Ingratitude Speaks
Just about everybody knows they ought to be thankful. But being thankful is not always easy. In fact, left to ourselves, we are more inclined to grumble and complain than give thanks.
Well, that feeling of ingratitude could be telling you something. It could be relating something about the condition of your soul, because there’s a relationship between your spiritual health and your level of gratitude.
When people are faithful and growing spiritually, they are thankful. But when they’ve slipped into a state of unbelief, they become ungrateful.
Once you see the relationship here, it’s not hard to see that when ingratitude overtakes you, it’s got a message for you.
The message could be that you haven’t been doing what you know you should be doing. When Cain did not do what he knew was right, his countenance fell (Gen.4:7). The same thing happens today. When you knowingly do what is wrong, your disposition sours, and instead of thankfulness, there’s bitterness.
A feeling of ingratitude could also be telling you that you’ve grown forgetful. As Israel was blessed by God, they often forgot Him as their provider and became ungrateful (Ps.78). That same pattern continues to repeat itself. God blesses; people forget Him as the source of every blessing; and see no reason to give thanks.
Another message that ingratitude may communicate is that you are too much a lover of yourself. The Bible alerts us that times will come when there will be those who are proud lovers of themselves – and one way they will stand out is that they’ll be ungrateful (2 Tim.3:2). Loving self above God and others is a sure cause of ingratitude.
When ingratitude surfaces, it could also be telling you that you’ve become prayerless. Scripture shows us that there is a close connection between prayer and thanksgiving (1 Thess.5:17,18). When you’re prayerful, your eyes are opened to what God is doing in your life and the giving of thanks naturally follows.
Whenever you find yourself ungrateful, it’s an indicator something is not right. Just as a pain in the chest or a noise under the hood tells us that something needs to be checked out, so does living under a cloud of ingratitude tell you your soul needs some help.
Have you been ungrateful as of late? Have you had a hard time finding reason to give thanks? Then ask God to show you why.
And especially ask Him to show you all that there is to be thankful for in Christ. Because it’s in Him the greatest reasons for gratitude are found.
In Christ, there is victory over sin and death (1Cor.15:57). There’s participation in His unshakeable kingdom (Heb.12:28). There’s the promise of an eternal inheritance (Col.1:12). And there’s the assurance that He reigns over all things in heaven and on earth (Rev.11:17).
When ingratitude speaks, be sure and listen. The grace of God found in Christ is sufficient to turn any ungrateful heart into one that overflows with gratitude.
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