The Aperture of Appreciation

 The Aperture of Appreciation

Scripture: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

I was standing in the queue at the filling station in Akasia last week, watching the digital display climb past R28 per litre for 95 unleaded. The man in front of me muttered something unprintable under his breath. Behind me, a woman clutched her purse like it was a lifeline, mentally calculating whether she could afford to drive her children to school for the rest of the month.

And in that moment, standing between frustration and fear, I heard the whisper of the Spirit: Give thanks.

Not for the fuel price. Not for the shrinking salary, the 2.8% drop in real wages that has left so many South African households gasping. Not for the 60.9% youth unemployment that has turned dreams into dust in townships across this land. No the Scripture does not command us to give thanks for every circumstance. It commands us to give thanks in every circumstance.

There is a profound difference. And that difference is the aperture of appreciation.

Gratitude is a list; appreciation is a lens.

Let me explain. When you practise gratitude, you compile a catalogue—health, family, food, shelter. These are good things. Necessary things. But gratitude can become mechanical, a spiritual checkbox you tick before bed. Thank You for this day. Thank You for my meals. Amen. Done. The list is complete.

But appreciation ah, appreciation is different. Appreciation is the lens you place over your eyes. It is the aperture you widen to take in the detailed beauty of God's daily provision. Not just thank You for the rain, but praise You for the design of each unique drop, catching the light like a million tiny prisms. Not just thank You for my child, but savour the rhythm of their breathing as they sleep, the curve of their fingers, the miracle of their existence.

The Shona people of Zimbabwe have a proverb: "Gratitude is wealth". But I tell you, appreciation is the eye that sees the wealth. Gratitude without appreciation is like counting money in the dark you know the numbers, but you cannot see the colour, the texture, the image stamped upon each coin. Appreciation is the light that reveals the glory.

The War for Your Attention

Let us name the elephant in the room or rather, the elephant in the township. South Africa is under siege. Not from without, but from within. The consumer confidence index has plunged to -19, its lowest level since the VAT crisis. Nearly half of South African households cannot afford another interest rate hike. Crime, extortion, and gang recruitment are filling the vacuum where hope used to live. And in the middle of all this, the apostle Paul has the audacity to say: "Give thanks in all circumstances."

Is this not a scandal? Is this not offensive?

Picture a young man in Soweto, 22 years old, unemployed, surrounded by the seductive promises of the gang on the corner. They offer identity. They offer belonging. They offer income. And we tell him to give thanks? Picture a mother in Mamelodi, choosing between transport to work and food for her children, her real salary having shrunk to just over R20,000. And we tell her to give thanks?

Yes. But not for the unemployment. Not for the poverty. Not for the injustice.

In it.

Here is the argument, formulated with logical precision:

Premise 1: God is sovereign over all circumstances, and His character is unchangingly good.

Premise 2: The will of God for believers is explicitly stated in Scripture as giving thanks in all circumstances.

Premise 3: Therefore, thanksgiving is not dependent on the nature of the circumstance but on the nature of the God who governs it.

A common objection: "But how can I give thanks when I am suffering? Is that not denial? Is that not toxic positivity?"

Let me answer plainly. The Scripture does not demand that you pretend suffering does not exist. The Psalms are filled with lament "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Lament and thanksgiving coexist. You do not give thanks for the evil; you give thanks to the God who is greater than the evil. You do not celebrate the darkness; you celebrate the Light that shines in the darkness. You do not praise the prison; you praise the Prisoner who walked out of the tomb.

The Ubuntu of Appreciation

There is a Zulu concept that has shaped this nation: Ubuntu "I am because we are". It speaks of interconnectedness, of shared humanity, of the recognition that my wellbeing is bound up with yours.

But let me take you deeper. If Ubuntu teaches us to see our connection to one another, then the aperture of appreciation teaches us to see our connection to the Divine in every detail. The same God who painted the sunset over the Magaliesberg is the God who holds your next breath. The same Christ who calmed the storm on Galilee is the Christ who calms the storm in your spirit. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is the Spirit who raises hope in your heart when all seems lost.

I think of the Mamelodi Sundowns 51,000 fans packed into Loftus Versfeld Stadium in May, cheering their team to African Champions League glory. I think of Bafana Bafana, mocked as "meme material" after their loss to Mexico, only to rise and defeat South Korea 1-0, securing their first-ever place in the World Cup knockout rounds. I think of South Africans pouring into the streets in their pyjamas, blowing vuvuzelas, singing "Shosholoza" at five in the morning.

And I ask myself: what if we brought that same energy to our spiritual lives? What if we celebrated God's faithfulness with the same abandon? What if we poured into the streets of our souls, shouting hallelujah not because circumstances are easy, but because God is worthy?

The Gallery of His Goodness

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, "We are prisoners of hope." But I tell you, appreciation is the key that unlocks the prison door. It trains your soul to scan for God's fingerprints. It turns your life into a gallery of His goodness.

Imagine, if you will, walking through a gallery where every painting tells a story of redemption. The dark strokes of suffering there is a painting. The bright colours of joy there is another. The grey uncertainty of tomorrow yes, even that has a frame. And as you walk, you realise: the Gallery is your life. And the Curator is Christ.

This is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Not that you would be comfortable. Not that you would be prosperous in the way the world defines prosperity. But that you would see. That you would appreciate. That you would worship.

A Call to Action

So here is my challenge to you, fellow sojourner in this beautiful, broken land:

First, widen your aperture. Stop looking through a pinhole at your problems. Open your eyes to the daily provision of God. The warmth of the cup. The colour of the sky. The sound of a loved one's breath. These are not trivial details; they are the vocabulary of divine love.

Second, practise the paradox. Give thanks in the darkness, not for the darkness. Let your gratitude be a defiant act of faith, a declaration that God is bigger than your circumstances. When the electricity cuts in Gauteng, thank God that you have a home to be in. When the fuel price rises, thank God that you have somewhere to go. When the news is grim, thank God that He is the Author of history, not a character in it.

Third, become a curator of testimony. When you see God's goodness, speak it. When you taste His faithfulness, share it. In a nation where consumer confidence is collapsing, be a person whose confidence is in the unshakable Kingdom. In a society where youth are turning to gangs for identity, be a person whose identity is in Christ. In a culture of complaint, be a culture of celebration.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, widen the aperture of my appreciation. I confess that I have often been a grumbler rather than a worshipper. I have seen my problems more clearly than I have seen Your provision. Forgive me. Open my eyes to the gallery of Your goodness that surrounds me every day. Help me to give thanks in all circumstances not because I deny the pain, but because I trust the Pain-bearer. Let my life be a testimony to Your faithfulness, even in the shadows. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

"What you see daily determines what you become permanently. What you appreciate, you magnify. What you magnify, you worship. And what you worship, you become."

—Harold Mawela, Akasia, Pretoria

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