On being thankful...

On the days where my budget fails the most, I lie in bed, thankful for everything I have. I may not be able to buy everything I want, but so far, even in the worst times, I've always gotten what I need. I'm grateful.

In the winter, I may not always be able to afford to heat more than a room or two, but the fact remains, I'm sheltered and warm regardless. In the summer, I may not have air conditioning, but so far, God has kept a steady breeze passing through my home on even the most stagnant of hot days.

It's all about perspective.

Even though Romans and I have a love/hate relationship (as described in a previous post, probably called "love and hate", lol), tonight, while I was trying to find a particular passage about how everything we have here on earth is borrowed from God, I stumbled upon this and it seemed to fit perfectly, even if it wasn't at all what I intended to write about...

Romans Ch 1:

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves,
25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

We do worship the creature or the created so much. We devote to it our lives and our happiness depends on it, whether it's money, materials, relationships, whatever. We all do it. And it's idolatry. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about being thankful.

How is it when we idolize something, we stop appreciating it? We start to feel entitled, as though the idol we're striving for has to be the reward for our striving, rather than being a gift from God. I suppose if it's an idol, God is already out of the equation and out of our relationship with whatever we're striving to achieve.

That's the problem with "earning": it's relative and it's something of which we feel in control.

If you work your way up the ladder and end up making enough to be able to afford luxuries most of the world doesn't know exist, did you earn it all? And what about the people subjected to slave labor for pennies a day? Did they earn those? Are you entitled to more privilege because you were born in a country where money is abundant?

I can't say I've earned what I have. My job is not taxing on my person for the most part, and the benefits from it far outweigh my output. In the society I live in, however, because I work and because of my background to a certain extent, I am entitled to have what I have. It is expected.

But that's where I diverge, or at least I hope I do. I don't see what I have as expected. I don't see any of it as mine. I have a car and a house, both of which are still owned in majority by my creditor, but they are legally mine. One tornado, however, and they're both gone. One "act of God" is all it takes to take everything I have away.

When you're little and you act up, your parents can take away your toys. Why? Because they're not yours. You don't have absolute authority over them. The boundaries of what is yours and what isn't between you and your parents are non-existent. Nothing is yours and everything is yours. It can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.

But somehow, when we start to have our own money, we lose the temporary nature of our belongings. I have a house which, from the perspective of a human, is a permanent thing. But how permanent is it?

Permanent relative to my lifetime?

Psalm 144:
4 Man is like a breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.

On the world scale, my house is pretty insignificant. On a God scale, my house is intangibly meaningless. What then draws people to value material things so highly? If a house is meaningless and it's likely to be among the biggest financial achievements we make in our western lifetime, what of the small things?

On a God scale, it's all nothing. But to us, it's everything. Without truly knowing God, all we have is literally all we have. It makes sense that we'd resort to worshiping it and relying on it to bring us happiness- it's tangible to us. But the problem is that by worshiping it, we're not only abandoning God, but we're rejecting the link between God and the gifts with which we're blessed.

By feeling entitled, we take everything for granted and by taking everything for granted, we fail to appreciate the unfathomable scope of what God has given us. Everything, from the huge things (existence and being) to the little things (heat in the wintertime and shade in the summertime), is a gift from God. And it's not a once in a lifetime deal. Every minute of every day, we're being given a multitude of awesome and vastly unappreciated blessings.

Right now, I have a roof over my head. I have relatively new clothes on and a full belly. I'm healthy for the most part. My dogs are healthy and their bellies are full too. I have an abundance of stuff, including a computer to blog with. But aside from all the obvious things, the wind is also calm and peaceful. I'm dry and warm. My body is not stressed by elements or trauma. I'm safe.

And those are just a few things I can think of while whipping this post out on a whim. Imagine how many I have no idea I'm taking for granted? Even if I sat down for an entire day listing everything, I wouldn't have the faintest idea of the extent to which I've been blessed.

God knows all the things He's done and does for me. And He keeps doing them, providing them, providing for me, even if I fail to recognize the significance of it all.

He keeps giving and I keep taking. Nothing I could ever give back could compensate.

Psalm 147:
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,
8 Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9 He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.

The least we can do is be thankful and appreciative. The least we can to is try to realize how blessed we are, right down to the tiniest of details.

God said "Let there be light," and billions of years later, I can see my black dogs outside in the daytime. :D

You know what I mean?

That's pretty awesome.