Tolerance vs. Thankfulness

Dear Worshipers,

Last week I had the opportunity to sit under Gary Thomas’ teaching. He is a writer and the founder and director of the Center for Evangelical Spirituality, a ministry that integrates Scripture, church history, and the Christian classics. [If that sounds appealing to you, get one of his books. You will not be disappointed] His speaking was of comparable quality with the reading I had done before hearing him. It was a wonderful time spent considering some truths that I am continuing to absorb, and will be digesting for quite some time.

When I have an experience like this I like to try and distill it down into a couple of thoughts that I desire to allow the Lord to change my life. One thought that I am processing these days is that of tolerance versus thankfulness. Let me explain what I mean.

In a message titled Common Blessings, Familiar Miracles Thomas made a statement that I recorded like this. “Our minds adapt to God’s blessings and we end up tolerating them instead of being thankful for them.” WOW! We all know that because we have experienced it, but hearing him articulate it like that was a powerfully convicting moment for me. [Now you may want to run out and get one of his books all the more.] While this was just one example of things that were shared that were revolutionary, this one really hit me.

He used examples of his home to clarify. What had once been a source of blessing to him, a home he was amazed he could buy, became so common that he longed for more. I have often thought of this as discontentment, but he explained that our minds are prone to become so familiar with some things that we develop a “tolerance” for them. Think about the path home. Sometimes when you pull in your driveway you realize that you can not remember the lat few miles or minutes of your journey because you mind was simply “tolerating” it.

Here comes the rub. What blessings and miracles have you been tolerating? Your home? Your children? Your spouse? Your job? Your church? You name it. Let us be a thankful people. It changes our disposition not only towards the gift, but most importantly toward the Giver.

Psalm 100.4 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving…” As you enter your next time of worship whether later today or tomorrow, enter with thanksgiving, and see if it makes the approach to your Lord different. I welcome your responses.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott