Gratitude (and a warm winter hat)

When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 8:12,14

Paul wrote: What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift? 1 Corinthians 4:7

REFLECTION:
One of my favorite Christmas presents a couple of months ago was an Arizona Cardinals winter hat. It was a gift from Jessica's cousin, and it is the official NFL winter hat that all the players wear on the sidelines. It is fleece-lined and sturdily constructed...it is by far the warmest winter hat I own.

The other day, I walked into a restaurant, and the host looked at the hat with a little bit of awe and said, "is that one of those official NFL hats? I heard they were really great!"

Now, I could have just enjoyed that admiration, pretending as though it was something I bought for myself with my own hard-earned income. Instead, I said, "yes, it was a gift...and I love it!"

Now, this seems like a ridiculous example...who struts their stuff over a winter hat they are proud of? But the difference between claiming responsibility and acknowledging a gift is the point of today's readings...and I think it is a trap we fall into all too easily as modern capitalist consumers.

Am I able to look at everything in my life as a gift, acknowledging the wisdom of the 1 Corinthians passage above? What DO I have that I didn't receive? All of it is gift. Sure, I work to earn money to pay for the house we live in, but even the skills and health that allow me to work are a gift I did not create.

Today, may we each pause and ask for the gift of gratitude. May we humbly acknowledge that our entire life is gift...for what do we have that we did not receive?

Here's a challenge; take 30 seconds out of your day...and try to list everything for which you are grateful. No doubt, you'll find as I always do that 30 seconds is nowhere near long enough to list everything you have received. May we all be overwhelmed by gratitude today; it is a beautiful way to walk through any day.

PRAYER:
Gracious God, you fill us with your love. What more could we ask? For all that you have provided in our lives, we give thanks. In humility, Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts