Attitude

This past weekend, a massive storm was boiling as Janet and I sat outside thanking the Lord for our breakfast and for the gorgeous day He had given us. I almost always thank the Lord for a gorgeous day-- when the sun is shining, when it is hot and humid and even during hurricanes. Oddly, I always mean it. A day rarely passes without me thinking to myself along with King David, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Janet says I’m an incurable optimist. I think that I’m an astute observer. I am blessed. It’s a fact. I’ve got a marvelous wife who loves me, a daughter in whom I could not be more pleased, a son-in-law who is a loving Christian husband and dad, and a granddaughter who has charmed me. My parents are well and visit us annually during those extra gorgeous Miami days in January. When I consider my family, my home, my work, my health and my friends, I must conclude that I’m blessed. God has even been gracious enough to let me live near the water and, in spite of giving me intelligence in other areas, He has let me stay stupid enough to own a boat. So, how should I respond to all this blessedness?

First, I want to live with an attitude of gratitude. I want to enjoy all that God has given me without making my faith in Him contingent on those gifts. I want to say with Job, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." For years I didn’t know how I would respond if I lost something I genuinely loved. I had loved airplanes since I was a kid. Eventually through a series of providential events, I not only learned to fly, but I had the keys to a four-seat Cherokee 180. Wow! I flew for 11 years, and it was glorious. Then one day I was discovered to have a heart arrhythmia – nothing life threatening, but enough to void my medical certificate. I was grounded. “The LORD gave [and I enjoyed it] and the LORD has taken away [and that’s OK]; may the name of the LORD be praised." I could say it, and mean it. That was even more exciting than flying.

Janet and I have learned to be grateful and to hold God’s gifts loosely. We know that, “God loves a cheerful giver.” We have pondered about what that means in practice. The school I head, like so many others, needs gifts to function. Tuition covers basic operations, but we would be much less successful without the Annual Fund. Now we are also working with the J.F. Smith Group in the starting stages of a capital campaign to build a student center and cafeteria. Jan and I have really thought about how we should respond. Perhaps some of our thinking will prove helpful to you.

We give first where we have an affinity-- a connection. Janet has 21 cousins scattered all over the world as missionaries, pastors, church planters, and Christian school teachers. We enjoy supporting the Lord’s work being done by our family and friends. We also find that we enjoy giving where we have been involved. Thus we have supported her work in adoption and mine in Christian education. We’ve learned it makes sense to invest our money where we have invested out time. Finally, we find we are drawn to support some causes because they just seem to be doing good things well.

God has blessed us – you and me both. Most Christian school communities are, compared to almost any other group, unusually healthy, unusually wealthy and, because we have benefited from lots of education, we are probably even unusually wise. That puts us in a special situation. Christ said of people like us, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” We are blessed, and consequently much is asked of us. Let’s develop our attitudes of gratitude, and hold all God has given us lightly, recognizing that we have nothing that didn’t first come from Him. And then, let’s follow our hearts and give generously and cheerfully, supporting people and causes that are close to us, that are doing good things well and where we have invested our time and energy. As we do, we’ll find a deep joy and satisfaction. I speak from experience, not as an optimistic dreamer, but as an astute observer of life as it is.

And… should you wonder where I found time to write this… well, the Lord sent a marvelous rainy writing day. It has been a gorgeous day.