Gratitude A Christian State of Mind Gratitude is

Gratitude A Christian State of Mind

Gratitude is a component of several spiritual qualities �Gratitude �Praise �Generosity �Contentment �Peace (Shalom) These five spiritual qualities are intertwined and interdependent. If you grow in one of these, the other four are enhanced. If you become deficient in one, the others four are likewise impacted negatively.

Part 1 Pat’s pick of the best five verses on thankfulness

1. Don’t fall in the 90% 11 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests. ” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice,

16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner? ” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well. ” Luke 17

What was in the minds of the nine? Well God, why did you take so long? It’s okay that I am healed – but look at the years I lost! Go back and thank Jesus? I never did anything to deserve being a leper. 4. Look at what I’ve lost! Because of my leprosy, I will never gain back what I’ve lost financially, my career opportunities and lost years. 1. 2. 3.

2. God’s will mandate 18 In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5. 18

Let’s take a Christian being mugged, robbed, and hospitalized… Our thanks is not for the evil, the crisis, the pain, or the emotional turmoil. Rather it is for what God is going to do in shaping that person into being fit for eternity. All of what happens to you is part of your life story. Everyone’s life story has pain in it. But when we look back, if we handled life God’s way we will see that we are closer to God, stronger, more wise, and more ready for heaven. Think of how shallow you would be now if you had never experienced adversity. Remember, the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay.

3. An offering to God 15 Through Him 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

When you picture Old Testament Jews going to the temple and offering to God, you are doing the same thing every time you express gratitude for God’s blessings.

4. Gratitude the antidote to bitterness 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; Hebrews 12

Weed your garden… In Hebrews 12. 15, one’s life is seen as a garden. A bitter person’s life is a garden full of weeds which are choking the beauty and bounty of the garden. Gratitude is a bio-friendly weed killer. It is impossible to be bitter and grateful to God simultaneously.

5. Undervaluing gratitude 21 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

Nor give thanks… In Romans 1 Paul indicts humanity for its greatest crimes against God. The chapter provides a powerful list of offenses including suppressing the truth about God, animal worship, destructive sexual deviant acts, inventors of evil, and depravity just to name a few. But there is one offense that is mentioned that has always thrown me, it is for ingratitude in verse 21. It would have been like Adolf Hitler if he would have lived, being tried at Nuremberg and after being indicted for the murder of 6, 000 Jews the next offense listed would have been for not saying thank you. Let me assure you that ingratitude has little do with manners and everything to do with one's deepest spiritual state.

Gratitude is a state of mind… Being grateful isn’t occasionally having a thought of appreciation that something good has happened in your life rather than something negative. For instance, I am grateful that the car narrowly missed me this morning. That would have been a horrible accident. Everyone is thankful in that sense. Rather a heart of gratitude is much, much deeper than that. It means that you are shaped by the blessings of God on your life rather than shaped, controlled, and preoccupied by that which doesn’t measure up to your desires. Again, true gratitude is a state of mind.

Part 2 The Ten Enemies of gratitude

Enemy 1. Gratitude’s short shelf life The human memory of God’s blessings has a short shelf life and needs to be kept in the refrigerator. We are blessed and grateful when the doctor informs us that the disease that we thought we might have is gone. We are flooded with joy but then shortly take it all for granted as though God never protected us or answered our prayers. Shame on us!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Psalm 103

Enemy 2. Preoccupational hazard A preoccupation with what is wrong in your life rather than what is good Our brains are always thinking, accessing, evaluating, strategizing, working toward something. When something bad happens, our minds can be traumatized by that event. Why isn’t the opposite true? When something really good happens, why can’t it be that we can’t get it out of our minds for decades? How about the day you became a Christian? The newness of life, the fresh start, knowing God, forgiveness of sin, the promise of heaven?

What do think about all day? 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4 Dwell (logísomai) means to reason, to count, to occupy oneself with calculations and thoughts. The Lamaze method in child birth teaches that one’s brain cannot dwell on two things at the same time. As believers we must learn to think about the goodness and blessings of God continually.

By the way, sometimes gratitude can be for what didn’t happen to you… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. You didn’t accidently kill a family this morning because you were texting and driving. No one in your family was diagnosed with a brain tumor this week. You didn’t get a notice from the IRS of an audit. Your house didn’t burn down. Your 401 retirement account wasn’t embezzled and you didn’t loose your retirement. You don’t have a case of the worse flu of your life.

Enemy 3. Sitis Syndrome 9 Then his (Job’s) wife (Sitis according to Jewish folklore) said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job 2

What is the Sitis syndrome? It means to gladly receive the many, many blessings of God but then blame God, reject God, and sin in so doing by rejecting His right over our lives to do as He pleases, especially when it comes to adversity. 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity? ” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2

Enemy 4. The Missing X 1 Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die. ” Genesis 30

What is the missing X? The missing X of life is that one thing that a person wants so bad that it is inconceivable of living without it. They have convinced themselves that their happiness, joy, and well being is contingent on them having this X. Without it, for some people like Racheal, life is not worth living. For those with the missing X, real gratitude is rarely achieved. You can’t be wanting, wishing, and begging for something while at the same time smiling at God for His rich blessings.

Enemy 5. Constant Comparison 24 And there arose also a dispute among them (the disciples) as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Luke 22

Enemy 6. Gratitude’s incongruities Example of the worse incongruity in the Bible… 46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, ’ and do not do what I say? Luke 6

What is incongruity? Incongruity is the state of two different things existing in disharmony, such as calling Jesus Lord and then not doing what He commands. Why do we often say we are grateful to the Lord for all He provides and how He blesses us and yet our behavior is incongruent with our pious comments. How can we be grateful and yet be angry or depressed when life doesn’t go as we want it to go?

Enemy 8. Entitlement Often in our hearts, there exists a confusion about Who owes who what. God owes you nothing, yet He chooses to give you everything 7 For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? I Corinthians 4

Just for the record… 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8 What could God have given you greater than what He has given you? He gave His Son’s sacrifice which resulted in unimaginable eternal blessings! If He owed you this then there is nothing to be grateful for.

Would you care to hear a scary prayer? Dear Lord, Please give me what I deserve. And do it right now!

Enemy 9. Cognitive dissonance Atheists I don’t believe in God, and yes I do blame Him for all the pain and suffering in the world. Christians I do believe in God, and yes He does bless me enough. I simply deserve and expect more.

Enemy 10. Geographical impairment We are currently on Earth with all it’s troubles, pains, and difficulties. Shortly, we will be in heaven with all its wonders, joy, and blessings. Do not get heaven mixed up with Earth. Know where you currently are. Don’t be geographically impaired.

We know how it ends! 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. ” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new. ” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true. ” Revelation 21