Perception Affects Our Gratitude

Have you ever noticed how two people can experience the exact same situation and walk away with completely different attitudes? One is frustrated and discouraged, while the other feels blessed and hopeful. What makes the difference?

More often than not, it’s perception.

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

— Colossians 2:6–7 (NLT)

Years ago I read a line from Erwin McManus in Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul that has stayed with me:

“Perspective is not shaped in a vacuum; it is formed in the context of gratitude. An ungrateful person sees the glass as half-empty and wonders who is holding out on him. The grateful see the glass as half-full knowing that someone has shared with them more than they deserve.” (p. 124)

That truth is crucial on a day like Thanksgiving.

Gratitude shapes how we see the world. A grateful heart interprets life through the lens of God’s generosity. It breeds contentment, peace, and hope. The ungrateful heart, on the other hand, constantly believes it is missing out—always comparing, always wanting, always questioning God’s goodness.

If I’m honest, gratitude has not always come naturally to me.

There were many seasons when I looked at my life and wished it were different—different opportunities, different circumstances, different abilities. I wondered why things seemed to come so easily for others while I had to struggle. Underneath those thoughts was a quiet but poisonous question:

“Why is God holding out on me?”

That mindset robbed me of joy. It kept me from seeing the blessings right in front of me. And more importantly, it distracted me from becoming the person God created me to be.

The truth is, comparison and discontentment don’t just make us miserable—they blind us. They cause us to overlook the ways God has been faithfully working in our lives, providing what we need, shaping our character, and giving us opportunities to grow.

Even now, that temptation still pops up from time to time. Gratitude isn’t a one-time decision; it’s a daily practice. But over the years I’ve learned something crucial:

Gratitude opens my eyes to what God has already done.

Discontentment blinds me to it.

When I begin to thank God for the blessings, experiences, relationships, and abilities He has given me, I find peace replacing frustration, and trust replacing fear. I remember that God has not abandoned me—He is shaping me.

The apostle Paul understood this connection between gratitude and peace:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)

Notice the connection: prayer with thanksgiving leads to God’s peace.

We often want the peace without the gratitude. We want God to calm our fears and quiet our worries while we continue to focus on what we don’t have. But Paul says peace comes as we turn our attention toward God’s goodness and faithfulness.

Worry, fear, and loneliness grow in the soil of ingratitude.

Peace grows in the soil of thanksgiving.

On this Thanksgiving Day, many of us will sit around tables filled with food, family, and tradition. But if our hearts remain focused on what we lack, we will miss the joy right in front of us.

God has given each of us far more than we deserve—His presence, His grace, His salvation, His people, and countless daily mercies.

It’s time for us to stop asking, “Why isn’t my life like theirs?” and start thanking God for the life He has given us.

Because it’s only when we practice gratitude that we experience the peace He promises His children.

Point to Ponder:

Gratitude transforms the way we see life—contentment and hope grow when we recognize God’s generosity.

Passage to Remember:

Philippians 4:6–7

Question to Consider:

What are three specific things you can thank God for today?

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Perception and Truth

In our search for truth it is important to recognize that most of our beliefs that we hold on to as truth are just our interpretation of the data that we have. 

I am not saying that truth doesn’t exist or that it is impossible to discover truth, but I am saying that truth isn’t as objective as we sometimes would like it to be. 

We realize that two people looking at the exact same data can come to two different conclusions. 

Some of that is based on first principles, for example, believing in God is going to shape our interpretation of the data about the origins of the universe.

Some of that is based on our experiences, for example, whether you have a positive or negative experience with church growing up is going to shape your opinion on the importance of being part of church family as you grow older.

This is what Erwin McManus wrote in his book Soul Cravings:

In other words, for something to make sense to us, it cannot remain outside of us. We do not simply study information and then come to a conclusion; we absorb it and come to a personal interpretation of what is real.

