Rekindling the Attitude of Gratitude
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
A salesman got lost in a rural area and stopped at a farm to get directions. As he was talking to the farmer he noticed a pig with a wooden leg. "How did the pig get a wooden leg?" he asked the farmer.
"Well," said the farmer, "that is a very special pig. One night not too long ago we had a fire start in the barn. Well, sir, that pig set up a great squealing that woke everyone, and by the time we got there he had herded all the other animals out of the barn and saved every one of them."
"So that’s how he hurt his leg?" asked the salesman.
"Oh no," said the farmer. "He was fine after that, though a while later I was in the woods out back and a bear attacked me. Well, sir, that pig was near by and he came running and set on that bear and chased him off. Saved me for sure."
"So the bear injured his leg then," said the salesman.
"Oh no. He came away without a scratch from that, though a few days later my tractor turned over in a ditch and I was knocked unconscious. Well, that pig dove into the ditch and pulled me out before I drowned."
"So he hurt his leg then?" asked the salesman.
"Oh no," said the farmer.
"So how did he get the wooden leg?" the salesman asked.
"Well," the farmer told him, "A pig like that, you don’t want to eat all at once."
What a thankful farmer!
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There was a young man working in the fields and came home after calling it a day. From a distance, he heard noises coming out of the house, and as he entered the gate he saw people dancing and singing, and having a party. “What’s going on?” he asked on of the servants. And the servant told him, “Your brother has come home! So your father killed the calf that we have been fattening to celebrate your brother’s coming home safely.”
I believe you all know the beginning of this story—the well-known Story of the Prodigal Son. When the great American storyteller Mark Twain was asked, “Who do you think is the best storyteller every lived?” Mark twain answered, “Jesus Christ.” “Then which story is the greatest story every told?” He replied, “The Story of the Prodigal Son.”
It is about this father who has two sons. One day, the younger son asked his father to give him his share of the inheritance because he couldn’t wait until his father died in order to get it. The father might have tried many ways to dissuade him without success, so he gave him what he wanted. A few days later, the son packed up all his belongings and left home for a distant land, and there he wasted his money on wild living.
Soon he ran out of money and had no food to eat. He persuaded a local farmer to give him a job to feed his pigs. Looking at the pods—the pig food—in his hand, he was about to eat it because he was so hungry. Then he came to his senses. He said to himself, ‘In my father’s house, even the servants have more than enough to eat. And now I am dying of hunger.” I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.” ’
So he returned home to his father. The Bible says, “And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming.” Imagine this scene; this father must have been waiting in front of the house everyday looking down the street hoping his son would come home. Only the parents would understand this feeling; you know that your child has abandoned you and left you for good, but you still expect him to come home.
Look at this scene, the Bible says, “Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.
It was a thanksgiving party everybody is singing, dancing, eating and celebrating the joy of the son coming home. This was the party the elder brother was seeing when he came home from the fields. Inside the house there is seat reserved for him. Everyone might be thinking that when the big brother came home they would witness a joyful reunion of the two brothers. But, they were wrong because the big brother was angry. He was furious and refused to go in. For him his little brother is as good as dead. “How could anybody celebrate for such a filthy man, who squandered his money on wild living and now came home to take my share? No, I am not joining the party and I have nothing to be thankful for.”
The Bible says, “His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve worked hard for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the finest calf we have.’
Most of the time we think this story of the prodigal son was just about the younger brother. But it is not, it should be named, “The Story of the Prodigal Sons.” Both of them were prodigals; one is guilty of the sins of the flesh; the other was guilty of the sins of the spirit.
At the end of the story, it is the big brother who was outside of the house, refusing to join the celebration because he had nothing to be thankful for but much resentment. Today, you and I could be the big brother if we are physically close to God but spiritually distant.
Paul said, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Almost in everyone of Paul’s letter he told people to rejoice and give thanks. Even when he was writing from the prison, he still tells people to rejoice and be thankful. In this passage, he says, “no matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Do you want to do God’s will? Here is one of the ways to do God’s will, give thanks! And the psychologists say that the attitude of the gratitude is the healthiest emotion.
Three things you need to do in order to rekindle a thankful heart.
1. Count Your Blessings
One of the main reasons for the big brother not being able to give thanks to the father and join the party was because he failed to count the blessings. Instead, he was counting his rights and entitlements. He was punching the calculator and said, “Dad, do you remember how many hours I work for you each day for all these years? Do you remember if I had ever refused to do anything you told me to do?
