Does gratitude seem to you to be in low supply in 2020? If so, don’t assume that we’re experiencing anything new. “Do not say, ‘Why is it that the former days were better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10). One of the chief marks of the sinfulness of man since the fall of Adam is ingratitude - “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21). Our natural bent is toward presumptive selfishness, thinking that people owe us and exist to serve us and advance our agendas, assuming that we’re deserving of whatever good we might receive from those around us.
Jesus encountered ingratitude in his ministry. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus healed ten lepers. He didn’t heal them immediately by touching them. Rather, he told them to go and show themselves to the priests - and as they went on their way they were cleansed. One man realized what had happened and who had accomplished the healing, and he turned around in mid-trip to give thanks to Jesus. Amazingly, the man who came back to thank Him was a Samaritan, prompting Jesus to exclaim, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine-- where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And then Jesus declared to the man, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:17-19). The man’s saving faith was evidenced by his gratitude, his giving glory to God for the mercy He had shown Him through His Son.
Throughout the Bible, we see that gratitude is one of the chief fruits of God’s gracious salvation. Indeed, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ alone that can truly and lastingly transform a thankless, entitled, discontented heart into a heart overflowing with gratitude.
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12, along with scores of other passages in the Psalms)
“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” (Colossians 2:6-7; see also 1:11-12)
“…and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” (Ephesians 5:4)
“…always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father…” (Ephesians 5:20)
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
“Through [Christ Jesus] then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
Ingratitude is the fruit of pride (“I deserve all this; God owes me these things; I have done all this by the strength and wisdom of my hands”) or discontentment (“I may have this and that, but God hasn’t given me these things and those things”). When we realize that we deserve nothing, and that we have been given so much more than we deserve — particularly as we reflect upon the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ — then we’ll be thankful. J. C. Ryle has put it beautifully: “We are more ready to pray that to praise, and more disposed to ask God for what we have not, than to thank Him for what we have. Murmurings, complainings, and discontent abound on every side of us. Few indeed are to be found who are not continually hiding their mercies under a bushel, and setting their wants and trials on a hill.”
As we enter a week when our entire country is trying to reflect upon all the reasons we have to be grateful, may the Lord God of merciful providence grant us His people more and more the grace of gratitude.