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Thursday, September 6, 2007
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   Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Discipline of Gratitude
Thankfulness is increasingly following a lonely trail nowadays. People seem to fall more frequently into the mire of ingratitude, especially when greatly impacted by the stresses of this world. The truth is griping is shared by a good number of believers whether they are at work, at home or in church—demanding bosses, nagging wives, stubborn kids, boring preachers, incompetent government, rising prices, the list of our objects of complaint goes on and on.
It is no surprise, then, that the Apostle Paul often spoke of the importance of maintaining an irrepressible attitude of thankfulness (Eph 5:19,20; Php 2:13; 4:6; Col 4:2; 1 Thes 5:16-18), joy (Php 4:4) and contentment (Php 4:11; 1 Ti 6:6,8; Heb 13:5) in his New Testament letters. He recognized our weakness; He knew that even the most committed Christians could submit to ungratefulness if they let down their guard in the face of changing circumstances.
Was Paul's advise realistic or was it a tall order? Are unswerving joy, contentment and thankfulness truly attainable to today's Christians, or are they exclusive only to 'important Christians', perhaps? Certainly not, for the Bible never qualified it that way, just as it does not qualify that the goal for holiness belongs only to an elite few. Neither does it make mention of 'important' or 'special' Christians. How, then, did Paul ever manage to become a master of contentment as he claimed in Philippians 4:11?
In the passages mentioned above, Paul's emphasis on thanksgiving, rejoicing and being contented could not be more obvious by his choice of words: "ALWAYS," "CONTINUALLY," "UNCEASINGLY," "IN EVERYTHING" and "IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES." These are pointers to the pith of Paul's message—he wanted us to take on the challenge both of life's hardships and blessings by assuming a resilient, steady, and consistent attitude of thankfulness to God. I am convinced that Paul wanted to be clear that DISCIPLINE is the key element to seizing lasting happiness in this imperfect world.
Just how does one develop this discipline of gratefulness, joy and contentment, the way Paul envisioned it? Consider the following steps:
MAKE A DECISION to submit to God. As Rev. Quintin Morrow of www.sermoncentral.com aptly put it, "Complaining takes no special skill. Anybody can do it. But maintaining our joy come what may takes grace, strength, and humility. It is going to require a spiritual DNA change. Let us make the decision today to seek those virtues and be people of holy expectation and contagious delight." The operative words here are "spiritual" and "change." The Bible claims that genuine spiritual transformations transpire only upon one's sincere acceptance of Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior. Putting our hope in Jesus means we are fixing the foundation of our life on him—this is the first crucial step.
GROW YOUR FAITH. Perception and perspectives are dependent on one's knowledge and outlook, which are greatly affected by what we feed our mind and spirit. Take Romans 12:2 to heart and be steadfast in acquiring a mental (knowledge) and practical (application) understanding of the Bible. Be on guard for ideas, people, and circumstances that might distort the true sense of God's word.
ESPOUSE POSITIVITY. Paul wisely instructed us to allow pure, true and good things to permeate our thinking and lifestyle (Php 4:8). In congruence to achieving a positive state of mind such as thankfulness, contentment and joyfulness, this practice would be necessary. When we accustom ourselves to finding and drawing the positive from everything, being anchored to our hope in Christ, we are actually training or disciplining ourselves to be consistently thankful. Notice that entertaining a healthy outlook of gratitude leaves very little or no room for discontent and resentment. As a great sage named Fred Smith once said, "I find that it is hard to be depressed and grateful at the same time. Therefore, I discipline my mind to be thankful for the blessings of the present."
SHED OFF YOUR FORGETFULNESS. Even before we became part of God's kingdom, God had been unconditionally showering us with blessings, whether we were aware of it or not (Mt 5:45). We should make it a practice to remember this as well as the many countless times when God saw us through our difficulties after we committed ourselves to Him. The Israelites quite conveniently became whiners the moment they tolerated their addiction to 'amnesia' about the innumerable occasions that God delivered them from their troubles. If need be, write an exhaustive list of God's favors in your life and post it where you can see it often. When we remember the goodness of God, we curb our tendencies to be doubtful, complaining and overly critical.
MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO BE GENUINELY THANKFUL. Use your mouth to confess God's goodness and make it a habit. There is always something good and beautiful about our circumstances, no matter how ugly or disagreeable they may appear to be. Keep in mind that it is the attitude that counts. Gratefulness is not merely being content in the passive sense (impassive willingness to endure whatever happens), but being content in a vibrant and flourishing manner through the grace and strength of God (2 Co 12:9).
DEPEND ON GOD. Paul did not master gratitude, joyfulness and contentment all by himself. God certainly had a hand in it. Paul made the decision to submit to God and to commit to a firm attitude of thankfulness; God empowered him. Such noble qualities are not restricted to special Christians or Christians with special gifts, as there are no such people or things (God is an impartial God and He does not take pleasure in us exalting ourselves above others)—they are meant to be possessed and developed by people like you and me; and we have no reason to fear that we will fail, because the Lord Jesus himself promised that he will never abandon us at all, assuring us that he will be our strength (Mt 28:20; Php 4:13; Heb 13:5).
Having the discipline of gratitude does not require us to be 'super' Christians. Contrary to the belief of many, it is achievable by any Christian. It does, however, entail serious commitment and consistent practice before it pervades our whole being. The significant thing to remember is that it is within our reach through God's enablement. Our thankfulness is built on a hope that "does not disappoint" (Ro 5:1-5).


