Paul
N. F. (26 Nov 2011)
"THANKFULNESS AS A
MORAL THERAPEUTIC"
Here another good
one by Tozer. This one goes for me also. I would
read it often to stay on track. It is easier than
ever to become a cynic if you don't follow the directions of
using THANKFULNESS AS A MORAL THERAPEUTIC.
THANKFULNESS AS A MORAL THERAPEUTIC
By A. W. Tozer
In this world of corruption there is real danger that the
earnest Christian may overreact in his resistance to evil and
become a victim of the religious occupational disease -- cynicism.
The constant need to go counter to popular trends may easily
develop in him a sour habit of fault finding and turn him into
a sulky critic of other men's matters, without charity and
without love.
What makes this cynical spirit particularly dangerous is that
the cynic is usually right. His analyses are accurate,
his judgment sound. He can prove he is right in his
moral views; yet for all that he is wrong, frightfully,
pathetically wrong. But because he is right, he never
suspects how tragically wrong he is. He slides
imperceptibly into a condition of chronic bitterness and comes
at last to accept it as normal.
It would be convenient indeed if it were possible to have a
spiritual experience at some altar of prayer that would cure
this condition completely and for good. And some sincere
persons seem to believe that it is. I do not think
so. It is like trying to get an infusion of health once
for all that would take care of our physical condition for the
rest of our lives, obviously an impossible thing. No
matter how healthy we are, unless we cultivate correct bodily
habits we will not stay healthy long. And an
experience of heart cleansing that is not followed by right
spiritual habits will be disappointing in the end.
Continued spiritual health will result from right heart
habits. If these are neglected the inner life will
degenerate, no matter how wonderful our past experiences may
have been.
Now, as a cure for the sour, faultfinding attitude -- I
recommend the cultivation of the habit of thankfulness.
Thanksgiving has great curative power. The heart that
is constantly overflowing with gratitude will be safe from
those attacks of resentfulness and gloom that bother so many
religious persons. A thankful heart cannot be cynical.
I do not here recommend any of the appliedpsychology
nostrums so popular in liberal circles and among starry-eyed
poets of the 'sweetness-and-light school' of religious
thought. The output of the "hear no evil, see no evil,
speak no evil" jockeys makes painful reading for the man or
woman who has been introduced to God through the miracle of
the new birth. But I do recommend the cultivation of
gratitude as a cure for spiritual sourness. There is
good scriptural authority for this, and experience teaches us
that it works.
We should never take any blessing for granted, but accept
everything as a gift from the Father of Lights. Whole,
days may be spent occasionally in the holy practice of being
thankful. We should write on a tablet one by one the
things for which we are grateful to God and to our fellow
men. And a constant return to this thought during the
day, as our minds get free, will serve to fix the habit
in our hearts.
We could begin with our creation and tell God how grateful we
are that He ever thought of us and brought us into being out
of the empty void -- of nothingness. And when we had
sinned, He remembered us still and sent His Son to die for us.
He gave us the Bible and His blessed Spirit to teach us
inwardly to understand it. We could go on to tell Him how glad
we are for the Church, for good spiritual teachers, for
faithful pastors and hymnists who have made the services of
the Church each Sunday such a helpful and precious thing.
In trying to count our many blessings, the difficulty is not
to find things to count, but to find time to enumerate them
all. Personally I have gotten great help from the practice of
talking over with God the many kindnesses I have received from
my fellow men. To my parents I owe my life and my upbringing.
To my teachers I owe that patient line-upon-line instruction
that took me when I was a young, ignorant pagan and
enabled me to read and write.
To the patriots and statesmen of the past I owe the liberties
I now enjoy. Too numerous, and unknown soldiers who shed their
blood to keep our country free I owe a debt I can never pay.
And I please God and enlarge my own heart when I remind the
Lord that I am grateful for them. For every man and woman of
every race and nationality who may have contributed anything
to my peace and welfare I am grateful, and I shall not let God
forget that I am.
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Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.