Three Keys to an Attitude of Gratitude

 THREE KEYS TO AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE Spring Valley Mennonite; November 20, 2022; 1 Cor. 4:7, Phil. 4:11, 1 Peter 5:5b During our recent bus tour to Cape Cod one of my favorite stops was at Plymouth Rock. In 1620 the Pilgrims landed at this spot and proceeded to build a life in the new world. There is a tomb there where the remains of those who died during that first dreadful winter have been consolidated. Along with the names of all those who died are several inscriptions. I was moved emotionally as I read these words: "This monument marks the first burying ground in Plymouth of the passengers of the Mayflower. Here under cover of darkness the fast-dwindling company laid their dead leveling the earth above them lest the Indians should learn how many were the graves. Reader: History records no nobler venture for faith and freedom than that of this pilgrim band. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and cold they laid the foundations of a state wherein every man through countless ages should have liberty to worship God in His own way. May their example inspire thee to do thy part in perpetuating and spreading the lofty ideals of our republic throughout the world." 57 of the 104 that stepped afoot at Plymouth Rock did not survive that first winter. But God honored their venture, miraculously providing an English-speaking Indian named Squanto who taught them how to hunt and fish, as well as techniques of planting crops. Although their crops of beans and peas were poor, they had an abundant harvest of 20 acres of corn! In recognition of God's blessings, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a three-day period of prayer, worship, and the giving of thanks. We primarily remember the feast which also occurred, but little of the prayers of thanksgiving to God. So began the tradition of Thanksgiving in these United States. During this next week we as a nation celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving. What memories come to your mind when you think of Thanksgiving? Is it of tables groaning under the burden of food? Of family gathered together around the dinner table? Of football games or a family walk together after dinner? Is it the last calm moment before the busy season of Christmas? I have memories of all these things, but most of all, I remember time with family. This year, God willing, all our children and grandchildren will be together around the Thanksgiving Table. And having family together is why I look forward to Thanksgiving so much. But we must not neglect to give thanks. One reason Thanksgiving stands alone among holidays is that it is a simple holiday. Missing is the commercialization that we fight so hard against at Christmas, possibly because it is impossible to commercialize something which has at its very core gratitude and contentment with what you already have. And, as believers in Jesus Christ, having received the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of eternal life, we have every reason to be thankful. Giving thanks is the outward expression of gratitude-it is giving voice to what we feel inside. We agree with the Psalmist, as he states in Psalm 16:2, "I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.'" James agrees when he tells us, "Every good thing bestowed, and every perfect gift is from above..." God's Word instructs us that the practice of giving thanks is to be highly significant and central to our lives; in fact, I think that giving thanks is to be our fundamental response to God's love and grace. This morning, I would lead us to refocus and renew our minds in this vital area of Christian living. There are three attitudes that underlie our ability to give thanks; the first is: I. THE ATTITUDE OF DEPENDENCE When we open God's Word and examine some to the verses which speak of Thankfulness, we quickly conclude that giving thanks is not to be merely incidental to our lives-it is not optional, or an "add on". Thankfulness is to be the core response to what God has done for us. This becomes clear when we think of what giving thanks implies: it implies that we have received something, that someone has given us something or done something for us. 1 Corinthians 4:7: "And what do you have that you did not receive: But if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" Perhaps Paul was correcting the thought of these Corinthian believers who considered that they had done something to earn their salvation, that somehow, they deserved God's favor. Praise God that He does not give us what we deserve! As sinful beings, we deserve nothing except condemnation; Salvation is a free gift, undeserved and unearned. A loving and kind God graciously gifts us with redemption, the forgiveness of our sins, and the ability to live in a godly manner. Grace is unearned and undeserved. It is a gift to which we can only say "thank YOU" All we are or have is from God, and for the person of faith the very act of giving thanks is admitting our dependence on God. We should be saying, "God, I give thanks that You are my source; Thank You for giving me life; Thank You for the very air I breathe and even my ability to breathe!" I noticed the other day that merchants have finished putting up Christmas decorations-in fact, some stores began to do so even before Halloween! Have you noticed that few stores decorate for Thanksgiving? It is as if they consider the holiday something of value only because so many people are off work on Friday and able to Christmas shop! Outside of grocery stores, most merchants have little use for Thanksgiving. It is if our culture says, "Let's get this day out of the way so we can get on with Christmas shopping!" We must resist becoming part of a culture too busy to stop and say, "Thank You". Giving thanks is admitting our dependency on God. Man has an innate difficulty with admitting he is dependent on anything, especially in our culture. The opposite attitude to thankfulness is pride or self-sufficiency. Turn to the first chapter of Romans where we observe a very interesting thing: look at verse 21 (Read). A lack of thankfulness is a beginning of the downward spiral leading to depravity and rank ungodliness. Why might this be true? This is not difficult to understand, for one who sees no need to be thankful is filled with pride at being able to make it on his own; he thinks he is fully able to take care of himself. He pictures himself standing independent, obligated to no one, and he asks for no favors. He stands proud, self-sufficient, able to take on whatever comes. Doesn't that sound like the strong American ideal? Well, I submit that it is not so ideal! God's Word clearly indicates that such an independent person who thinks he doesn't need God, is, in reality, a slave to