Always Think Positive In Life
I was always somebody who felt quite sorry for myself, what I had not got compared to my friends, how much of a struggle my life seemed to be compared to others. I was caught up in a web of negativity and needed someone or something to help me to escape.
During an afternoon at work one day, aged around twenty one, a colleague I was working with started to talk to me. What he said was quite upsetting and disturbing, however would have a profound effect on my future. He said to me:
"Your quite a depressive person, aren't you?"
"Am I?"
I said in a shocked voice as I believed I was no different to anybody else. He continued:
"Yes you are. You very rarely smile, you are negative about most issues and you always seem to be carrying the world on your shoulders".
This man was aged around fifty three and continued:
"I used to be like you and then I was given some advice, of which I am now going to relay to you. When you feel down, depressed or sorry for yourself, read the newspapers or watch the news on the television. You may then realise that you are in fact one of the lucky ones."
I listened and thought about what he had said. I had never been a big reader or watcher of the news, but decided to start. The advice was totally correct, the news from around the world and even my own country was quite shocking. I realised that the worries I had were actually quite trivial and that I needed to cherish everyday and start to look on the bright side of life.
Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill helps people with their confidence issues. He has a couple of websites at http://www.debt-specialist.co.uk and at http://www.stutter-cure.com


As long as you try your best you can not fail
I always say to my children, as long as you try your best, there is no such thing as failure. I believe this one hundred percent and it is a philosophy I am trying to install into my kids.
When I worked in the insurance industry, I used to sit the insurance examinations. I would always study hard and give it my all, however there were only three options as results. These were, distinction, pass or fail. I hate this word fail, in their eyes I failed twice, but did I though? As already stated, I could not have tried any harder, therefore how dare they call me a failure.
This result of fail is also a very negative and some what cruel mark. The question I would like answered, is did I fail by a long way, only a couple of points or quite a few points? Seeing the word fail tells me nothing. I personally think that everybody should be given a mark, possibly with an A for the best mark, going down to a G for the worst.
I was discussing this very subject with a colleague from work. He actually agreed with the points I was making and told me about an argument he had with one of his teachers when he was at school. He had overheard this particular teacher, discussing his sisters previous years examination results, with another teacher. They were being very critical about her, basically saying how badly she had done. My colleague knew how much effort his sister had put in and told the teacher as much, stating that in his eyes she had passed every one of those exams.
Whatever you do in life, as long as you try your best, your can do no more.
Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill has a couple of websites at http://www.stutter-stuttering.com and at http://www.lasik-laser-surgery.co.uk

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