GRATITUDE: #2 Gratitude for What We DON’T Have

By Dr. Gilbert W. Stafford
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:14-18

THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS 

Our next door neighbors of a few years back surprised us when we noticed that they were selling many things from their picture perfect house. Every room was filled with lovely furniture, paintings, and memorabilia. The house itself was always kept in A-1 repair. In fact, I think that the reason nothing ever went wrong with it is because they always anticipated trouble and fixed it before it happened. When we inquired why they were selling so many of their lovely possessions, they told us that they were ridding themselves of as much as they possibly could and planning to move into a smaller dwelling. They wanted to live in a more uncluttered fashion. As their process of freeing themselves from possession after possession proceeded they told us about giving thanks to God for what they no longer had. Their goal as Christians was to simplify their lives and to concentrate on that which was most important for the sake of the kingdom of God.

A CHRISTIAN PHYSICIAN 

I think of a Christian physician in Midland, Michigan who divested himself o his highly successful medical practice in order to enter into a community of faith in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Once his lucrative practice was sold, he gave thanks for what he no longer had.

RETIRED FROM PASTORAL MINISTRY 
Last summer, I met a minister and his wife who had recently retired from a busy pastorate. They were traveling the country enjoying each other and availing themselves of friends, experiences, relaxation, and growth in the Lord. When I met them at a camp meeting in Kansas, they were rejoicing that they no longer had the heavy responsibilities of church work.

I mention these examples not because I want to make a case for all of us to sell our possessions, to move to smaller houses, to quit making money, to leave our jobs. That may or may not be what you should do. I mention these examples in order to remind us that gratitude is not simply for what we have; it is also for what we do not have. The point is that what we don’t have as well as what we do have can be a blessing.

PAUL, GRATEFUL FOR WHAT HE DIDN’T HAVE 

In 1 Corinthians 1:14-17 we find Paul being grateful for what he doesn’t have. He is grateful that he has not baptized many people in the Corinthian church. The members of that church had been focusing on the wrong thing, namely, on who baptized them rather than on the Lord. He writes: “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15>so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16>(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17>For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.”1

Paul was quite happy not to be caught up in the baptismal controversy that was raging in the church. As is made clear in other passages, he does not discount the importance of water baptism. But in this particular case he was glad that he had not baptized many new converts in that he was thereby free from the competitiveness of the Corinthian situation. Having few baptisms to his credit in Corinth was very much to his advantage, and he gave thanks to the Lord for it.

BENEFITS

What we don’t have can be of benefit to us. For instance, we don’t have to spend time managing what we don’t have. We are freed up to concentrate on others matters. We can travel lighter, so to speak. Tour guides almost always strongly encourage those traveling to other countries to take as little as possible. Inevitably, however, someone doesn’t take them seriously. Instead, they encumber themselves with lots of stuff they don’t need. Darlene and I have led a couple of trips abroad. I remember one couple on a trip who not only took lots of things with them, but also purchased enormous amounts of additional stuff while on the trip. All of us were worried about how they were going to get it all home. It became an all consuming burden. They did not have the liberty to move about freely because they were encumbered with their too much stuff.

But not only do things encumber us; also responsibilities and successes and reputations and hectic schedules encumber us. Being rid of them can make life’s journey so much more enjoyable. Isn’t that the reason many of us like to get away from our work, away from home, away from where we are known? We want the freedom to travel lightly even if it is for no more than a day or so. We thank God for what we don’t have during those times.

When our family left home to live in England for seven months, each of the six of us had to put into three bags everything we would need for those seven months spanning both cold as well as warm weather. How freeing it all was. We didn’t have to spend much time deciding what to wear because we didn’t have much. We were free from the normal routines, free from a multitude of obligations and free from home responsibilities. The result was joy and delight in new experiences. We thanked God for what we did not have.

Being rid of some things frees us up to concentrate on the really important things of life. In the case of Paul, not having many baptisms to his credit freed him up to concentrate more intently on the glory of the gospel of Christ Jesus. In verse 18, he rejoices in the “message about the cross” which he says “is the power of God” for salvation. What is of utmost importance to him is God’s transformation of human life. It is the glory of God’s grace that thrills him, not having more names on his baptismal score card than other preachers had on theirs.

MAKING A LIST OF THINGS YOU DON’T HAVE FOR WHICH YOU ARE GRATEFUL 
Have you ever made a list of things you don’t have for which you are grateful? You might include four categories. The first category would be a list of unfortunate circumstances, which but for the grace of God do not plague you. What would be on your list? poor health? a disability? poverty? rebellious children? brutal parents? unpleasant working conditions? crime in your neighborhood? lack of food? Who of us wants any of these things? And yet, many do have one or more and maybe all of these things. If these are things you don’t have, the least you can do is to be humbly grateful for the absence of such in your life and to show gratitude by committing yourself to the alleviation of the pain of such circumstances in the lives of others.

The second category is that of losses that you have suffered but which now you are grateful that you no longer have to deal with. At the time of loss, perhaps it was devastating to you, but in the course of time, you have come to see that you are the beneficiary. What would you list in this category? The loss of a friendship, a job, an opportunity to travel, money, a possession, a house. While a great disappointment at the time, it appears from this vantage point that God was gracious to you.

I know a man who lost his job as a result of internal strife at his place of employment. When I asked him how he was handling it all, his response was that while he was sad about the way he had had to leave his job, he was delighted that he no longer had the responsibility. “In fact,” he said, “every single day, I give thanks to God that I no longer have the job.” “Why?” I asked. “Because,” he responded, “it has given me the opportunity to do things that otherwise I would never have done. It has opened a whole new world to me. It has provided the context for new discoveries.” And then, with a big grin on his face, he said, “Life has never been better. I thanked God for what I don’t have.”

The third category is that of incidentals, which you had not thought much about until for some reason it is brought to your attention. Only then do you become grateful for something which heretofore you had not even thought of. No doubt that was the case with Paul in his view of his role in baptism in the Corinthian church. Since he had trouble remembering those whom he had baptized, he probably had not thought much about not having baptized many there. And yet, given the circumstances of his letter, he brings to mind the fact that he does not have many baptisms to his credit, and is able to be grateful for that fact.

The fourth category is of those things that you want to get rid of so that you can concentrate on more important matters in life. What would fit into this category if you were making a list? Do you need to divest yourself of some of your possessions? a job? an office in some organization? some of your ties and friendships? What needs to go so that you can fulfill the Lord’s purpose for your life more adequately?

In Mark 10:21, Jesus challenges the rich man to divest himself of his possessions. He says: “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” That did not set well with the man. Verse 22 says that “when he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

But throughout Christian history many have done what Jesus told the rich man to do. And as a result they have discovered that which is far better than earthly riches. Upon discovering eternal riches they are grateful for what they no longer have.

My listening friend, for what are you grateful that you don’t have? Does the list need to grow?

PRAYER 

Let us pray:

Gracious God, so work in our hearts by the power of your Holy Spirit that we will turn loose of those things that you want us to relinquish. Work in our hearts to the end that we will gladly offer our sincere gratitude for those things we do not have and which it is very good for us not to have. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

1 New Revised Standard Version used here and throughout.

Script 2602 (GWS)
November 10, 1996
SERIES: GRATITUDE
2. Gratitude for What We DON’T Have
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:14-18