sin, being totally deceived that he is free and independent. On the other hand, an attitude of thankfulness affirms the godly perspective of dependency to God. Romans 5:6, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. In Romans chapter 9, Paul observes that God said to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then, it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs but on God who has mercy. (Rom. 9:15-16) We are not only weak, but also helpless. And being helpless regarding our sin, we can only cry for mercy. The first attitude necessary for being a thankful person is a realization that we are completely dependent on God, and where we were helpless, God graciously gives what we so desperately need. The second attitude is: II. (THE ATTITUDE OF) CONTENTMENT Listen to these verses: Philippians 4:11: "Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Hebrews 13:5: "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for he Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you..." Contentment is the attitude of being satisfied with whatever God has provided. Have you ever considered how our economy is fueled by discontent? One of the main goals of advertising is to make us discontented with whatever we have, or even to create a desire for some new product. Is isn't that what we have is worn out, or unsuitable, but that there is something new, or more stylish, or with a few more features, or even the fact that we may not have a genuine need, but "Aren't you just tired of your old car?" We can think of few things worst to be called than "Old fashioned and out of style." Case in point: In my closet I have 77 neckties, many of which are too wide or too narrow, a collection of over 50 years, reflecting the changing of styles, as well as my reluctance to discard things! (Wide ties just might come back into style!) Being discontented usually centers around yearning for something material, or for money. Of course, our culture has come up with a scheme to deal with a lack of money: it is called credit! The average credit card balance for an adult in the United States in 2022 who does not pay off his credit cards every month is $7,527! And their interest rate is usually in the 18%-21% range! We become financial prisoners of our discontent! In the Book of Proverbs, it states that the borrower is the slave of the lender. Discontented people desire what they don't have; this attitude is first cousin to being covetous, wanting what someone else has; if they have it, why can't I have it too? This is the attitude I see in the socialist tendency of toward wealth distribution gaining popularity in our nation: it seems that somehow it is wrong or unjust that some people are wealthy! Is it not covetousness to desire someone else's wealth? Discontent is expressed most often by complaining. It is hard to complain and give thanks at the same time! If we are not contented with what we have, and are rather consumed with what we do not have, it is impossible to be thankful. Contentment leads to thankfulness. 1 Timothy 6:6-9 states this clearly, along with giving us a warning: "But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation, and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." The first two attitudes necessary for thankfulness: Dependence and Contentment. Our third underlying attitude necessary for being a thankful person is: III. THE ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY How does humility relate to thankfulness? When we understand the meaning of grace and mercy, when we see ourselves in the mirror of God's Word, seeing ourselves through the lens of scripture and understand that we stand, not in our own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Christ, we can only take the position of humbly bowing before our loving and merciful Father saying, "Thank You". And every time we say, 'thank you', or express thanksgiving through heartfelt praise for God's grace, we are further humbled. We are humbled as we honestly acknowledge our ongoing struggles with sin. As we bow in humility and repentance, God's forgiveness and mercy flows over us. Humbling ourselves before Almighty God leads to His further blessings, which in turn produces thanksgiving from our lips. This principle is articulated in 1 Peter 5:5b: "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time..." This is following in the path of Christ, who "humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those who are in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Even looking around and considering God's marvelous creation should also humble us, leading to praise and thanksgiving. If you find yourself feeling caught up in your own self-importance, step outside on a clear night and look up at the stars. Meditate on the power it took to create all those billions of stars simply by a word from our God. This was the thought of the writer of Psalm 8: When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set into place; what is man that you are mindful of him? And the son of man that YOU care for him? Then he adds, with great puzzlement, I think: "You made him a little lower than heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor!" Today as a believer, we have so much for which to be thankful! We have been rescued out of the kingdom of darkness and placed into the kingdom of God's dear Son. We have the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have been given the capacity to experience victory over the flesh, the world and the devil. We have been raised up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places. We have been adopted into God's eternal family. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. We have been given the privilege of being ambassadors of Christ, ministers of reconciliation! And we have the certainty of heaven when we die. God has placed us among other believers here in our church, and in our nation where we have the freedom to worship and serve God according to our beliefs, openly and without restriction. He has sovereignly and mercifully placed us in perhaps the most affluent and medically advanced society the world has ever known. We have the privilege of electing our own officials. We do not have to be concerned about the basic necessities of life. We have been given more material wealth and more years to enjoy these blessings than at any other period of human history. And, we have been given the command to be thankful people. May we be people of dependence, contentment and humility. And amid the feasting and family time, may we remember our Lord's goodness. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. May each heart be overflowing with the giving of thanks as we cultivate the attitudes of dependence, contentment, and humility to the praise and glory of God. 4