No offense, but I thank God for my blessings.

 

It has come to the point that we can't even sincerely thank God for our blessings without someone complaining that we hurt their feelings by doing so. Paul Kirkpatrick takes to task those people who survived the recent tornadoes and other tragedies and crimes and openly expressed their gratitude to almighty God.

 

Paul finds particularly offensive phrases such as "God wrapped his arms around us" and "We prayed for God to save us, and he did." He says people who callously utter such things should think about the people they are hurting by doing so. He says some people will think, "Did God not like my mother" or "Did my brother not pray hard enough."

 

 The Bible tells us that the rain falls on the just and on the unjust. We are not immune from the forces of nature just because we may have lived a good life. I hardly think that people who step unharmed from a pile of rubble following such a disaster are trying to hurt someone else by praising the God who saw them through. Nor do I think most of them feel they've been blessed because they are somehow God's favorites and those who haven't been must be awful sinners. In fact, I imagine those people probably have even more compassion for those who were injured or lost loved ones than someone who's not survived such a tragedy.

 

I am particularly reminded of Job. Perhaps those who, like Paul, are a bit on the egocentric side should read about that great Old Testament saint. After hearing that he's lost all his possessions and his children have been destroyed by a great wind, here is Job's testimony in a nutshell: "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

 

Maybe instead of finding fault with those who recognize the hand of the Master in their lives, Paul should go out there and see what he can do to help those who are bereaved and those who stand in need as a result of these tragedies. He just might find that if he did that, he wouldn't have time to get his feelings hurt over someone else's heartfelt declaration.

 

"Gratitude with sensitivity." The Dallas Morning News; May 21, 2013; p. 12A.