Making Gratitude Last

Making Gratitude Last

by | Jul 29, 2018 | Gratitude

It’s a peculiar aspect of human nature that we remember the bad things that happen in our lives so much better than we remember the good things. We may remember painful events from years ago but forget even the most encouraging things that happened only recently. All too often, our feelings of gratitude wash away like words writen on a sandy beach. It is not that the memory of good things has really vanished in these situations, but that the force of good memories and their effect on us diminish quickly. Bad things that happened in the past can continue to make us feel bad, but good things don’t always continue to make us feel happy or thankful.

There is a prime example of this aspect of human nature in the Book of Exodus.  We read that soon after leaving Egypt and witnessing the great miracle that saved them at the parting of the sea: “The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin … on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron” (Exodus 16:1-2).

It took only about one month from the time they were spared from the plagues sent on the Egyptians and freed from total slavery (Exodus 12:2) for the people to become unthankful and complaining.  It was an even shorter time since they were saved from the pursuing Egyptians at the Red Sea, yet the very people who had so much to be thankful for had already forgotten the feeling of thankfulness they showed earlier (Exodus 15:1-18) and now exhibited no gratitude at all for the past when they began to concentrate on their current needs.

Understanding how the human mind naturally does repress or fail to remember things for which we should be thankful when new needs come along can help us better understand the Israelite’s apparent lack of lasting gratitude, and it can help us understand a related story from this same chapter of Exodus. After God supplied the need of the people of Israel in the form of manna (Exodus 16:13-31), we are told that he gave Moses instructions to help the Israelites with their memory issues: “… Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 16:32).

God understands the way our human minds work in forgetting things for which we should be thankful, and this is one of a number of biblical examples in which God gave the people of Israel physical reminders of the things they needed to be thankful for.  It’s easy to read over these stories and think of them as applying only to the people in the story, but physical aids to remembering can be just as valuable –  and needful – for us today.

For example, in the next chapter of the Book of Exodus, after helping Israel again, God tells Moses  to “… “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered…” (Exodus 17:14).  Today for many of us simply keeping a “gratitude journal” in a small notebook can make a tremendous difference in our ability to remember the good things in our lives and to be thankful for them.  A study conducted in 2005 by Dr. Martin Seigleman at the University of Pennsylvania found that people who every evening simply wrote down three things that went well that day felt increased levels of appreciation and thankfulness.  The experiment also showed a very positive result of this activity.  People who kept such a journal for as short a time as one week often experienced increases in general happiness for several months afterwards.

It’s a simple enough procedure. Writing down three things a day or, if that is difficult, then writing down at least something for each day of the week, only takes a few minutes of our time, but it can have measurable affects on our ability to remember the good things and to maintain appreciation for them.

Some people find other ways to help them remember things for which they can be thankful, and we discuss some of them in the article mentioned at the end of this post. But whatever method we may choose, utilizing some physical method of enhancing our “gratitude memories” is worthwhile.  This is particularly true because feeling and expressing gratitude are only the first two-thirds of true thankfulness. Continuing to remember what we are grateful for is the other. But sometimes it takes a pot of manna or, in our case, some other physical reminder to help us to remember and to truly make gratitude last.
 
* For more ways to make gratitude last, see “Making Appreciation Stick” on our sister site ​here. 

A Story of Strength, Loyalty, and Kindness

A Story of Strength, Loyalty, and Kindness

by | Jul 20, 2018 | Character

If you have read the biblical book of Ruth, you probably think you know it well. But whether you have read it once or many times, we think you will find a lot more in this beautiful story with the help of our short new e-book.

Many people think of the book of Ruth as a simple love story, but in reality it is far from simple, and it is not really a “love story” in the modern sense of “romantic love” either! Instead, Ruth is a story of deep courage, strength, loyalty, determination, and kindness with an underlying message that reaches from the ancient world to our lives today.

You can download a free copy of our latest e-book in your choice of three formats (PDF, Kindle, and Nook (E-Pub) to read on your computer or e-book reader.  There is no registration necessary and you do not need to give an email address – just click on the file type you want to download!  Download RUTH from the e-book page on our sister site, here. ​

A New, FREE, E-Book for You!

