Articles
Things We Take For Granted
I love the conveniences of our modern lifestyle. However, don’t we often take them for granted? Electricity, hot and cold running water, oh what a blessing they are. We never miss them until we don’t have them.
During our recent freezing weather, the grid in Texas was tested. Many did without electricity for an extended period of time. I think it was called “rolling blackouts.” It turned out to be a blackout for more than a few hours. Also, some of us were without water. A warm house, a warm bath, is something we have every day without giving much thought. It is easy to become impatient when either or both are absent. I can stand pain as long as I can’t feel it. For many, we can stand inconvenience as long as we don’t have to personally experience it. All this has passed. It will be a dot in our history. There will be stories to tell.
Admittedly, these “necessities” are very important to us. But how often do we take things with more gravitas for granted. Many of them are intangible so we don’t taste, touch, feel, or smell them. For example, love. A love that is truly sacrificial for the good of the other person. The kind of love Christ has for His church, His saved people. The kind of love that God has that causes the rain and sun to fall and shine on the good and the evil. The kind of love that takes the wrong for the good of the other or the good of the whole. It is so easy to hold grudges or nurse wounds. It is hard to overlook slights or even things that hurt the soul. Love covers a multitude of faults. Oh, how we need that today. I know I need to give love today.
Another thing easily taken for granted is longsuffering. I expect you to be longsuffering with me, but I do not expect to be longsuffering with you. Longsuffering means holding out long as opposed to instant retaliation. Patience is holding up in the face of adversity. Longsuffering is holding out long with people. It is long on breath as opposed to shortness of breath. When there is no electricity or running water, there really needs to be longsuffering. When I am offended or overlooked, there is a great need for longsuffering. In any relationship, there will always be the need for longsuffering. We miss it when it is not present. We need it in the home. We need it in the church. We need it in our society today. We need it from God. We need to give it to others.
Again, we take forgiveness for granted. Forgiveness is one of those qualities we never miss until we need it. Further, forgiveness is easy until there is something to forgive. It is so easy to talk about but challenging when we need to exercise it. We all claim to be adept at forgiving, but how many of us put our own qualifications on forgiving? Qualifications the Lord does not require. When we must give forgiveness, how much better off would we be if we just forgave rather than worrying about the “ins” and “outs”, most of which restrain our forgiving.
Yes, electricity and running water are nice, really nice, but much better are attributes that make us like God. We must be developing them. They are not optional.
Rickie Jenkins
