Tie a Bow On It

In our family, we always gives thanks before meals. Sometimes, our kids will even say it before we adults get a chance.

We want them to grow up with the concept that everything we have comes from God. Nothing is “a given”, take nothing good for granted. Everything is a gift.

Hopefully, they’ll grow up thankful for what they have, and not hateful for what they don’t have. Which, by the way, is the true key to happiness.

Our culture today is angry not merely because of our circumstances, but because we eternally believe there is something we’re entitled to that someone (the government, society, God) is denying us.

Watch what happens next time the light changes downtown and you don’t immediately step on the gas. Most often, it’s people with nowhere pressing to go who start sitting on their horns impatiently.

I’ll admit those Europeans in line at Starbucks get on my nerves. Who knew they’d use the menu as their own personal Rosetta Stone to learn English while I stand behind them!

But what’s the big deal about those extra 20 seconds I have to wait? And why does my blood pressure rise over something so trivial?

It’s because I lack a spirit of gratitude. At some point, I’ve believed the lie I’m entitled to…well… everything!  Just like you. And we’ll get it when we want it, the way we want it, or we will go off on anyone who gets in our way.

If you doubt me, you’re probably not a pastor. In talking with people about end-of-life issues, one thing never fails to shock me through the years: how most everyone assumes that if they avoided killing someone in this life, they deserve to go to heaven. Yep, that’s the low bar for entrance into eternal reward and endless bliss. If you managed somehow not to kill your mother-in-law, you’ve got a right to those streets of gold!

The arrogance is breathtaking.

Our problem is one of focus. When you focus only on where you’re going and what you want, you live unsatisfied. You’re never living “in the moment”, but instead “in hopes of something better”.

That lifestyle is the mindset of a spoiled rotten child…only for me, it’s in the body of a grown man. Which is not quite so cute.

Though we insist on thinking of God as Santa Claus, He insists in the Bible we know Him as a Father. That basic insight into His motivation in dealing with us can tell us a lot.

As a father, I know if I buy a brand new iPhone 7 for my teenage son, I’m blessing him out of love. However, if he then gets in an argument and angrily shatters the phone against a wall, he’s taken a gesture of love and sacrifice and treated it disrespectfully.

Tell me, if you were me, would you then go out and buy him a replacement iPhone 7, just like the one he destroyed? I doubt it. Instead, you’d pull an old phone out of a drawer, get his service transferred, and tell him to deal with it until he could buy his own phone. Right?

You’d do that to teach him the value of the gifts you’ve given him and to make him a better person. And that’s just how your Heavenly Father reacts when you ignore the wonder and beauty each day holds and smash it ungratefully against the wall of your unreasonable expectations.

Thankfully, we have a holiday every year to remind us to be grateful. Worship also does that, helping us focus on eternal things that never wear out instead of temporal things that always do.

But it also reminds us when God allows something precious to be taken from us. Like my son’s cell phone, I’ve lost enough in this life to know I’d better treat every gift with respect. Pain and regret has taught me to avoid the arrogance of believing I’m entitled to happiness.

I’ve done nothing to deserve the good things in this life. Every sunrise, every smile is a gift straight from the hands of my Father to me. And how I accept those gifts may determine their frequency in the future. Because a good Father is more concerned with my spiritual maturity than my temporal happiness.

So every day, I’ve decided to do a little mental exercise. Whenever I notice something good God’s done for me, the many undeserved blessings He hides in my day the way a father hides Easter eggs, I’ve decided to mentally “tie a bow on it”.

Why? Because none of those blessings are deserved. I’m truly not entitled to a thing. So each family member, each paycheck, each sunrise and sunset are gifts deserving of holiday wrapping.

By noticing His goodness, I give God the same pleasure I get out of watching Beauty and The Beast with my little girls. No, I don’t really care to see the movie again for the fortieth time. But the joy of watching their eyes light up makes me only want to bless them more.

This Thanksgiving, stop focusing on the delays and what’s missing. Instead, focus on the hidden treasures your Father’s left all through your day. And when you see one, “tie a bow” on it…

Because it’s a gift.

About the author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap