We live in a season of discontent, where every inconvenience becomes a self-justified reason to complain and protest.  During the first three months of 2022 more than 550 protests were reported – in Gauteng alone.  More than 100 of them had violent elements.  Some were justified, some simply expressions of ungrateful disgruntlement.  This year will be no different.

How do we as Christians respond to the unhappiness of load-shedding, the dissatisfaction of corruption, and the despair of crime?

Biblically, the answer is found in GRATITUDE.  But we often make the mistake of seeing gratitude as a single virtue that simply means to be thankful.  WRONG!  There are three virtues that believers need to pursue that form a ‘triptych’ of what will ultimately reveal the full picture of gratitude

A triptych is something composed or presented in three parts or sections.  A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos (“having three folds”), formed by combining tri– (“three”) and ptychē (“fold” or “layer”).

So, to understand the big picture of GRATITUDE we need to develop the three “panel-virtues’ of consciousness, thankfulness and appreciation.

1. CONSCIOUSNESS

Hebrews 12:28  We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with deep respect and wonder. 

Which came first; the chicken or the egg?  Well, here’s another question.  What comes first when we contemplate the virtue of GRATITUDE; consciousness, thankfulness, or appreciation?

These three virtues exist together as a cluster of virtues that ultimately gives expression through gratitude.  They should be explored as three singular virtues but should always be seen as a ‘triptych’ of GRATITUDE.

The virtue of consciousness is the awareness of God in every detail and recognising the work of salvation in our lives.  The triptych of gratitude is found throughout scripture but well explained in Hebrews 12:28  “We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken (a consciousness of the gift from God). So let us be thankful (feeling pleased and relieved) . Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him.(showing our appreciation)  We will worship him with deep respect and wonder. (expressing our gratitude)

Thus, to answer the question: the egg came first!  Gratitude is born in a spiritual consciousness and needs to be matured through thankfulness.  But consciousness lies not only in seeing but in perceiving.  This requires an awareness of the small miracles that we encounter every day.  We need to acquire the virtue of a spiritual consciousness that recognises God’s fingerprints in every encounter and every experience.

Miracles are constantly occurring in our lives and we either see them or we don’t.  Or rather, we are unable to perceive them, for there are many things which we see but are unable to perceive.  Our minds filter our reality based on our preconceptions of what we expect to see and so if we do not expect to see miracles, then we probably won’t.  However, once we become conscious of the miracles that are happening, we will find many reasons to become grateful where previously we saw none.  So, the question is: how soon will you start to recognize the miracles that exist in your life right this moment?

I remember standing in a deserted and completely destroyed town on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, and how we could scarcely contain our emotions. We have seen many images before on Television, but a screen can never do justice to the reality of life where bombs exploded.  The four-story buildings, folded up like broken concertinas, stood motionless as a testimony of the human ability to destroy and kill.

The pastor interrupted our thoughts as he pointed to a red poppy blooming amongst the rubble. “The destruction was born in the war…” he said, “but life is more visible in the context of death than anywhere else.”  That miracle of the small flower, in the context of death and destruction, brought a whole new consciousness of a God that saves, that redeems, that restores and that renews.  I became conscious of a loving God in world of hatred, I gave thanks and appreciated the joy of knowing Him personally.  That’s gratitude.

Do you RECOGNISE God, daily, in the small things?

2. THANKFULNESS

Ephesians 5:20  Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Again, the words: ALWAYS and EVERYTHING.  No exceptions – not even during load-shedding.  The second panel on the triptych of gratitude is thankfulness.  Without this virtue, the full picture will be incomplete.  But, thankfulness is just one of the panels, it is not the full picture.  Gratitude cannot exist without thankfulness, but thankfulness is not gratitude.  And, as Christians, we often get this wrong

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word thankful as “pleased and relieved.” Both are great feelings. Everyone wants to be pleased and relieved. But that’s just it; they’re just feelings, and feelings fade.

Thankfulness is generally short-lived.  We receive a friendly gesture, experience a pleasant day, or receive a nice gift and we are pleased and thankful.  But the feeling passes relatively quickly and then depends on memory to keep it alive.  It’s also easy to express our thankfulness to another by saying a quick, “Thank you.”  It’s part of the social norm in all walks of life.

Gratefulness, however, is defined as “showing an appreciation of kindness.” This is where the difference lies; being thankful is a feeling, and being grateful is an action.  The challenge therefore is to develop the “panel” of thankfulness into the bigger picture of gratefulness that will lead to action.  We can be thankful for our salvation by singing praises or we can be grateful by turning our worship into action.  But it starts with the virtue of being thankful.  Thankfulness leads to appreciation, which moves into gratitude over time.  Gratefulness happens at a deeper level than the other two expressions.  To show gratitude means we took action; therefore, it’s a practice, something we can and should do daily.  But it starts with a consciousness of God’s fingerprints on our lives and gives expression through thankfulness.

One more panel to go before we complete the triptych of gratitude.

Have you converted your thankfulness into gratitude?

3. APPRECIATION

Romans 8:28  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   

The third panel on the triptych of gratitude is appreciation.  There is an ART that few people rarely master, which is the key to gratitude.  It’s the art of appreciation, where we take the time to acknowledge on a daily basis that which completes us as a person.  Once we identify the experiences in life that we appreciate, we become grateful people.

But this is where we often miss the point.  We connect appreciation and gratitude with a feeling of being pleased or relieved.  In other words, if I like the gift, I will appreciate the giver.  If I love the gift of salvation, I will like Jesus.  But if I don’t like the cross of suffering, I will question Jesus.  Our appreciation is therefore linked to thankfulness and not developed into gratitude.

Appreciation is a virtue that looks at every experience, the painful and the pleasant ones, as opportunities to be propelled forward in life.  The painful ones can motivate us and the pleasant ones can add a richness and sense of meaning and celebration, but both can be used to fulfill our potential as human beings, to live our purpose of being able to grow and give.  Once we are conscious of God’s fingerprints in our lives and we are thankful for it, we develop the virtue of appreciation.  We cannot be grateful for what we do not appreciate.

This means we need to look at our life experiences through different lenses.  Paul saw his suffering as an opportunity to share the cross of Christ and for that he was grateful.  We need to appreciate that IN all things, (there’s that word again – ALL), in ALL things God works for the good of us.  Not one experience will be wasted.  Through ALL of what life has to offer, we will find opportunities in life to grow, mature, capacitate and become more like our Saviour.  This virtue needs to be developed because without it we would never taste the fullness of gratitude.

The following poem probably describes it best:

APPRECIATE

Appreciate that you don’t already have everything you desire.  If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Appreciate when you don’t know some things, for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Appreciate the difficult times. During those times you grow.

Appreciate your limitations, because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Appreciate each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.

Appreciate your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.

Appreciate when you’re tired and weary, because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to appreciate the good things. A life of rich fulfilment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to appreciate your troubles, and they can become your blessings.

~Author Unknown

Do you appreciate the challenges in life as much as you do the pleasures of life?

From the book INsalted – you can order your copy from Mike at: thirdwayinfo@gmail.com