Gratitude is the Key to a Rewarding Life
Ptr. Rodel Lacson
Ptr. Rodel Lacson
The story is told of two old friends who bumped into each other on the street one day. One of them looked sad, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
The sad friend said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me one hundred thousand pesos."
"That’s a lot of money."
"But, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me two hundred fifty thousand free and clear."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...."
"You don’t understand!" he interrupted. "Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost half a million."
Now he was really confused. "Then, why do you look so glum?"
"Because this week... I got nothing!"
That’s the trouble with receiving something on a regular basis. Even if it is a gift, we eventually come to expect it. This is the “entitlement mindset” that has permeated our society at almost every level. We have been blessed to live and as a result we become complacent and many times we are completely unwilling to give thanks to anyone for anything.
Gratitude is the key to a rewarding life. One billionaire said that without gratitude, you'll never be rich, no matter how much money you have.
I think we've all known people whose success in life is held back by a sense of entitlement. Their attitude is: "The government owes me; my parents owe me; the company owes me." We've probably all known children who, after being deluged with extravagant gifts on Christmas Day, look up from the piles of wrapping paper and say, "Is this all?"
A lack of gratitude—and the sense of entitlement that often comes along with it—drains the life out of a person, and ruins their chances for happiness.
Eph. 5:19,20 tells Christians to "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. 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."
And I Thes. 5:16-18 says, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
Paul’s main subject here is PRAISE, THANKSGIVING. Notice the other important words in these passages; ALWAYS, CONTINUALLY, and IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. It sounds as if Paul is talking about a church service here, especially in Eph. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart..." But he isn’t. He is talking about a continual attitude for Christians - an attitude of the heart. How we are to be to each other. But how, you may wonder, can we have this attitude continually, especially "in all circumstances?" I believe the answer lies in our perspective of thanksgiving. To be thankful in all circumstances, we need a proper perspective of our circumstances and of our God. Only then we will be able to give thanks to the Lord always.
I believe there are at least three attitudes that steal away our gratitude. Three things that keep us from being thankful.
One is our pride. This is the attitude that says, "Nobody ever gave me anything, I worked hard for everything I have." For years you studied hard and now it is finally paying off. With this kind of attitude, we feel that we have no one to thank but ourselves.
Another attitude that keeps us from being thankful is a critical spirit or constant complaining. Instead of being grateful, this person will always find something to complain about.
One psychologist writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain.” Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives. Complaining makes us miserable. Psalm 77:3 says, “I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.”
Complaining is the archenemy of thanksgiving. The two cannot co-exist in the same heart. And so I challenge you to try to quit complaining for a whole month. Just try it. When you feel tempted to complain, instead of filing your complaint, file a praise. It will change your life. Philippians 2:13 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.”
A third attitude that keeps us from being grateful is carelessness or indifference. Someone once said that if the stars only came out once a year, we would stay out all night to watch them. But they are there every night and we have grown accustomed to them.
The Israelites grumbled because they had no food so God miraculously sent manna to cover the ground each day. Then they started to grumble because it was the same thing every day.
They had a miracle - straight from God every day but were no longer satisfied. Because of pride, carelessness or a critical spirit we will never be truly thankful for all that God has given us.
You know, I really love my wife. She is a very special lady. She’s truly a blessing to my life. One thing that is really special is that each evening she stands in our kitchen and thanks God for our sink full of dirty dishes.
No, she doesn’t do that! Who does? But we should. A sink full of dirty dishes usually means that we have been blessed by God with daily food & water.
Do you realize that two thirds of the world goes to bed hungry every night?
Our prayers are often very general. We say, "Thank you God for all your blessings" but what blessings are we really thankful for? Count your blessings...name them one by one...count your blessings see what God has done.
THE BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL SPIRIT
Now why do you think being a thankful person is so important? Well I think it is because gratefulness is good for us. There are a many ways being a grateful person can benefit you.
For one, being a grateful person can INCREASE YOUR PERSONAL HAPPINESS. Most of us think that our happiness is determined by our circumstances. If I asked you, on a scale of one to ten how happy you are right now, you might say, “Well, I’m about a 2 on the happiness meter because of my circumstances.”
We’ve been taught that our happiness is somehow dependent on how well things go for us. But really our happiness is determined by attitude. It is really in how we see things. The apostle Paul wrote these words from prison (yes prison). "Rejoice in the Lord always," he wrote, "and again I say it rejoice." (Philippians 4:4). Paul was happy despite being in prison and how, he learned to thank God in everything he did. It was really his perspective on life.
Happiness is really determined by our perspective in life not by circumstances. If we learn to be grateful people despite circumstances that will greatly improve our happiness.
Being a grateful person can also IMPROVE YOUR WITNESS FOR CHRIST. Having a noticeable countenance of thankfulness and joy will certainly make us better witnesses for Christ. What is sad is that most Christians are sometimes the most negative, sour people in the world. Mean spirited and ungrateful people. We act like we have been baptized in vinegar not in the Holy Spirit. It is no wonder people don’t want to have anything to do with us.
But when we are thankful, joyful, upbeat people, we attract the lost with our spirit of gratitude because the world is so dark and depressing and ungrateful. Have you looked at this world lately? People are so discouraged? Yet if we can learn to be different, upbeat and thankful, we will attract them. We have something they don’t. 1 Peter 2:12 reads, "Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." Living a life of thankfulness will attract the lost.
Being a grateful person will also ENHANCE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS. There is one thing I notice about some married couples. After awhile many of them become ungrateful and unappreciative of their spouses. Over time they take each other for granted.
Somebody described the first few years in a marriage this way. The husband seeing the wife has a cold, says, "You don’t look good. You should go to the hospital. I have already arranged it. I know the food is bad there, but we are going to have meals catered in." The second year he says, "You don’t look so good. I have called the doctor. Go and lay down. I will take care of the kids. The doctor will be right over." The third year he says, "You know you are not looking so well. When you are done feeding the kids and cleaning up the kitchen, you ought to go lay down." The fourth year he says, "Would you quit walking around here barking like a seal, you’re going to give me your cold?" The longer we become familiar; the less thankful we are for each other.
Wives, just think about how much your marriage would improve if you told your husband how much you appreciate him once and awhile. Kids, think about how much better things would go for you in the home if you told mom and dad once and awhile how grateful you are for the money they spend on you and the stuff they get you? And the things they do for you?Just imagine how much better our church relationships would be if we expressed our thanks for each other from time to time. Instead of picking at each other’s faults so much, what if we just stopped and became grateful for each other.
Do you know how the apostle Paul began most of his letters in the Bible? To the church in
I’ll tell you another way having a grateful heart will benefit you. It will SOLIDIFY YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. Someone once said that God lives in two places. He lives in heaven and in a humble, grateful heart. Hebrews 12:25 says, “Let us please God by serving him with thankful hearts.”
You know what I have found to be true in my life? I have found that I have an overwhelming need to give thanks. There is a desire within me to give thanks to something for what I have. There is something inside of each of us that needs to give thanks to God. When I spend time giving thanks to God for all I have, I just feel close to him, don’t you? I think that is exactly why, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” It is God’s plan, his will for us to give thanks to him. He made us for that.
Gratitude is the key to a rewarding life. If you want to live right...if you want to feel good about life...then practice being grateful. Abandon the attitude of entitlement—that the world owes me an easy ride—and recognize and enjoy the gifts you have already been given.
If God never did anything else for me—if he never answered another prayer or never sent another blessing my way—I could not pay him back, even in a thousand lifetimes, for all that he has already done for me.
