It is the season of Financial Stewardship campaigns. This blog is focused upon the primary value in making a financial commitment to the church. Two companion blogs are: 

Effective Leadership Begins with Gratitude and The Grace in Gratitude. 

If I could give one quality gift to you, I would give you the gift of gratitude. Throughout my years of ministry, I have never encountered a grateful person who was also bitter, hurtful, mean, or vengeful. When you are grateful you are living out the fundamental value of being a follower of Jesus. Your gratitude grows out of your experience of God’s grace.

Gratitude has the potential to transform your life, impact your relationships, and reshape the world. As a follower of Jesus, gratitude is an integral part of your life.

Cultivate Gratitude

When it comes time to focus upon financial stewardship, of all the characteristics named, discussed, and implemented, gratitude is the easiest to dismiss. Too often it is seen as something extra and soft. It is for that very reason, gratitude must be cultivated and practiced. You might think that you will automatically feel gratitude when you have reached a particular stage in life, or accumulated enough money, or made the right financial decisions. The assumption is that gratitude is a mysterious force that shows up when you succeed or when you feel all is right with the world. 

The reality is gratitude does not appear at the moment things are unfolding perfectly. It is not magically bestowed on some and not on others based upon whether you are successful or not. It is not dependent on what is happening around you. Gratitude is something you cultivate. It is a foundational building block to who you are as a person. It is so foundational that you might think it is too simplistic or basic to be included in your decisions regarding your giving. You might also think that expressing gratitude is obvious, but let me say again, gratitude is something you cultivate as you practice it. 

Gratitude Brings Perspective

When you have every excuse to focus on what is not going right, gratitude allows you to see things from a new perspective. The more you practice it, the more you adapt to feeling and expressing it. Developing a practice of gratitude gives you the opportunity to always share the love of God regardless of situations or circumstances.

As a follower of Jesus, gratitude impacts the people you encounter each day. So, to become more the Christian witness needed for this time, develop a practice of gratitude. Here are four benefits to gratitude. 

Four Benefits of Gratitude 

Gratitude helps you appreciate where you are and what you are doing. 

Think about a time when you felt like you were in an unfamiliar place. Whether geographically or relationally, you felt uncomfortable and unsure of yourself. Maybe you were in a new place surrounded by people you didn’t know. Maybe you were responsible for some unpopular decision. Or maybe you just wanted people to be happy with you and you could not control their perceptions or reactions. Whatever the situation, you just didn’t feel good about being there. 

As you reflect upon that time, what are your thoughts and feelings? What makes you uncomfortable or unsure of yourself? What about that experience can help you be a more loving person?

Now, take a moment to give God thanks for the experience. It might not be easy. You might not want to. But giving thanks will help you put the experience into perspective. It will help you focus more upon being the person you are created to be.

If you are spending your time wishing you were somewhere other than where you are, doing something other than what you are doing, you are creating anxiety for yourself and for the people around you that is unnecessary besides being unhealthy. 

You don’t have to like where you are. You don’t have to like what you are doing. But if you are grateful for the places you find yourself and for the opportunities presented to you, you will be able to face the challenges before you. The truth is, even in the midst of the unfamiliar and unknown, you can always find things for which you are grateful.

O God, put me where you want and help me be content. If I can’t be content, make me faithful. Thank you for being with me wherever I am and with whatever I am doing. Amen

Gratitude helps you love your neighbor. 

Think about the people in your life you like being around. What do they do that draws you to them? Do they help you feel good about yourself? Do they offer you affirmation and support?

Now think about a time that you gave someone praise and affirmation. How did it make you feel? How did the person respond to you?

Gratitude is infectious. It celebrates the goodness of God found in the people you encounter. Gratitude helps to build and repair relationships. It draws people in, encourages them to engage, and models for them the practice of gratitude.

So, let’s go one step farther. Who are the people you try to avoid; the people that drain you of positive energy, who are combative, and disagreeable? 

As you think about each person, what are you learning about yourself? What is it that makes you feel good about some people and causes you to avoid others? How does your relationship with each person help you be a more loving and generous person?

Now, take a moment to give God thanks for each person who has come to mind. It will not be easy. You might feel that you have tried to get some of these people out of your life altogether. But giving thanks will help you put those relationships into perspective. You might even begin to love others as God in Christ has loved you. It is that perspective that will help you become the person you are created to be. 

