Have you seen this screen before? If you have, then perhaps you’ve been faced with the dilemma that many other people seem to experience. Do I tip before the service and/or products are received? Traditionally, tipping is an expression of gratitude for good service that has been provided to the customer. Tipping is frequently called a gratuity, which according to the dictionary is “something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service.” Needless to say, there are strong opinions both ways about this new practice of asking for a tip before service is rendered. This got me thinking about our attitude about gratitude where God is concerned. Are we grateful to God only after he gives us what we want or ask for? Or can we show gratitude to God knowing that he will provide what we need even if it is not that for which we ask? Do we look to God with a spirit of expectations or with a spirit of expectancy? Expectations and expectancy have the same starting point but arrive at different destinations. Expectations are a list, usually of the minimum that we believe will make us happy. Expectancy does start with hopes, dreams or desires but trusts in God to fill in the blanks as to what will provide us with happiness. We can be grateful and at peace because we trust in the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16.34 “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 7.17 “I will give to the LORD the thanks due to His righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.” Think this week about how you can show gratitude to God. Les Keele
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