One of my favorite CS Lewis quotes comes from his book, "God in the dock" where he states, "I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity." It's true that many passages of the New Testament sound nice, but actually living out the teachings are incredibly difficult. How many people can live out Jesus statement to " love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! (Matthew 5:44)?"
With so much going on in or lives, we need to have a focused gratitude. Our focus needs to be on Jesus as the Hebrew writer states, "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith (Hebrews 12:2a)." I've noticed in my life that when I don't have a proper focus and things go wrong, I'm wanting to point the finger at someone. We have too much blame going on in the world today and not enough focus on the Lord. Don't you realize the person you're pointing the finger of blame at is an individual that Christ died for as well? While people do make mistakes, and correction and possible discipline is in order, we need to be focused on praying for people as opposed to just blaming others all the time. We need to look at the inner man. Jesus said, "And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye (Matthew 7:3-4)?" It's like our focus is so worldly that we try to position ourselves on God's throne. When this happens, you can be sure the blame game will be played. Focusing on the Lord first gives us peace, joy, and the ability to dialogue with others in a healthy way.
Not only is our focus so important, but we need to get in the habit of gratitude. Gratitude has been proven to be beneficial to our health and to the relationships we form. [1] Gratitude and putting things in the proper focus will brighten the day more. When I'm ungrateful, I'm focused on me and my wants and desires. This usually leads to blaming others or a bevy of complaints. Too many individuals complain all the time without a focus on solutions.
Here are two more difficult passages in the New Testament: 1.) James 1:2 - Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. and 2.) 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. How many people jump up and down celebrating troubles in their life? I've never seen it, but James says we can find joy in the midst of pain and suffering. This joy only comes in focusing on Jesus and what he has done for us. This focused life should cause us to take a step back and be grateful to God for stepping into our shoes and saving us by his shed blood on the cross. Being grateful changes your whole day and attitude. Being grateful helps you to realize the pain others are suffering. Notice that Paul states in the 1 Thessalonians passage to be thankful in ALL situations. I know when I start to complain, I have to rethink about how blessed I am and how many people around me would love to trade places with me.
It seems like there is too much complaining and blaming others these days. Watching the news or being around bitter people all day will only drag you down. Try living your life with a proper focus, filled with gratitude for what the Lord has done. If you have a focused gratitude, I'm suggesting your day will brighten up!
[1] - 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude (Psychology Today)
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