A New, FREE, E-Book for You!

by | Jul 15, 2018 | Updates

RUTH: A STORY OF STRENGTH, LOYALTY, AND KINDNESS             By R. Herbert, Living Belief Books, 2018.   
ISBN 978-1-64370-603-0      

You can download a free copy of our latest e-book in your choice of three formats (PDF, Kindle, and e-pub) to read on your computer or e-book reader.  There is no registration necessary and you do not need to give an email address – just click on the file type you want to download!    Download RUTH from the e-book page on our sister site, here. 

Two Views of Life

Two Views of Life

by | Jul 8, 2018 | Strategic Articles, The Church & the World


Christian Living in an Increasingly Polarized Age

By R. Herbert
​

Conservatives and liberals?  There have probably always been two ways to look at life. We only have to look back to New Testament times to see the opposing views of the conservative Pharisees and liberal Sadducees,  or the ultra-conservative Essenes and ultra-liberal Herodians  – each looking at life from their own perspective and each believing themselves to be right.

Historically, the two views of life have existed in countless forms and variations, but the essential approaches have been the same – conservative and liberal, traditional and progressive, those desiring to maintain what is established and those looking for change, those wanting to uphold good and those wanting to implement  improvement.   Of course there are other aspects to the great dichotomy – for example, those who feel the implementation of justice is all important and those who stress the importance of mercy. This does not mean, of course, that those with a conservative viewpoint are never merciful or support progressive ideas, any more than it means those with a liberal outlook never support justice or seek to maintain established patterns, but that people usually gravitate to one approach or the other,  depending on their view of the world.

One would think that the Bible would have something to say about these fundamental outlooks– and in fact, it does.  We don’t find words that can be translated “conservative” or “liberal” in the Scriptures, of course, but we find parallel ideas in such dual biblical concepts as “justice and mercy,”  “law and grace,” or  “truth and love.”  Although some people may stress one of these qualities over the other in a given pair, the fact is both are necessary and right.  We see this in the many scriptures stressing that both halves of the duality are found in the nature of God.

The God of Two Ways

In the Old Testament two contrasting Hebrew words are often used to describe God: hesed and ‘emet (Exodus 34:6, etc.).  These words are often translated “love” and “faithfulness,” though it is possible to translate them in other ways – such as “love” and “truth,” or other terms that reflect the two basic underlying views of life.   For example,  in Genesis 32:10 the two Hebrew words are translated “kindness and faithfulness” (NIV), “love and faithfulness” (ESV), “mercies and truth” (NKJ),  and so on.  But while hesed and ‘emet are frequently used individually, they occur together more than any other words in descriptions of God.

Sometimes,  other pairs of words are used in the Old Testament to show the same combination of qualities in God’s nature. Consider what Isaiah tells us: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice…” (Isaiah 30:18, emphases added)

In  the New Testament we find a parallel word pair in the Greek words alētheia and charis. While alētheia is usually translated “truth,” charis is translated “grace,” “loving kindness,” and in other ways. When the apostle John described the nature of the son of God, he wrote of “…the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

So, whether we look at the Old Testament or the New, we find both views of life being combined in descriptions of the character and nature of God.  The two views may be characterized as love and faithfulness, grace and truth, judgment and mercy, compassion and judgment, or in many other ways, but their essential equivalence with the two basic approaches to life is clear.   God clearly embraces both views, and if we are to be like God, we need to be able to do this, too.

Applying  Worldviews

But if we say that we should embrace and utilize both approaches in our lives, what does that mean for daily living?  Do we become registered members of both the conservative and liberal parties of our nations?  How can we be for both the prosecution and pardon of criminals, for preservation and for change?  The answer to how we apply both worldviews through careful and prayerful balance is found within the Scriptures themselves.  We see this in many scriptures – such as Hosea 12:6 which urges us to “… maintain love and justice …” rather than one or the other.

​An often overlooked example from the New Testament is seen in the story of how Joseph dealt with the pregnancy of Mary.  The Gospel of Matthew tells us:  “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).  This verse shows us with remarkable clarity the approach Joseph took of being faithful to the law (choosing law, truth, faithfulness), yet at the same time, choosing to quietly divorce Mary rather than to cause her public shame and disgrace (choosing love, mercy, grace).  Joseph did not choose one view of life or the other – he chose to apply both.

