Count your blessings / Genesis 24:34-40
There are two kinds of people in the world. Some people boast of their merits, while others are grateful for their grace. There were two sons in a house. The second son begs his father to pass on an inheritance to him In the end, it is passed on to the father. However, years pass and the second son squanders everything and returns home. The son who has left the house returns and his father hosts a feast. When my older brother returns from work in the field, there is a party at the house. The older brother complains to his father. father! My younger brother went out and came home after wasting everything, and I was obedient to my father and worked hard at home, so why didn't a party like this happen to me?
The older brother is a person who is proud of his work, and the younger brother is a person who is grateful for the grace he has bestowed upon him.
Jesus told the parable of the vineyard farmer. A person goes to the labor market to find a worker. At 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 12 o'clock, 3 pm, and 5 pm, workers were called and made to work. At 6 pm, the owner distributes the wages to the workers. The same amount is given to the person who arrives at 6 o'clock, the person who arrives at 12 o'clock, or the person who arrives at 5 pm. A person who has worked since dawn is proud of his achievements. I'm stronger than these people, and I've been doing the same thing since dawn, so why pay the same amount as the person who came at 5pm?
Those who have worked since early morning boast of their achievements, and those who came late in the afternoon are grateful for the grace of calling them to work.
Those who boast in this way boast of what they have done so far. And compare yourself to the person next to you. I worked hard at home, but my brother went out and squandered it and came back. I worked hard from dawn, but that person who started working late in the afternoon was weak and didn't do much work. A person who boasts of merit compares himself to others and complains in his heart. full of dissatisfaction
But those who live by grace have only one thing to be thankful for. How grateful are you for calling someone like me? 23 players from the national team will receive dividends from FIFA. The Korea Football Association tried to pay players by dividing them into A, B, and C grades. It might be a reasonable way to do it. Some players scored goals while playing all 7 games, while others sat on the bench without playing for a minute. Equal distribution of dividends is obviously unreasonable. But the players say: Whatever you give, feel free to share. But whatever you give, we will share equally. In the end, it is said that this is the intention of the players and that the public opinion was equally divided because the prevailing opinion was that they should share it equally.
what a beautiful story If players put their merits ahead and compare them to players sitting on the bench, complaints will prevail in their minds. Complaints will prevail. However, they see them as people who think of grace rather than putting their own merits first.
In the match against Portugal, Ji-Sung Park scored a wonderful goal. Without a special ceremony, he runs towards Hiddink. In the arms of Director Hiddink. Why? It must have been because he was grateful for the grace that selected an unknown player like me and made him play.
This prioritization of merit leads to division and misfortune. But if you put grace first, you become one and bring happiness. It's not that we're thankful because we're happy, we're thankful that we're happy.
Dear saint! Let's not live proud of our merits. Let's live in gratitude for the grace. To be thankful for grace like this, we need to change our perspective. A man who thinks everything positively is walking down the street, when a passing sparrow stops pooping on the man's head. Then the man who was hit by poop touched his head and said, "I'm so glad the bull can't fly. Thank God."
In some parts of Mexico, hot springs and cold springs can be found side by side. Because of this natural phenomenon, local wives bring their laundry to the river, boil them in the hot springs, and then rinse them in the cold springs. A tourist watching the scene closely tells his Mexican friend: "Nature, the great mother, is very generous, providing enough water to freely use the cold and hot springs." A Mexican friend replied, "No, because there are a lot of people complaining about the lack of soap."
From a positive point of view, birds are grateful even if they poop, but from a negative point of view, they are bound to complain even when cold springs come out together. We must be blessed with perspective. When we see with positive eyes and see with positive eyes, we live our lives with sincere thanks to God. It's not that we're thankful because we're happy, we're thankful that we're happy. It should be a training of gratitude. You should get into the habit of being grateful.
Then, how can we live in gratitude to God? Have the question of your heart counting the blessings you have given me. A person with a negative view cannot count the blessings that have been bestowed upon him. But a person with a positive perspective can count the blessings that have been given to me.
Look at the text of the text. Abraham's servant went to his hometown to find his pride. That is, he went to find Isaac's wife. Abraham's servant lists the blessings that came to Abraham one by one. ?쏦e blessed my master and made it multiply; he gave him oxen and sheep, silver and gold, servants, camels and donkeys, and Sarah gave birth to a son in her old age, and the son grew up and married. La," he says.
Abraham's thoughts can be found in these words. He was not proud of his merits. Ox, sheep, silver, gold, servants, and camels all these things that I earn through hard work. Instead of saying, ?쏥od has blessed me with many things,??he says. It is a heart of gratitude for God's grace. "If you change your mind, everything is grateful."
As I counted the blessings given to me in this way, I discovered a new truth. If you live with this question in your heart, "Count the blessings you have received," everything you experience is ultimately a condition of gratitude. Count your blessings It's a blessing that it's raining because I'm asking this question. It is also fortunate that a typhoon blows and makes us realize the order of nature. Even the sufferings of life are transformed into thoughts that give thanks to God.
Count "What blessings have I received?" in our hearts through this Thanksgiving Day. Obviously, we will live more thankful to God.
A young man began to develop good habits after meeting Jesus. From the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed, you count the 200 blessings you receive each day. This young man always lives with a grateful heart. I went to eat Jajangmyeon with young people, and the president prays for a long time. I prayed and said Amen, but the Jajangmyeon was all blown up and it became difficult to eat. This young man, who always had a habit of giving thanks, said, "God, we thought we were hungry and prayed and woke up, so thank you for making us slimmer." A good habit of counting the blessings a young man with such good habits has received from other young men. This young man counts 200 blessings he has received every day, and recommends that he start counting the blessings he received from his friend. 200 was difficult, so I promised to fill only 100 and started counting the blessings God gave me every day. If you don't have a heart of gratitude for everything, in your daily life, where there are 100 words, it will be difficult to fill in even 10, let alone 100.
However, changes began to take place among the friends who counted the blessings they received. Why wouldn't it be annoying to be that friend? There are many frustrating things, but after counting the blessings like that, I realize that I have received too many blessings.
Get into the habit of counting the blessings you receive. If 100 a day is difficult, start with fifty. Your life will definitely change day by day. Get into the habit of counting fifty, and after a while, counting the blessings you have received from one hundred to two hundred. The way you see the world will definitely change.
If the earth's population is reduced to a village of only 100 people, of course, if the current world's population composition and proportion are preserved as it is, what would this small and diverse village look like? Philip M. Harter, a MD at Stanford University School of Medicine, is said to have attempted this calculation. The result is as follows. 57 are Asian, 21 are European, 14 are from the Western Hemisphere (Americas), and 8 are from Africa. 52 were male and 48 were female. 70 are non-Christians and 30 are Christians. Six people own 59% of the world's wealth, and all six of them are Americans. 80 people live in substandard housing conditions, 70 are illiterate, 50 are malnourished, 1 is about to die, 1 is pregnant, 1 has a college education and 1 owns a computer.
Dear saint! Let's get into the habit of counting the blessings we have received. It will make a huge difference in your life.