When you punch the calculator and count your entitlements, you become blind to the blessings. The father said, ‘Look, dear son, you and I are very close, and everything I have is yours.’ The father said, “Look!” Friends, are you looking? Do you see the blessings you have?
Today, you might still be disappointed by the divided nation, or the outcome of the presidential election, but ‘look,’ count the blessing for the freedom we have. You might say, “Sam, you don’t know the problems I have.” But, do you know billions of people in many parts of the world would love to have your problems. While you are worrying about paying your mortgage, billions of people around the world are struggling to get the next meal on their table. Look, and count the blessings!
It is very dangerous if you fail to count the blessings. If King David counted his blessings, he wouldn’t have had Bathsheba’s husband killed and took her as his wife. If Scott Peterson counted his blessings—I am sure the whole nation was counting his blessings each time he appeared on the TV screen. A handsome man, a beautiful wife, a baby to be born, a boat a house…he had it all. He was living the American Dream! But obviously he didn’t count the blessing. He didn’t even count his entitlements right.
Folks, don’t fail to count the blessings, otherwise not only that you don’t have anything to be thankful for, you might end up doing something foolish that could ruin your entire life as well as other people’s life. So count the blessings.
2. Be in Fellowship with God
You might think being faithful is enough. But, do you know that you can be faithful and not in fellowship with the father? Fellowship is a Christian term that came from the Greek word ‘Koinonia,’ meaning oneness. That’s the kind of fellowship we are talking about. It is the right relationship with God. Like this big brother, you might be serving God faithfully for many years but you don’t have the right relationship with him.
If you have the right relationship with him, you will share his priorities, his interests, his sorrows, and his joys. If your priority is not the same as your heavenly father’s, you are not in fellowship with him. You become aloof. Look at what he says to his father, “when this son of yours comes back.” It is especially unusual for an Asian (or Middle Eastern) son to speak this way to his father. “This son of yours,” as if both the father and the younger brother have nothing to do with him. They are strangers. There is a spiritual distance between them. No wonder this big brother has no idea why his father celebrating.
God’s actions only make sense to those who have the right relationship with him. The father reminds him, “Son you are always with me.” “We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’ ”
Does what your heavenly father is doing make sense to you?” Be faithful but also be in fellowship with him so that you will share is joy and happiness.
3. Know Your Privilege
It seems that the elder brother’s relationship toward his father is more transactional rather than relational. I work hard for you, so give me what I am entitled to.
Friends, it is possible to be an heir of the creator of the universe, but still have less joy and liberty than those that have nothing. The servants were happier than the elder son, eating, laughing, dancing, and celebrating the joy of the master, while the elder son stood on the outside demanding his entitlements. He lost his share of happiness because his attitude was that of a hired hand, rather than a son.
He has nothing to be thankful for because he has forgotten his privilege. His father had to remind him, “My son, you are always with me. All that is mine is yours.” When our attitude begins to erode like the elder brother’s we should remember our privilege as God’s children. Then you will see your blessings and be able to give thanks.
At the end of the story, the elder brother was the one standing outside of the house allowing himself to live in a broken relationship. In fact the term ‘hell’ means a broken relationship with God, just like this elder brother allowing himself to burn in the hellish fire of arrogance, self-righteousness, and resentment.
Invitation
For those who haven’t heard the gospel, this is the summery of it. “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish by have eternal life. One thing we need to know is that God is a Trinity and therefore Jesus is God himself. Jesus said, “The Father and I are one,” “Those who have seen me have seen God.”
So just like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son who emptied himself and his dignity, and humbly ran down the street to embrace his son and bring him home, God came to earth in Jesus Christ to seek the repentant sinners and bring them home. When the elder brother refused to come in, the father did the same thing. He humbled himself, came out of his comfortable home where he is having a party, and came out like a servant to reconcile and invite the elder son home.
In the same way, God loves you so much that he emptied himself and humbly left his heavenly home and came down to earth in Jesus Christ to invite you home. Today, you have a choice. You can be like the elder son who refuses to reconcile with God and stays outside of the relationship. Or, you can be like the younger son who repented of his sins and receive God’s forgiveness, reconciliation, and invitation to the eternal relationship with him.
This morning you have the opportunity to respond to his invitation by praying this prayer with me. Let’s bow our head.
Dear God. I thank you on this thanksgiving season, for your self-emptying love expressed in Jesus Christ on the cross to reconcile and invite me back to my eternal relationship with you. I don’t understand it all, but today I accept your invitation and welcome you into my heart to be my Lord, my God and Savior, and show me my way and guide my life. In Jesus Christ name we pray. Amen.
