An Attitude of Gratitude
Introduction:
We are approaching the time of the year that we call thanksgiving. It is a time where we set aside one particular day of the year to return thanks to God for what He has done and how he has blessed us. We do indeed have something to be thankful for today. During this time many people will be cooking a turkey, baking pumpkin pie, watching football games, perhaps in the woods hunting. I wonder if in the midst of all the holiday commotion is people will pause and take time to thank God. I wonder, why do we need a national holiday to remind us to give thanks. There is nothing wrong with having a time of thanksgiving, but shouldn’t every day be filled with thanks to God for what he has done for us? As I think about talking about gratitude, I think that it is a difficult sermon topic to preach on, because those that suffer from ingratitude usually have a hard time seeing their faults, they seem to thrive on problems, and they never see that ingratitude is something they need to change. Nevertheless, I believe ingratitude is one of the most serious of sins and that gratitude is one of the most important of virtues.
I believe we live in a nation and among a people who suffer from ingratitude. Ingratitude is a big deal because it fails to give thanks to where it belongs. Also, it seems that ingratitude is a root of all sins. Many of the times that we live in disobedience it can be traced to ingratitude for what God has done for us already.
I some times wonder why are we not thankful sometimes…
1. We are spoiled rotten
We here today live in the most affluent country in the world; we have more than most people. I believe one of the reasons why many of us may display ingratitude in our lives may be because we are spoiled rotten. Basically, we have everything that we could ever possibly need and probably most of whatever we could ever possibly want. We are spoiled rotten. Generally speaking though, the more we have the less grateful we are. Despite all that we have we are still often not content with what we have. The more we have and the more we are spoiled the higher our standard is for discerning contentment. For example, if you stay at the Hilton it is hard to be content with Motel 6. If eat at a nice steak house it is hard to be content with Wendy’s. If you vacation in Hawaii it may be hard to be content with the camping trip to the state park. If you have Jason Cole as a preacher it is hard to be content with anyone else. We really are spoiled and the more we have the higher our expectations are and the harder it is to please us and to make us content. Perhaps today, here, there is some ingratitude because we have been spoiled rotten.
2. We May Have Negative companions
You may remember the movie, “Grumpy Old Men” with Walter Matthao and Jack Lemmon. In the movie the two grumpy men feed off of each other’s grumpiness. It is true that a negative attitude can spread and that an attitude of ingratitude can spread. We need to be careful who our companions are. The Proverbs teach that a companion of fools shall be destroyed and I Corinthians teaches that bad company can corrupt good character. We may have to purge some of our companions because they cause us to have an attitude of ingratitude.
3. We May Be Making Comparisons
Perhaps some of our ingratitude could come because we are making comparisons to others. Perhaps we look at others and compare ourselves to them and we begin to become ungrateful for what we have in light of what others have. Maybe we look at others and envy the amount of things they have, we may envy their talent, their good looks, and we may become ungrateful for what we have because of comparisons. We need to realize that no matter what there is always someone smarter, always someone better looking, and always someone more talented than us, but that does not remove our need to be grateful. You may remember the parable of the workers in the vineyard that Jesus told. He told a story about a man that hired some men to work his vineyard and he agreed to pay him a denarius. As the day past he hired several others to work as well. When the time came for the people to be paid, the ones that worked all day realized they were paid the same amount as those who only worked a little while. They complained about it and the landowner explained that they agreed to what they were paid and anyways it was his money he could do what he wanted with it. Comparison can be a dangerous thing and lead to ingratitude for what we have been given.
II Corinthians 10:12
There is a danger in comparison to become ungrateful for what we do have.
This morning I really want to challenger everyone. I know that we all may verbally acknowledge that we are thankful for what we have, but are we really thankful? Let us let that thankfulness that we have be evident in the way we live our lives. Let us not just verbally proclaim thanksgiving, but let us live every day with thanksgiving to God for what he has done for us.