I was listening to a lecture in which the speaker referred to studies in neuroscience that describe the process from which the human brain gathers and holds information. He explained that when the human brain absorbs information, that information is one part data and six parts emotion. Now that’s a fascinating thought--that everything we remember is wrapped around everything we experience. When you reflect on this, it makes perfect sense. (Meaning; Entry #12: It’s All in How You Look At It)*

What Erwin talks about here explains why, for most people, their relationships with the fathers affect their view of God. 

It also accounts for people who leave Christianity after a personal tragedy in their lives. Their view of God and the Church affected by their experience.

In the United States there is a significant amount of people who are not buying the version of truth being offered from the corporate press and politicians.

Why are they skeptical?

They are skeptical because they believe they have been lied to, overlooked, and stabbed in the back by these people who now say, "Just trust us." 

When we remember that perception is reality for people, it should not surprise us that there people who do not hold to your version of what is real. Their experience is leading them to a different conclusion.

It really doesn't matter how many experts, studies, and facts we believe back up our point-of-view because another person will put all of that through their filter of experience and emotion. This is why facts are weak persuasion. 

All of us like to believe that we rational and that the beliefs that we hold we arrived at through following the facts. The reality is that the majority of the time we arrive at our beliefs for emotional reasons and we use facts to justify our positions afterwards. This is why these facts seem so obvious to us.

If we want to change someone's mind the best thing to do is not to throw a bunch of facts and figures at them, but to offer a listening ear and show that you understand what they are saying. Without listening and seeking to understand other people there will be an ever growing divide between people who hold different points-of-view.

* Soul Cravings is a book without page numbers. For reference I provided the title of the section and the entry number and title. I believe the McManus discussion on truth is worth the price of the book.

Perspective and Commitment

Our perspective on the world is limited. 

Even if we stayed plugged into the news we would still be limited to those stories they decided to run. 

As you can see, this is not an ignorance of choice or laziness, but of reality. The body in which we live is confined to one place in time, our minds can only absorb so much information, and what we do know is colored by other people’s perception.

This reality makes it impossible for us to fully understand what is happening in the world and the best way to precede. What seems like an insignificant act in the moment might effect our lives for years to come.

Take for example Joseph. We read about this man of faith in the Old Testament. 

 Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob, but his bothers hated him. That hatred changed the direction of Joseph’s life. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit, and years later Joseph is made a leader in Egypt.

When Joseph as a slave he was a handsome young man. He was trustworthy and the things he did were successful. These things caught the attention his master’s wife. She tried to convince him to sleep with her. This wasn’t a one time proposal, but a constant request. 

Joseph was alone in Egypt, no family, friends, or accountability partners. From his point-of-view what did he have to look forward to? Would he get married? Would he have a family? Would he ever move above being a slave?

It would have been easy for Joseph to rationalize the affair with Potiphar’s wife. There is no guarantee that he marry and this type of relationship was expected for slaves to engage in, it just needed to be kept secret. 

From a certain perspective it made all the sense in the world for Joseph to give into her request.

What stood in Joseph’s way was his commitment to God. 

Joseph was operating from a different perspective.

It might have been in Joseph the Slave’s best interest to sleep with the wife of Potiphar, but it was not in Joseph the Chosen One’s best interest. 

Side note: this is pure speculation, but I believe that if Joseph choose the path of having an affair he would have remained a slave. He may have remained a favorite slave, but he still would be a slave.

The immediate consequence of Joseph’s decision to reject the advances of Potiphar’s wife brought a new set of hardship: Joseph went from being the head slave in Potiphar’s house to prison. He went from having a great deal of freedom, to no freedom. 

Wouldn’t that be enough to make us question our decision?

Yet, this was the route God chose to prepare Joseph for his task. 

At the time Joseph had no idea of what God had in store for him. All Joseph had was his commitment to God. That commitment allowed Joseph to trust God, even when the circumstances of life did not make sense.

We will never discover what God wants us to do if we never commit ourselves to following God. 

Our vision is limited by time and space. We don’t know what will happen in the next hour, let alone what will happen a year from now. God knows what is going to happen, that means we need to trust Him and the guidance He gives to help navigate the ups and downs of life.