Treasure Principles
Connecting With God
Habit of Life
A thankful spirit is one of the key distinguishing marks of a Christian. It sets us apart from the world, it makes us different.
In 21st-century America, we live in an entitlement culture. We have so much wealth as a society that we tend to take for granted things like food, and clothing and shelter.
Most people today consider a color television and a VCR to be necessities rather than luxuries. What we consider to be ‘poverty’ today is far above the quality of life that most people enjoyed a hundred years ago. From a material point of view, we’re better off now than we’ve ever been.
We take prosperity for granted. And the danger in that, for those who are seeking to follow Christ, is that it will dull our sense of gratitude and thankfulness toward God.
Because the more we have, the less we seem to appreciate it.
When you think of Thanksgiving, what do you think of?
In the past few years, vegetarians have been promoting an alternative to turkey, a tofu turkey, or “Tofurky”.
What else do you associate with Thanksgiving?
Families getting together. The kids playing ping pong in the basement. The grownups dozing off after dinner while they watch football on TV. Eating turkey sandwiches for supper (and lunch and dinner).
Well, what I’d like to do this morning is focus on what it really means to give thanks to God.
One who was Thankful
11 While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he was going through the area between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he came into a small town, ten men who had a skin disease met him there. They did not come close to Jesus 13 but called to him, “Jesus! Master! Have mercy on us!”
14 When Jesus saw the men, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” n
As the ten men were going, they were healed. 15 When one of them saw that he was healed, he went back to Jesus, praising God in a loud voice. 16 Then he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (And this man was a Samaritan.)
17 Jesus said, “Weren’t ten men healed? Where are the other nine? 18 Is this Samaritan the only one who came back to thank God?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Stand up and go on your way. You were healed because you believed.”
Luke 17:11-19
Let’s set the scene here. Anyone with leprosy was forced to live outside the city, and was forbidden to have any close contact with other people, lest they spread the disease to others.
In this passage, the ten men are outside the village. They can’t get close to Jesus because of their disease, so they have to stand at a distance and yell to him, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus gives them a command, which they follow, and as they are walking, miraculously, all are healed of their disease.
Now here comes the interesting part. How do they respond? They must have been overjoyed! Perhaps some of them ran home to see their parents, their brothers and sisters, to embrace wives and children whom they hadn’t been able to visit or touch in years.
But only one had the presence of mind to return. Only one saw beyond the gift to the giver, only one came back and gave thanks. One out of ten.
What was the difference? The nine only cared about the healing. They didn’t care about the healer. Once their illness was cured, they had what they wanted. There was happiness and relief, I’m sure, at finally being free of their affliction. But there was no gratitude, no thankfulness, no appreciation. They just took the blessing and ran.
Only one gave thanks; only one had faith.
There are several conclusions one can draw from this story.
Giving God Thanks
Faith is the foundation of Thanksgiving
You may have faith that Jesus is able to do something for you – help you quite smoking, help you control your temper, help you do a better job of relating to your kids.
You may even be willing to follow His instructions, as these men did. You may even get what you seek from Him. But if that’s all the faith you have, then your faith is just the same as the nine lepers who didn’t return. It’s a willingness to trust in Jesus as a miracle-worker, but not as a Savior. Faith goes farther than simply using the object of our faith.
Gratitude and thankfulness are essential, because they cause us to return to Christ as the source of our blessings, rather than just seeking the blessing itself.
If there is little or no thankfulness, there is little or no faith.
Giving God Thanks
Many seek God’s blessings only for what they can get from Him
Many people come to Jesus and don’t really want Him – they just want what he offers. They don’t want a relationship with Christ. They don’t want to know Christ and be known by Him. They don’t want to follow Him; they don’t want to be disciples.
It is possible to receive help from Jesus Christ and not be any part of him.
Listen: The fact that God has done something good in your life is not a guarantee that you belong to Him.
