Your Daily Devotional for November 22, 2007

 

November 22,  2007

 

 

Thanksgiving Day

Four Reasons for Ingratitude

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

 "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

 

Thank you notes, random acts of kindness, a small gift, and a hug—these are all ways to show appreciation. But, do these actions come naturally? In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, the Bible commands us to give thanks. Knowing that gratefulness may not be an instinctive part of the way our flesh is wired, God distinctly put a reminder—a command—for everyone to give thanks.

 

If you haven't noticed lately, not everyone has caught on to the principle of being thankful. People incessantly honk their horns, steal your parking space, fail to send a thank you note or to show appreciation for your hard work. Why are people—you and me included—unthankful? The reasons for ingratitude are numerous, but let us study four specific reasons today.

 

Comparison

Second Corinthians 10:12 says, "…but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." Is someone around you living a better life than you are? Does it seem that God's favor is upon everyone else's life but your own? Having constant thoughts like these will breed a spirit of ingratitude. The more you and I compare our lives with others, we will surely find many things we want to fix, rather than find many things for which we can give thanks.

 

Expectation

"The foundation of gratitude is the expectation of nothing." Imagine that your birthday is tomorrow, and you are expecting to get a brand new camera. Let's just say that instead of a camera, you receive a picture frame. In this instance, you would probably feel disappointed and not grateful for the gift.

 

If you were expecting nothing on your birthday and someone came and gave you a picture frame, automatically you would be surprised by the gift of thoughtfulness and be thankful for it. Do you see the difference? May we not live a life of expecting, but may we live a life of giving!

 

Discontentment

First Timothy 6:6–9 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."  This passage of Scripture coincides with the prayer of Job, "…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

 

Someone once said, "Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." Like Job, we must thank God for what He has given to us and what He has taken from us.

 

Busyness

How long has it been since you talked to the Lord? God is the epitome of gratitude. If we don't spend time with Him, we forfeit the chance of learning gratitude from the ultimate Teacher.

 

These four small stumbling blocks will keep you and me from giving thanks. May we acknowledge them, ask the Lord for wisdom to overcome them, and give thanks for His provision and mercy. "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."—Psalm 107:1

Daily Bible Reading

Ezekiel 18-19 • James 4

 

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