We see this same approach in the words of Jesus: “…neither do I condemn you …Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11) and expounded by the apostle Paul when he wrote: “But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head — Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).  Notice that Paul urges us not to choose truth or love alone, but to apply one with the other – and to do so that we may become more like Christ himself.

This does not mean that we can always combine the two approaches in every situation.  Paul himself speaks not only of applying unencumbered mercy: “Anyone you forgive, I also forgive” (2 Corinthians 2:10), but also of applying pure judgment when he had to do so: “I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned…” (2 Corinthians 13:2).

Walking in Two Ways

The Christian is called to walk according to both approaches to life – that of justice and mercy, truth and love, or however we may define them –  at the same time to the degree that it is possible.  Sometimes we must choose one or the other approach depending on the circumstances, but we need never feel that we are called to one worldview to the exclusion of the other.  If both approaches cannot be taken simultaneously, we can still strive to apply whichever worldview best fits the particular situation.

We should always remember that both approaches are part of the nature and character of God. A  prophecy in the Book of Hosea illustrates this beautifully: “I will betroth you to me forever;  I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,  in love and compassion” (Hosea 2:19).

That is the “forever” life to which we are called – one of both righteousness and justice as well as love and compassion.   We are called to a life that accepts both views, a Way in which wisdom is found in learning when to apply each.

Warm Hearts and Cold Feet in the Book of Ruth

Warm Hearts and Cold Feet in the Book of Ruth

by | Jul 1, 2018 | Difficult Scriptures

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Scripture in Focus  Ruth 3:1-15

​In the Book of Ruth, the heroine’s mother-in-law, Naomi, tells the widowed Ruth:

​“My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.  Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.  Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.  When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do” (Ruth 3:1-4).

This may sound like strange advice, and it is a part of the story that often troubles readers –  especially because even some Bible commentaries have attempted to see sexual innuendos in what is said.  But, as we will see, there is really nothing in the language used or in our knowledge of Hebrew culture of the time to suggest anything sexual was involved. Ruth’s distant relative Boaz is shown to be an honorable man throughout the book, just as Ruth herself is shown to be honorable at every point.    According to the law of Moses (as Naomi doubtless explained to Ruth), when a man died leaving his wife without children, the man’s nearest relative was bound to take her as a wife and provide a child for her (Deuteronomy 5:5-10).  This situation helps us understand what happened next.

The story continues by telling us that when Ruth went to the threshing floor where Boaz had been working and had gone to sleep: “Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.  In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet! “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family” (Ruth 3:7-9).

To understand this part of the story we need to realize that in the Ancient Near East servants often slept crossways at the feet of their master when working outdoors and were allowed to pull any available blanket over themselves in order to keep warm.   That is why Ruth told Boaz that she was his servant – and thus eligible to lie at his feet – and that he was her guardian-redeemer (Hebrew goel) who bore a responsibility to marry her to provide a son to perpetuate the name of her deceased husband – so he should “cover her with his garment” or marry her (Ezekiel 16:8, etc.).

But why uncover his feet?  Certainly this caused him to eventually awaken in the dark, but Ruth could simply have woken Boaz to talk.  The “uncovering” of Boaz’s feet was necessary because it relates to what she tells him – and in the culture of that time a shoe would be removed to signal a responsibility or to seal a contract.  We see this signaling in Deuteronomy in exactly this situation when a man would not fulfil his responsibility to his brother’s wife: “his brother’s widow shall go up to him …. take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, ‘This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line’”(Deuteronomy 5:9).

We see the same act of uncovering the foot to seal an agreement later in the story of Ruth when Boaz cleverly persuades Ruth’s actual nearest of kin to forgo his responsibility and allow Boaz to marry her: “(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)” (Ruth 4:7).

So Ruth’s uncovering of Boaz’s feet on the threshing floor has nothing to do with the uncovering of any other part of the anatomy (the Hebrew is literally “uncover the place of his feet,” which is never used euphemistically).  Rather, it fits into what we see specifically in this part of the story –  the signaling of a responsibility on the part of Boaz to marry Ruth and provide children for her.  This was a responsibility that this ancient story shows Boaz was more than happy to fulfill – without ever experiencing “cold feet” again!

*You can download a free copy of our book on Ruth here.