WHINING AND DINING:  A solution to load-shedding

I have always known South Africans to be a resilient people.  A nothing-will-get-us-down people.  A boer-maak-n-plan nation.  There has always been something special about South Africans who possessed the ability to rise above their circumstances – no matter how severe the droughts, how chaotic the economy, how corrupt the politics, and even how bad the cricket.  We always found a way to seek the positive and discover the opportunity.  “One day deeper in the drought is one day closer to the rain” farmers would declare.  “At least corruption is being exposed” the politicians would proclaim.  South Africa was always a “half-full” nation, never a “half-empty” people who give up quickly and complain about everything

NOT anymore.  We have become a nation of whiners – kla-kouse per excellence.

Yes, load-shedding came along and hijacked the tough, robust, resilient people of South Africa.  We are no longer victorious but suddenly turned into victims, finding ourselves paranoid and paralysed – unable to find solutions, give hope and provide answers.  Instead, we turned to whining.  And because we are not used to whining, we’re not good at it.  It’s like the floodgates opened.  When we pray, we whine.  When we give thanks, we whine.  When we preach, we whine.  And the worst of all – when we dine, we whine – even with a steak on the fire while we braai.  We whine!

Oh, Lord have mercy.

In this time it will do us well to remember the words of Maya Angelou:

“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t whine.”

The reality is that load-shedding is a rich-man problem.  I have never heard the beggar at the street corner complain about load shedding.  That’s the least of his troubles.  Getting food on the table for his family is priority number one.  The two guys that go through our garbage bags every Monday morning have never complained about ESKOM.  They sleep in the bush – load-shedding is a dream, a prayer; because that will mean they have a load to shed.  They have nothing.

Let me make one thing clear.  I’m not talking about our farmers who desperately need electricity for irrigation or your restaurateur who is trying to stay economically vibrant in a battling economy.  I’m talking about those who constantly refer to them as a reason to complain.

So what is the solution:

GRATITUDE

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Rejoice always,  pray continually, GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Oh, where to start?  Gratitude is a multi-layered virtue that needs to be explored by the giver, the receiver and the onlooker simultaneously.  It adorns the giver and blesses the receiver.  It reveals and confirms our beliefs to those who observe us more than our theologies itself.

Gratitude exists to be shared but ironically is something we cannot possess – we don’t have thanks, we give thanks.  Gratitude will always inhabit the heart of a believer together with contentment as a room mate.  You cannot have one without the other.

Perhaps the best description to explore this virtue is the quote by Jon Bloom, Staff writer at desiringGod.org.  He said the following:  “Grumbling will be the forever accent of hell, and gratitude the forever accent of heaven.”

This thought puts gratitude in the context of what we believe and confess.  It is the one virtue that should embody the heart and soul of every believer. We give thanks not because of our circumstances but because it is the language of the redeemed.

LET ME JUST REPEAT THAT:  GRATITUDE IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE REDEEMED.

The best place to start the journey of gratitude therefor is in the upper room where Jesus “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19).

Ann Voskamp unpacks this scripture as follows:

The Greek word for “thanks” in this verse is eucharisteo.  The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be a gift and gave thanks. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.”

Charis – Grace.  Eucharisteo – Thanksgiving.  Chara – Joy.  All intimately and unmistakably linked together, not just rooted in the same word, but rooted in the same attitude.

EVERY WHEN

Do you want to know what God’s perfect will is for you?

To be grateful.

If you can be anything in this world, then be grateful.  Scripture is uncompromising in this regard:   We’ve explored the words that Jesus used in the upper room, now listen to the words that Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

• Rejoice always – original word: pantote – every when, that is, at all times: – always.
• pray continually – original word: adialeipto¯s – uninterruptedly, that is, without omission.
• give thanks in all circumstances – original word: pas – all, any, every, the whole.

When do we need to give thanks?  I just love the thought that we are encouraged to give thanks in “every when” – not just when it goes well but in every when – always, without interruption in all, any and every circumstance – this is the will of God.

Be filled with gratitude – Every when,

Maya Angelou rephrased this scripture as follows: “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.”

Well, you might think, gratitude is easy when you have what you need.  But is it possible to be grateful during a pandemic, when we face lockdowns, schools and workplaces are being disrupted and millions losing their jobs?   Isn’t this an ostrich mentality by sticking your head in the sand and ignoring the realities?

Not if you read scripture correctly.

The Bible doesn’t encourage us to give thanks FOR everything, but to give thanks IN everything.  We don’t thank the Lord FOR the load-shedding but we thank the Lord IN the load-shedding because He has not changed.  His grace is still sufficient, His love is still abounding, and His mercies are still unending.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul expresses his contentment with his weakness, that remained a thorn in his flesh even though he prayed over it a number of times.  Paul is really saying that ‘sufficient grace’ means there is ALWAYS enough grace to meet your ‘every when’, regardless of what that thorn might be. Like a deep, bottomless well you can drink from it as often and as deeply as you want. If you need more, there is more.

There is always enough grace. More than enough – and circumstances cannot change this.  God’s grace is infinite. It’s there for “every when”.  Unending. Unrelenting. Unwavering.

So, give thanks!

One of my most profound encounters in my more than 40 years of ministry was a meeting in Aleppo, Syria, in 2019.

The long nine-hour drive from Damascus to Aleppo was exhilarating and dangerous, because of both the war and the traffic. Due to the fighting in Idlib, we had to avoid the main road and took the detour via As Sa’an. The detour took us past small villages that bore testimony to the war which destroyed houses and plundered villages. City after city and town after town revealed silent witness to a brutal nine-year war. It seemed like a giant stepped on this nation and crushed every building he could find. BUT, what ISIS and the rebels could not achieve, was crushing the spirit of the Church. The war in Syria had not only produced a strong and vibrant church but had revealed lessons of transformation that few have the privilege of experiencing.

When we arrived in Aleppo, our first stop was to be with two of our heroes of faith, Zouka and Pierre. Zouka and Piere are an elderly couple who have faithfully served the Lord, and the people of Aleppo, through nine years of brutal war.

After an emotional greeting and wiping away the tear of joy of seeing one another again – this time in beautiful Syria – we were invited to speak to a small group of Christians gathered together in their apartment.

But there was another invitation awaiting us. “Will you please speak at our GRATITUDE MEETING tomorrow” Zouka asked.

“I will be deeply privileged and honoured Zouka” I answered “but what is a ‘gratitude meeting’?” I asked. Zouka then explained that a group of believers get together once a week – and they have done so throughout the nine years of war faithfully every week – to give thanks.  Not to ask, complain, question or criticise, but to give thanks for God’s goodness through another week of war.

So, if you feel disenfranchised today, a victim of circumstances, then give THANKS – make a list of what you have that you can be grateful for, instead of complaining about what you don’t have.

Gratitude is a powerful weapon against a feeling of victimisation, depression, anguish and fear.  But it needs to be developed, practised and exercised.  Gratitude is like a muscle.  It never develops by being inactive.  There has to be an intentional action of development to expand the capacity and strengthen the power.

Let’s close with the words of Mike Ditka

“What’s the difference between a three-week-old puppy and a sportswriter (South African)? In six weeks, the puppy stops whining.

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