Articles
When the Unique Becomes Common
Things that we have not previously known or experienced can have quite an impact on us. Our senses are heightened by new activities: visiting a new part of the world; riding a roller coaster for the first time; or starting a new grade in school. Our whole outlook on life can be altered by a new romantic interest. New situations bring exciting new sensations.
I vividly remember watching John Young and Bob Crippen fly for the first time the prototype space shuttle Enterprise from atop a 747. All three(!) networks preempted their normal programs to cover the flight. We held our collective breaths, for no one knew for certain what would happen. Their safe landing was exhilarating and ushered in a new era of space exploration.
It wasn’t long, though, until an interesting feature of human nature began emerge. After a few uneventful missions, the unique became commonplace. News agencies didn’t cover launches as they once did because space travel now seemed routine. And then the Challenger exploded, rudely reminding us that leaving the atmosphere is dangerous business.
On the one hand, familiarity can be helpful. By it we gain experience and learn to react properly in crucial situations. In sports we speak of “rookie mistakes” or watch a professional athlete collapse under pressure he or she has never felt before. One “learns to win” by properly managing stress.
But on the other hand, no matter how significant, dangerous or meaningful something (or someone) may be, repeated exposure can cause us to take it for granted. This means that we lose our appreciation for the value of something under the assumption that it will always be there for us. This is a destructive tendency that will inevitably undermine relationships and rob us of joys and advantages of life.
Taking God’s Word for Granted. If we have been believers for some time and had exposure to the Scriptures, it is easily to lose our sense of awe for the fact that God has shared His thoughts with us. To have another person care about us and trust us enough to bare their soul and communicate their deepest thoughts is a privilege we should cherish. How much more so with God’s revelation of His mind to us!
We should feel honored to have a Bible in our hands, to have the education and political freedom to open it and read it, to have teachers who have dedicated the time and effort to learn on a deeper level and are willing to share the fruits of their study with us. If studying Scripture has come to be a bore or drudgery, or a last-minute cramming session before class, then we need to examine our appreciation of its true nature and value to us.
“My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to under-standing; yes, if you cry out for discernment … then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Pr 2:1-3, 5).
Taking God’s Blessings for Granted. “Count your blessings” we sing. Here are a few: political freedom, material abundance, family, friends, jobs, fellow believers, God’s love and mercy, prayer, worship, meaningful purpose, the promise of forgiveness and eternal life and the sacrifice that makes that possible. By any measure, we are a rich people indeed.
Yet we all know the feeling of taking such things for granted. Our blessings so constantly abound that we count them as normal and crave that which is yet beyond our grasp – or complain about not having it. Satan cheapens the richness of our lives. We may need to ponder further what Paul meant by, “Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Ph 4:12).
Taking God for Granted. But both of the above categories really find their root in taking God Himself for granted. How is that possible? How can we minimize, overlook, be unimpressed with our Creator and Heavenly Father? Simply because, as we noted earlier, this is a feature of human weakness that Satan exploits. There is nothing that cannot be looked upon as ordinary by mankind. But remember this: the greatest aspect of our existence is yet to come. The glory of God and the splendor of heaven, the face-to-face meeting with our Savior, the fellowship of saints whom we’ve known only through Scripture, the reunion with our loved ones who have left ahead of us are all yet ahead of us. Let us set our desire not on the mundane things of this world that lose their luster and fail to impress us but on God who is an inexhaustible wealth of wonder.
