Greetings all and Happy Sabbath!  Tomorrow, we will have our Booklet Discussion and potluck in both Charlotte and Hickory on the New Covenant: Does It Abolish God's Law?  Hopefully you've all had a chance to read the Introduction and the first two chapters, God's Magnificent Series of Covenants and A New Covenant for Transforming the Heart.

Who'd a thunk it!

Who would have though we'd be enjoying 60 degrees in January!  Okay, for you native Carolinians, maybe that's not unusual.  But for us transplants, it's mighty nice!

Talking about the weather is a time honored conversation starter.  Often, we do it when we can't think of anything else to say.  And thinking about thinking got me to thinking....what does it take to be thoughtful?

An obvious answer

In order to be more thoughtful, we have to, well....think!  To be more accurate, we need to be thinking about others. "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others," (Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV)

Ah yes, thinking more of others than ourselves.  Something that's so simple, all you have to do is read this verse and you automatically start doing it, right??!!??!

Needless to say, it's a little harder than that.  At the risk of being repetitive, thinking of others require a lot of thought.  What do they feel? Why do the feel that way? What sort of words or action might be meaningful to them, personally? What 'things of others' as Paul puts it, should I be thinking about?  When we start asking these questions, we can see that being truly thoughtful of others takes a bit of work!

More than being nice

We often become thoughtful when life is at one extreme or the other.  If someone did something nice to you, we're pretty quick to say thank you or even write a note.  And if they've just lost a loved one, we're usually good about sending flowers, or a sympathy card.  But being thoughtful requires more than that. 

In the next conversation you have, take a little time to think about what they might be feeling.  Perhaps it's not an 'extreme' situation as outlined above, but a rather mundane one.  Why are they sharing it with you? What are they going through, emotionally?  Is there anything you can do to help?  Is there anything that you need to do?  Is the most thoughtful thing at that moment just to listen?

Being thoughtful doesn't have to be a grandiose gesture, or even something visible.  Nor is it only something we should do when something really good or bad happens.  By actively trying to think more of others than ourselves, we can become truly thoughtful!