Ears to hear and eyes to see- both are gifts from the Lord –Proverbs 20:12, NLT.
Some time ago, I read the story of a lady who was born with a rare disability. While we are familiar with people with physical challenges such as the lack of sight, hearing, and speech, this lady did not have a sense of smell. She could not save her own life if it depended on perceiving the odour of some obnoxious gas.
When she was a child, her mother practically saved her life after she almost drank a poisonous chemical that looked like milk. She had not perceived its putrid odour.
Come to think of it, the smell of her babies pooh would not even bother her! You must have had a feeling of repulsion at the smell of babies pooh, but I am sure this lady would have been willing to pay the whole world merely to perceive it for a moment.
Remember the chap who said he did not have anything to thank God for? Have you ever thought about thanking God for your ability to hear and see? Has it ever crossed our mind that having ears to hear and eyes to see are gifts to be grateful for? I believe you may have heard about the man who always complained about his lack of shoes until he met a man without legs who was happy nevertheless.
What hinders your sense of gratitude to God for little or ‘simple’ gifts? Why do we often take them for granted? I believe one of the reasons is that we have gotten ‘used’ to them. They no longer capture our sense of awe: that positive exciting wonder.
Perhaps it is also the same reason people treat their friend’s children with better dignity and respect than their own. They would scream at and abuse them for little infractions, but they would nicely say to a neighbour’s kid, “John that’s not nice, why don’t you do it this way instead? As for their spouse, “Abeg, I don see am finish, wetin come dey again?” Meaning, “I’ve seen her through and through, what else is there?” I know that is not the way you think!
When you ‘get used to someone or something you can unconsciously begin to devalue it in your mind (Don’t let this happen to your marriage). It is no longer as important as it once was.
I do not believe that ‘familiarity should breed contempt.’ You must have heard the proverb, “You never know the value of a thing until you lose it.” But must you lose it to value it? When was the last time you appreciated a loved one or a friend just for being a friend?
How do you deal with some of these ‘familiarity’ thoughts? For one, you should maintain a sense of gratitude for your spouse, your children or friends and family. Think of wonderful things and events that made you laugh or even cry with each other, how awesome life was when you first met, and be grateful that they are still there. Everybody is not dead!
Yes, the grass may be greener on the other side, but have you considered that someone put much labour of love and deliberate effort to bring ‘their green’ to its beautiful and lush state? Sometimes if you put just some little effort: some kinder words here and some considerate action there, perhaps your garden may begin to blossom also.
Godliness with contentment is great gain -1 Timothy 5:6.
And dare I say, without it, it’s a terrible loss.
Another reason we take what we have for granted is a lack of contentment, which can be fuelled by TV advertising, “Hey! Have you seen the neighbour’s new…?”
One of the effects of advertising is that it motivates you to desire what you do not need by making you feel you just cannot do without it. Interpretation? ‘What you have or do not have is not good enough… having this is better.
When you begin to believe that what you have is not as good as what is out there, you become discontent with what you already have, and it loses value in your eyes.
The Ahmed’s washing machine had been at faithful and efficient service for just a year until, “The New Digital Nano-Washer: fully computerised, germ-deleting, multi-tasking, eco-friendly, energy-saving and sexy interface,” showed up.
You hear the advert so many times, but when it seems you are finally getting numb to it.., “Darling it seems our washing machine is making some funny noises, don’t you think we need a new one?” Someone else has been watching the advert too!
Don’t get me wrong. I love life, and I enjoy good things in life too (see 1 Peter 3:10-12). And to be honest some of these new models are just ‘crazy’. Hey, you too? Wait a minute, I’m human! But as I’m almost carried away with its ‘awesome full options’, I am reminded that, ‘godliness with contentment is great gain and that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things that he owns’ (1 Timothy 6:6-8; Luke 12:14). Anyway, I also believe that if I truly need it, I can plan for it and go for it… Why not?
Beyond physical hearing and seeing, I believe the psalmist’s words could also refer to the gift of being able to perceive (see and hear) beyond the natural –the gift of faith. Even now, I am reminded of the refrain in one of Michael Card’s songs:
To hear with my heart
To see with my soul
To be guided by a hand I cannot hold
To trust in a way that I cannot see
That’s what faith must be
Your faith is one of the gifts God has given you (Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8). Have you begun to take your faith for granted? Are you now so ‘used’ to God that He is no longer awe-inspiring to you? Are reading your Bible, praise and prayer now ‘common’ things? “I can do that later, I have some more important things to do now.”
Have you become insensitive to God’s word that you do not realise that you no longer walk by faith or are drifting away from the faith altogether? Are you still in the faith?
Do some introspection from time to time.
Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it -2 Corinthians 13:5, THE MESSAGE.
Remember the admonition, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:11, NKJV.)
Little things might seem simple or insignificant, but they matter. Always be grateful for them.
Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
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