1. Thankless Tasks:
A man stood writing at the post office counter one day when an older man shuffled up to him with a postcard in his hand.
"Sir," the older man said, "would you please address this postcard for me?"
The first man gladly consented, and wrote what the older man dictated to him, and even signed the man's name to the postcard. When he finished, he extended the postcard and asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
The old fellow looked at the card, thought for a moment, and then answered, "Yes. At the end, could you just put 'P.S. Please excuse the sloppy handwriting!"
"A lady known as an incurable grumbler constantly complained about everything. At last her preacher thought he had found something about which she would be happy, for her farm crop was the finest for miles around. When he met her, he said with a beaming smile, `You must be very happy Mary. Everyone is saying how healthy your potatoes look this year.' `True they're pretty good, but what am I going to do when I need bad ones to feed the pigs.'"
a. The Hebrews seemed to grumble regularly
b. Draining; Joy-stealing
2. Luke 17.11-19
a. Imagine the joy at their healing
b. No more disease; no more uncleanness; no more isolation (Leviticus 13.45-46; Numbers 5.2)
3. Only ONE Thank You -- a Samaritan, a Foreigner
a. His faith healed and saved him (v. 19)
b. Allusion to Naaman's healing in 2 Kings 5 -- a foreigner
I. Possible Pictures of Ingratitude
Imaginary conversation with the Nine:
#1 -- I did what I was told, I went to the Priest. Legalists tend not to be grateful. Everything is a duty or obligation.
#2 -- I went to see my family and celebrate my recovery. I meant to thank Him, but by the time I got back, He was gone.
#3 -- I AM grateful, I just didn't know he expected thanks. After all, doesn't he do this sort of thing for a living?
#4 -- I am not sure this healing is to my advantage. I used to collect alms by begging. Now, I will have to get a real job.
#5 -- I am healed, but not happy with the way I look. He should have made me look 15 years younger. If he can heal leprosy, surely he can improve my looks.
#6 -- I feel too guilty to celebrate. There are still hundreds of lepers who aren't healed.
#7 -- O, I plan to thank him, eventually. I have been so busy I just gotten behind, you know, all of those talk shows and interviews.
#8 -- I am afraid to go back and thank him. He can be really demanding. I heard that he told one guy to sell all of his possessions to follow him. I don't want to be a fanatic, he may just want too much in return.
#9 -- You know, I did get better, but maybe it was just a coincidence
II. Potential Practices for Gratitude
"Gratitude is the mother of all virtues." G.K. Chesterton
Former Preaching Minister for the Southeast Christian Church, Bob Russell once described an imaginary conversation with the nine who did not return. He asked them why they did not thank Jesus. With some slight tweaking, here are their responses:
#1 -- Seek God, not wealth -- Proverbs 30.8-9
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, "Who is the LORD?"
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.
a. Affluence or poverty can make us ungrateful
b. Affluent people rarely express gratitude
1. "I don't pray; I have everything." Andrew Carnagie
2. Compare with Psalm 23
#2 -- Stop Comparing -- 2 Corinthians 10.12
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
* Their kids are better than our kids
* Her husband is more romantic than mine
* Their house is bigger/better than our house
* Their preacher is more talented than our preacher
* His salary is higher than my salary
Comparisons rob us of gratitude -- John 21 -- Peter asking about John
#3 -- Acknowledge All is God's, Not Yours -- Psalm 24.1
The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,
[House Sitter
Suppose a wealthy man came to you with a request. He has to go overseas on business and needs someone to watch his estate and asks you. He tells you that he has arranged for someone to clean the house, take care of the lawn but needs someone he can trust to stay in his house the months he is away. He says that you can live in his mansion, drive his cars (BMW; Jaguar; or one of the antiques). You can use the swimming pool anytime. The entertainment center in the lower level of the house is yours to enjoy anytime. You can even take the boat out on the lake. He does not know how long he will be gone, he is predicting six months but it could be more or it might end up only being a couple of weeks. He tells you to enjoy yourself until he gets back. "Mi casa, su casa."
You agree to be his house sitter and for four months you have the run of the place and the time of your life. At the end of four months you receive notice that the owner is returning earlier than expected. How do you feel?
Disappointed that the fun is over? Of course. Would you feel cheated? Would you shake your fist at the owner and say, "You lied to me! You said six months, it's only four! I deserve six months!"?
More likely you would say, "Thanks for the four months. I had a great time."
God does not tell us:
The amount of time we have in this world
The Number of Blessings we will have
God does tell us that HE is the Giver of Gifts -- James 1.17
We don't own anything, God loans us his blessings.
#4 -- Minister to the Less Fortunate
Similar to Comparisons -- we tend to think we have things bad, until we look at others
ALL Jewish people were required to give to the support of others (Widow's mites)
[John Maxwell would take complainers to the Children's Hospital
We are Blessed to Bless -- Genesis 12.3b
. . .in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
#5 -- Avoid Complaining at All Costs -- Philippians 2.14-15
* Hebrews were Complaint Specialists -- Numbers 11.1-15
Learn from them -- Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 1 Corinthians 10.6
* We Have Complaint Specialists Today
o [My dad complained about the bumpy Interstate until they were making repairs and then he complained about the Road Construction
o Too Hot/Humid -- Too Cold
o It Rains When I plan an Event -- My grass is dying because it is too dry
o My Kids do not apply themselves -- My Kids have too many activities
o My Parents interfere -- My Parents don't Care About me
o My church isn't meeting my needs -- My Church pushes too many activities
#6 -- Count Your Blessings
* If you own ONE Bible, you are better off than many -- 1/3 of the world does not have access to a bible
* If you can read, you are better off than many; there are BILLIONS of people in the world who cannot read at all
* If you have more health than illness, you are better off than the million or so who will not survive this week
* If you have food in the refrigerator/a place to sleep/clothes/$20 in your pocket, you are better off than 75% of the world
#7 -- Enjoy Your Blessings with Gratitude -- 1 Thessalonians 5.18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
It is not wrong to have blessings
It is wrong to be stingy or ungrateful
AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
A foursome of senior golfers hit the course with waning enthusiasm for the sport.
"These hills are getting steeper as the years go by," one complained.
"These fairways seem to be getting longer too," said one of the others.
"The sand traps seem to be bigger than I remember them too," said the third senior.
After hearing enough from his buddies, the oldest and the wisest of the four of them at 87 years old, piped up and said, "My friends, just be thankful we're still on this side of the grass!"
It is easy to find things to complain about (and some people seem to enjoy doing it!). Very few things around us are just the way we would like them if we were living in an "ideal" world. However, we need to be careful that we do not get so caught up in our complaints that we overlook the great blessings that abound in our lives.
