But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. - (2Co 12:16 ESV)
We played cat sitter to a friend's kitten while he is in vacation in his hometown in Bukidnon. In all of my 58 years, I haven't seen a kitten so strange in its antics and games. One of the games that he always plays is to grab with his front legs one of his hind legs to bite it and in the process has to roll or take a somersault as he does it. We have been a cat owner for four years now but none of our previous cats display any of this kitten's antics.
But strangeness is not just for cats. People are strange too, sometimes.
One of the things that Apostle Paul complained about the church in Corinth is that they seemed not able to appreciate the great service done for them because they received it for free (2 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 12:13-14). That in itself is not so strange for sometimes free things have very little or no value. But the stranger thing is that the Corinthians could not put up with the free servitude of Apostle Paul but put up with those who rip them off and steal them blind, who make it a sport of putting them down and abusing them (2 Cor 11:20). Now that is indeed strange.
But isn't this attitude also true for many of us? When something is free, always there, readily available, we take those things for granted. Who else but only the best artists and poets can sing praises to the wind, the forests or the mountains. Who else but only the most appreciative and demonstrative can say "I love you" or "thank you" to people who are around them every day and taking care of their daily needs. Most children never say that to their parents although they may be quick to say that to their friends or to other people. It's strange how we value only the expensive but fail to appreciate that which is given freely.
But is anything really free? To the best of our reasoning, nothing is. Somehow, somewhere, someone paid the price for that which we receive for free. There are "free" things which somebody already paid for expensively. Some think that going to heaven is free but Jesus paid for this trip with His own blood and life so that we don't have to. It's true that we don't pay anything to get there but only because Jesus did, and with sacrifices so great not being able to appreciate this free gift is stranger than a tumbling kitten.
What are the things that we have or regularly receive for free that we fail to appreciate and be grateful for? The gift of family, love, care, friendship, life? Those people through whom we receive these wonderful blessings may not demand them from us, but it would go a long, long way toward their encouragement, joy and perseverance in continuing their good work if they receive a word of commendation or appreciation once in a while.
