Higher Value

1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.

What does being grateful mean? What do I want you to get today?

Gratitude

a feeling of appreciation felt by and/or similar positive response shown by the recipient of kindness, gifts, help, favors, or other types of generosity, towards the giver of such gifts.

Depreciation - Lower value

Appreciation - Higher value

appretiāre - appraise

William Law

“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all it touches into happiness.”

I think we look at great people when we try to model ourselves to who they are. We look at their accolades, what money, what stature. We look at physical features, we look at how smart. We naturally gravitate toward the flesh. We think about what WE earn and we think about or stuff;

I earned this money, I earned this education, house, car, spouse, parents.

We look at things as if we did it under our own power.

Ps 124: If it had not been for the Lord on my side.

I think we are on a path of ungratefulness because we don't understand the attitude of gratitude. We don't understand the true meaning of gratefulness. Folks don't wanna say thank you. They don't wanna give thanks. They don't wanna acknowledge well doing.

But here is what I want us to see, we depreciate our value because we dont have those qualities. That depreciation contributes to ungratefulness. Let me explain...

Give someone something and see if they appreciate it.

Apply the right appraisal

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Give God the right value. Jesus dying on the cross has to have a higher value. Being a disciple has to have a higher value. Being faithful has to have a higher value.

Gain

Loss

Always Keep Gratitude on your mind

Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

We are surrounded by so many negative things. Don’t let those things consume you. Gratefulness has to be the default.

Closing

You can't Just instantly have an attitude of gratitude. You only become thankful when you habitually and intentionally apply the right appraisal and place a higher value on what God had done in your life.