better advocates for its preservation? In the fourth blog of the series, Bonnie Graham from Baptist World Aid Australia unpacks why we need to change the way we buy our clothes to become more sustainable shoppers and reduce the impact on our precious planet.
Read more
Monday, 16 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Last week was tough as we looked at the idea of greed and how that can be destructive in people’s lives. This week we focus on the virtue of contentment.
Read more
Monday, 09 March 2020 — Sean du Toit
Having looked at the virtue of gratitude last week, today we look at the vice of greed. It is difficult to have a positive discussion of a vice. So imagine this is leg day at the gym. You know it is going to be tough, but if you do the work, it will pay off and be beneficial later on.
Read more
Tuesday, 25 February 2020 — Sean du Toit
Kia ora whanau. We begin our Lent reflections by going back to the beginning. By understanding the creation story and the trajectory of what God desires, we can understand how important consumption is and how it can be directed towards the flourishing of all.
Read more
Thursday, 20 February 2020 — LIFT International
Panit* has a round face and an easy smile. His skin has faded tattoos that a neighbour gave him when he was 10 or 11. After school, he sings in a choral group and even enters competitions. Panit spends perhaps too much time playing video games, staying up late at night, but he goes to church on Sunday and then comes home to do chores. He’s living the life of a typical, busy teenager. Panit is also a survivor of childhood abuse.
Read more
Show more