READ THIS
Welcome to our fourth and final installment of our mini-series on ingratitude’s ties to discontentment.
When we have no gratitude towards God (or anyone else) we believe that we alone are the cause of our good fortune. Logically this means we are good enough, smart enough, influential enough, powerful enough etc etc to be able to enact whatever kind of change we see (or want to see) in our lives.
The end result is a life full of self-confidence, self-assuredness, self-sufficiency, and a whole lot more self’s that can get pretty ugly.
Of course having an appropriate level of self-confidence is a good thing – but from my 40-whatever years on earth, I’ve learned we tend to err on the side of TOO MUCH rather than too little of anything related to ego.
We lose contentment since we become inward-focused. We can’t see the good given to us, the good that others do for us, and the lack of control we have over our lives.
Perhaps one of the lingering “benefits” of the pandemic is those of us who live lives of relative ease and comfort, who are used to exerting incredible amounts of control on our lives – will actually accept we are not in control.
Our lack of gratitude turns us inward, it makes us boastful and causes us to ignore what’s around us. We simply can’t be content when our pride is a shell around us that filters out the goodness of others, and won’t allow criticism for fear the shell will crack.
DO THIS
Today – this very day – just thank someone (anyone) for something that you would not normally thank. Just do it. Then do it again. See how you feel. See how they feel.
Be more of that.
PRAY THIS
Father of giving,
you give even when I don’t acknowledge your gifts,
mountain peaks, palm trees, placid lakes, gentle snow.
All of it beautiful in its own way – all of it an undeserved gift.
You send others to help even when I ignore them,
you give kindness, and beauty, and grace, and love.
All of it is life-giving in its own way – more undeserved gifts.
Turn my cold heart of prideful stone
into a heart beating with thankfulness.
Amen
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