Text: Luke 17:11-19
I. Realize That Everything is the Lord’s
Imagine with me that someone invites you to come and housesit for them while they go to Europe. They tell you that they are going to be gone for six months and you can enjoy anything in the house you want. You can drive their fancy cars. You can use their swimming pool. You can have friends over. You can treat the house, as it was yours. You can eat their food; you can live there cost free. After four months pass, the family arrives back home from their vacation, two months earlier than they had told you. How do you respond? Do you get mad and complain and say, “you said you were going to be gone for six months, that’s not fair”? Of course not, you thank them for the time they allowed you to enjoy all that they had. If you were to complain you would come across and ungrateful and they may become aggregated. The reason you wouldn’t have the right to complain is because it was their house anyway, not yours.
Psalm 24:1
We do not have the right to complain about what we have or to be ungrateful for what we do not have because everything is the Lord’s anyways. We do not deserve anything at all; everything that we have is indeed a blessing from God. Sometimes an attitude of ingratitude develops because we think that we are owed something when we are not.
II. Realize What We Do Have
Visit a third world country and we may stop complaining about ours. Visit with a parent that just loss a child and we may stop complaining about ours. Visit a homeless shelter and we may stop complaining about our situation. Learn of Christian martyrs and we may stop complaining about how things are for us. I think a lot of problems come from a failure to realize what we do have.
A 12 year old boy named David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he’d like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother’s hand."
Doesn’t that humble you when you think of what we expect and our ungratefulness for what we do have? There would be many in the world that would be ecstatic to have what we have.
Do you know if you have one Bible at home you have more than one third of the world, which does not have the Word of God. Did you know that over 1 million people will not survive this week. Perhaps when we begin to realize what we do have it changes our attitude somewhat and we can be grateful for what God has given to us. I love the way the old hymn words it:
Count you blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings see what God hath done
Count your many blessing and it may surprise you what the Lord hath done
A. We Have Physical Blessings
Sometimes we may take for granted the physical blessings that we do have. We have so much to be thankful for that God has blessed us with physically. We have family, we have friends, we have church family, we have homes to go to, we have vehicles, we have the means to get what we need, we have our health, we have jobs and the list can go on and on as to the physical blessings that we have. God does not just provide the things we need, but many times he provides for us the things that we want.
I Timothy 6:17
In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don’t." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat." The man said, "Oh, you’re one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!" Ironside said, "Yes, you’re just like my dog. That’s what he does too!"
The next time some ingratitude begins to slip into your life, realize what you do have. Realize the things that he has physically given you. Pause to count your blessings and it may surprise you what the Lord has done. We need to realize those our thankfulness to God cannot be based on the physical alone. Happiness and thankfulness actually has little to do with outward circumstances it is an attitude. We need to remain in an attitude of gratitude not just because of the physical, but also for what we have spiritually.
B. We Have Spiritual Blessings
Even if every physical blessing were removed and taken away the way it was with Job, we have much to be thankful for. We have spiritual blessings that are amazing. We have a God who loves us, we have His Word which reveals God to us, we have the ability to come to Him in prayer, we have answered prayers, we have his Spirit indwelling us, and most of all we have salvation in Jesus Christ, which comes to us not because we deserve it, but by grace.
Colossians 1:11-14
III. Avoid Grumbling and Complaining
Philippians 2:14
There is great danger in complaining and grumbling. It seems though that some have the spiritual gift of complaining. At a restaurant everything can be good, but if there is one little problem we will focus on that. At a movie it can be great, but we can focus on the guy with the big head in front of us. We can move into a new house and everything can be great, but we focus on the crease in the carpet. We can attend church and everything can be great, but we leave complaining that it was too hot, too cold, too loud, or too long. This shows an attitude of ingratitude. God takes this attitude very seriously.
Numbers 11:10, 33
No one ever says, “Hey let’s go to Joe’s house I love to hear him complain”. I believe complaining and grumbling shows an attitude of ingratitude and highlights a person’s selfishness and pride.
Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, left $1 million for one of his relatives, who in return cursed Carnegie thoroughly because he had left $365 million to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million.
Many problems exist in the church and in the world because people complain about what they have or do not have. They think they are owed something and they fail to take time out to realize what they do have. We as Christians need to do our best to avoid complaining, but we like the Apostle Paul need to learn to be content in all circumstances.
IV. Give Thanks to God Daily
Sometimes we can be so busy with this life that we fail to take time out for the most important things.
I Thessalonians 5:18
Realize what we have!!!
James 1:17
Hebrews 12:28
