The Universe Doesn't Care But God Does

Read a lot of self-help books about 10 years ago. Success strategies, personal development, leadership, self-improvement. Awaken the Giant Within and How to Win Friends kind of stuff.

All pretty good. Well, mostly. Much gristle to spit out while chewing the meat, if you know what I mean. 

I still practice possibility thinking.

I still resonate with a lot of that material but I filter it through a Christian worldview. In other words, I take what someone says or writes and think through the biblical ramifications of what they are teaching. 

Then I restate it in my mind (or write it down, like I'm doing now) as a scriptural principle.

For example, came across an IG post of a travel blogger I follow that reminded us that gratitude is a wonderful virtue. Totally agree! 

Gratitude attracts, complaining repels. Yep! Gratitude brings about abundance in one's life. Sure, I can buy that.

Why? The blogger went on to explain how this works - the Universe [note the capital u] is ready to give good things to those who are thankful. 

That's where I get off the bus and find a Bible transfer ticket.

The universe (small u) doesn't care whether you are grateful or not. It is impersonal. It has no mind, no spirit, no personality. I had a pet rock once. I fed it. I petted it. I talked to it. It didn't care.

But God? God cares for you. God loves you. God gives good gifts. So our demonstration of gratitude? Should be directed to God.

You've heard the admonition: "have an attitude of gratitude." And that's fine. But an attitude of gratitude implies being thankful for someone or something. There's something that sparks our gratitude. 

You see, we're thankful for gifts - whether it's a physical object or something more intangible, like friendship. Either way, there's a source for our thankfulness. We're grateful for something. It's more than just an attitude. 

You with me so far? Here's where a biblical worldview enters in. A gift (for which we are grateful) presupposes a giver. Now that giver could be a fellow human or God. But the universe? Nope, the universe can't give us anything. 

But the land, you say, gives us a harvest. The sky gives us rain. The sun gives us warmth. Kinda? But land, sea, sky are not personal - there's no relationship there. These things are created by God to be tools and are gifts from God himself.

The universe won't say you're welcome if you thank it for a new day. It doesn't care. But God? He longs to have a relationship with each and every one of us so he can give us more good gifts, more of himself. 

For me, then, I am grateful to God for all that I have. And I know that gratitude produces abundance because the more I grow closer to God through thanksgiving and worship, the more I will experience all that he has to offer.

That's a lot more powerful than having an attitude of gratitude and thinking the universe will somehow take notice. If you want to talk more about this, leave a polite comment.

~*~

"Tip a buck, get a book."

(via PayPal.Me - an e-book from Tule Fog Press.) 

This blog is reader supported. Thank you for your support!