Look at the nine ungrateful lepers. They didn’t want to know Jesus. They did not care about who he was, where he came from, or his purpose in coming. They just want something from Him.
Most of these lepers just wanted healed. That’s all they cared about – and it never changes.
When they got what they wanted, they went on their way without a look back.
In the same way, many people come to God today because they want something from Him.
Maybe they want money.
Maybe they want to be healed of some disease.
Maybe they want to be delivered from some addiction.
Maybe they need help with depression, or anger, or low self-esteem.
Maybe they just want to be around a group of loving people, be a part of a community.
But when they get the blessing, they’re satisfied. That’s all they want from God, they get it, and that’s the end of it. They don’t really want Christ, they just want what He can do for them.
Does that describe you? I hope not.
Example: A husband’s relationship to his wife. Men, if all you want is what your wife can do for you – cook, clean, take care of the children, share the bed – then you don’t really want or need a wife. You need a short order cook, and a maid, and a nanny. To have a relationship, to have a love relationship, you have to want her, not just what she can do.
Giving God Thanks
The most thankful are often those with the least to be thankful about
Did you notice that this man was a Samaritan? In the Jewish society of that day this man was part Jew and part gentile. He was a half-breed and as a consequence of his parentage he was accepted in neither world.
He could have been the child of a Roman soldier and a Jewish girl. Today there are many such men and women in southeast Asia from the years that we were in Viet Nam and like the Samaritan often these people are treated as if they are nothing in their culture for they are neither American nor are they Asian.
Isn’t it remarkable that the only one who gave Jesus thanks and praise for healing him was this Samaritan – none of the others thought to take time out and say thank you. No one came back but this simple and low man.
How much you have has little to do with your attitude. I’ve seen people who are wealthy and prosperous who have terrible attitudes when it comes to gratitude. And I’ve seen some with so little who are so thankful for every little thing they have received.
I hope that you have an attitude of gratitude.
How do you know if you’re thankful?
Which do you tend to talk about more – your blessings, or your disappointments?
Are you a complainer, always grumbling, always finding fault with your circumstances?
Are you content with what you have, or always dissatisfied and wanting more?
Do you find it easier to count your blessings, or is it easier to count your afflictions?
Do you express thanks to others when they help you, or do you just take it as your due?
Would others say that you are a thankful person?
When should we be thankful?
Well, then when should we be thankful? Under what circumstances? In other words, how long do we have to keep up this gratitude stuff? That one is pretty easy to answer: always, and in every situation.
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians 5:19-20 (NIV)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” – Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)
I find these verses very challenging. They present thankfulness as a constant attitude of the heart.
• Whether you’re eating dinner at a nice restaurant or cleaning the bathroom, give thanks.
• Whether you get a promotion and raise, or get a pick slip and shown the door, be thankful.
• Whether you’re strong and healthy and full of life, or sick and diseased, be grateful.
• Whether your marriage is rewarding and satisfying, or whether it’s a painful struggle, give thanks.
In every situation, we are to have an attitude of thankfulness toward God.
Recognize that although not everything is good in itself, God can and will use everything in our lives for our ultimate blessing.
Faithful Living Results in Grateful Living
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 (NIV)
God has a good and wise and loving purpose for everything He allows into our lives, even pain and suffering. We can give thanks in the knowledge that He loves us and will never permit us any pain unless the ultimate benefit is worth the cost.
That doesn’t mean we can understand His ways. We may have no idea how anything could be worth this much pain. But God’s Word tells us that it will be worth it.
Trust God in faith and Give Thanks
The key is not how God has blessed you, but whether you are responding to His blessings with faith which leads to praise and thanksgiving.
Psalm 100: A Psalm For giving thanks
Leader: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
People: Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100: A Psalm For giving thanks
Leader: Know that the LORD is God.
People: It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 100: A Psalm For giving thanks
Leader: Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100: A Psalm For giving thanks
People: For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
