Recently, as I was about to make a request to God for a matter that has been on my mind, my request suddenly turned to a prayer of thanksgiving. It wasn’t on purpose; my intention was to plead with God about the matter, but instead it became a prayer of thankfulness for the thing.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, but it has given me food for thought about gratitude. Gratitude is something God takes seriously, and I’m starting to wonder why. In Romans 1:21 a severe critique is made regarding the heart of man disregarding God and lacking gratitude. The story of the ten lepers also comes to mind, where all are healed, but only one returns to Jesus to offer gratitude. 2 Timothy 3:2 follows with this theme: that in the last days, the hearts of men will be so desperately wicked that, along with being lovers of self, arrogant, slanderers, lovers of money, they’ll be ungrateful.
In general, I think when we are thankful to people, we are revealing that we are not owed their kindness, or thoughtfulness. It certainly makes you less arrogant. You think less about yourself and recognize the value, the goodness, and the time that someone sacrificed. You go from entitlement to humility. And from a position of humility, your eyes are opened to quality, not quantity.
And I think God wants us to have that perspective because arrogance positions us into self-reliance, and soon we become our own gods. Life becomes a transaction and everything around us becomes about how others best serve us. We don’t take time to appreciate the good that we have and how what we have is a blessing not just something useful to us.
There was a time where I felt dissatisfied with God, with myself, and with my life, and I deeply felt that this Christian walk was not useful or fruitful for me. Nothing was working. It’s one of the few times I’ve felt a profound discomfort where walking away seemed logical. I didn’t feel that I had anything to be thankful for. I confided in a friend, and she advised that for seven straight days before walking away, I should find things that I am grateful for, no matter how insignificant, and say them out loud. We agreed that we would talk afterward before I made my final decision.
I thought it was silly, but I made a sincere effort. After day three, the fog in my mind completely lifted, and I felt lighter. God’s goodness, sovereignty, and kindness became apparent. My gratitude wasn’t predicated on what I had that others didn’t -- although that remained factual-- but I searched for things to appreciate. I went for walks. I appreciated the trees and greenery, the sounds of the birds, walking, walking outside… Most of the things I appreciated didn’t have direct use to me, but were a blessing to my quality of life, nonetheless.
Thankfulness makes us into a people whose hearts are not filled with holes; whose souls are not a vacuum that only consumes, whose eyes are not voracious to want, but sensitive to gratitude.
Thankfulness makes us complete. It doesn’t mean that we may not want or expect more, but gratitude recognizes the value of others besides ourselves. Time is a non-renewable resource, and when people give us their time, it’s like giving a bit of themselves. And when we are not grateful it’s like despising the self that is being offered to us. Doing that to each other is unpleasant; doing it to the One who gave you life is unfathomable.
I personally need to prioritize taking a breath, appreciating the roses, the good things even if things are not how I want them to look. Perhaps if I slow down and learn to appreciate the beauty and disconnect from what I want to control, somehow the scales will balance. And I think it will help me appreciate God more.