Whether it is a feel-good experience or an experience you want to avoid, expressing your gratitude helps make you become more aware of the gifts people offer in and through each encounter. The truth is each person contributes to your wholeness as a person.

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. As I give you thanks for each person I meet, make me a blessing to someone, somewhere today. Amen.

Gratitude improves your health. 

Like the muscles in your body, you can develop an attitude of gratitude. Research has shown that practicing gratitude creates a less critical and more compassionate relationship with others and a less punishing and more affirming relationship with yourself. When you practice gratitude, you become more emotionally healthy and are less likely to experience depression and anxiety. 

Dr. Robert A. Emmons, from the University of California in Davis, studied the impact of gratitude on physical health, psychological well-being, and relationships with others. What he found was that gratitude helps develop stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep patterns. 

He found that persons who practice gratitude are more alert and have a healthy self-awareness. They experience deeper joy, greater happiness, and are more hopeful than those who do not practice gratitude. He also found that gratitude helped people be more generous and compassionate and as well as more forgiving. The people who practiced gratitude were less lonely and isolated. The truth is gratitude is a healthy practice of healthy people.

O God, I am grateful for the ways you are shaping my life in and through the people around me. Give me eyes to see how you come through each of them to help me become who you created me to be. Amen 

Gratitude makes you less fearful and more courageous. 

As simple as it might sound, you cannot listen to the voices of gratitude and fear at the same time. Your attention is either on one or the other. 

The times I struggle with gratitude the most are when I do not see my place in the bigger picture. When I am in the muddy and murky waters of fear, disappointment, and scarcity, I usually don’t see the opportunities and possibilities around me. But on the other hand, when I focus on gratitude, I am more optimistic, cooperative, and energized. 

Think about a particular challenge you are facing. Get the situation and/or the person clearly in your mind. Focus on the challenge. 

Now, with the situation or person in mind, name three things about the situation or the person for which you are grateful. Place these five things in your heart and mind. Now, what has happened to your fear? 

You simply cannot listen to the voices of gratitude and fear at the same time. Your attention will either be on one or the other. As a healthy human being it is your choice to make. 

When you consciously practice gratitude, in all situations and circumstances, you are a happier, more fulfilled person, and you model for the people around you. You actually are changing the world around you.

O God, your perfect love casts out my fears. I give thanks for the situations and circumstances in which I am living, and for the people through whom you reveal your love. Help me be so aware of your presence that all I say and do brings you glory and works for the good of the people you have given me to love and serve. Amen. 

Your Financial Stewardship Starts with Gratitude

It is time to take the next step. Regardless of your position or your church, you will be making decisions regarding your financial commitments for the next year. Here is what I want you to do:

• Over the next 5 days, make time each day to think about being grateful. 
• Take note of the people who inspired you. What did you see that made you smile or to take notice of their actions?
• Keep in mind that no person or experience is insignificant. From the person who started a friendly conversation to the laughter of children, they are all part of what makes you who you are. The small joys are just as valuable as all the others. 
• Think about what makes your life easier? The alarm that reminds you to get up each morning? The water in the shower? Car? Umbrella? Cellphone? The list goes on. For what are you grateful at this moment? 
• Consider past relationships. Upon whose shoulders are you standing? What did the person do to make life better for you? Why are you better off for having known that person? 
• Give thanks for the toughest relationship of the day. On my best days, I have come to experience sincere gratitude, even for difficult people, by looking for the good in my encounter with them.

Add to your gratitude list something you are grateful for about yourself. This might feel uncomfortable. Most of the time you quickly focus upon things you do not like about yourself. When you practice gratitude, you can alter that negative cycle. What would happen if you, instead of focusing upon your flaws, would pay attention to what makes you most proud of yourself?   

O God, I give you thanks for family, friends, and colleagues who, through their gratitude, are helping me become more who you created me to be. I am grateful. Amen.

Give Thanks

Now, give thanks for the opportunity to be in partnership with God in God’s work in your church, your community, and the world. Focus upon the grace you have received and the grace you have to offer. I know this sounds strange but say grace over your finances.

Blessed are you O God, giver of all good gifts to me, my family, friends, and colleagues. Thank you for the opportunity to be in partnership with you in loving your people at Christ Church, in Charleston, the Kanawha Valley, West Virginia, and the world. You have been so good to me through so many people and through so many circumstances. I am grateful. I give you thanks, for the opportunity, to give as you have given to me. I offer myself and my financial stewardship to you in the name of Jesus. Amen