We Lost Something Very Important

We Lost Something Very Important

Rev. Thomas A West, Sr

June 12, 2022

Romans 1:18–25 (NKJV)

Introduction

What have we become? This country is more divided than it ever has been. What has always been there has exploded its like watching Mt Saint Helen erupting again.

Like I said hatred and division of the races has always been there. Privilege. More and more people, the very young and the very old believe that the world revolves around them.

We have come full circle, in the book of Judges 21:25 says this …

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Road rage, people physical attacking service people, 240 plus mass shooting in the United State since January 2022. You really don’t know when someone near you is going to go off the deep end.

Again, I say, this behavior has always been around but most people would suppress the urge to explode. People would disagree with one another but for the most part they were civil about it. But in the last seven or eight years, all I can say is WOW.

What Happened??

Even the so-called church people have begun to act like those of the world. Turning on those that may not agree with them.

Matthew 15:18–19 (NKJV) says this

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

Our mouths can cause us so much trouble. I have seen our brother and sisters in Christ flip out when things do go the way they plan, no the way they demand they go.

We have to be the center of attention, like a crying child in the candy aisle of a packed grocery store, demanding more soda while he throws bags of candy bars at other children,"

We want more, we demand more and are never satisfied with what we have.

Why are we never satisfied with what we have or what we think we should have.

TITLE

Our title for today is “We Lost Something Very Important”

SCRIPTURE

Our scripture is taken from Romans 1:18–25 (NKJV)

Romans 1:18–25 NKJV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

TEXT

In the Book of Virtues, Plato list four virtues;

1. Wisdom

2. Courage

3. Temperance (Self-Control)

4. Justice

Gratitude

But I believe there is one virtue missing: gratitude.1 Though lost, gratitude is arguably the most important virtue.

Researchers McCullough and Emmons demonstrated that gratitude, considered the parent of all other virtues by Cicero, actually improves psychological, relational, cognitive, and spiritual well-being.

When gratitude is missing from the fabric of our lives, we are diminished. For example -- A clip from the Andy Griffith Show shows Andy and Opie discussing his allowance—the amount, the work required, and the increase of work with increase in pay. Opie finds the whole concept is “just kind of depressing.”

Like with Opie, gratitude eludes too many of us.

What Is Gratitude?

Gratitude is “the appreciation of benefits received.” Gratitude is not happiness, a fleeting feeling from a particular circumstance. Gratitude is not conditional.

For example, I get; therefore, I am thankful. I do not get; therefore, I am not thankful. Gratitude is not guilt. The story of starving children somewhere else in the world might create guilt but not necessarily gratitude.

Gratitude is not a mind game, a psychological trick to vanquish difficult situations. Gratitude is a mentality that recognizes a benefit, its value, and its source.

Where Did We Lose It? (vv. 18-25)

Romans 1:18-25 explains some foundational concepts in our understanding of God and the human situation, and gratitude is right in the midst of it.

Romans 1:18-25

Here we see a perfectly loving God displaying His wrath because of “god-less-ness,” the absence of God, and “wickedness,” a result of the rejection of God’s moral values that actually make life good.

People, in fact, push down God’s truth while creation clearly communicates the reality of God’s power and divine nature. From the solar systems and the systems of the human body to our own pull toward humanity and civilization, God’s power, moral excellence, and divine nature are plain.

Yet, in verse 21 we read “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” (v. 21). Man began to trivialize God and idolize His creation. They failed to give glory and failed to give thanks.

The term glory often creates ideas of dazzling beauty.

In Hebrew, glory means “heavy,” implying weighty and significant. For example, your opinion about our country’s foreign policy is “light,” without much weight; however, our President’s opinion is “weighty,” having significant impact on our country’s actions.

Giving God glory means that accepting God into your life as the most important factor in our priorities, values, and attitudes. Failing to give God glory means to give credit to something or someone else, making decisions and shaping priorities by it. It becomes our idol, and we diminish God’s value, God’s influence, God’s glory. That damages us.

And listen, we also fail to give thanks, when experiencing God’s gifts in our circumstances and relationships, we see them as entitlements. We expect and demand them. Without them, we become frustrated and dissatisfied. Our lives are diminished. Thankfulness is not for God’s fulfillment; it’s for us. Gratitude in-finitely improves our lives.

What Do We Really Lose?

1. Without gratitude, we lose our sense of wonder.

Life becomes mundane. When we face problems of slow smart-phones or delayed flights it reveals our sense of entitlement.

While discovery of a heart defect or brain tumor happens with a machine—without even an incision—we lose the wonder of the remarkable quality of that and are unhappy if our “things” don’t work. Are you surprised by any of this, I’m not?

2. Without gratitude, we lose our sense of value.

Gratitude elevates worth. During a simple haircut, appreciating rather than ignoring the effort of the stylist to learn her trade and dealing with difficult customers elevates her value.

Do you realize in your irritations with your parents, your lack of expressing thanks devalues their role in your life?

Spouses, we do the same thing. Without gratitude, value is lost.

3. Without gratitude, we lose our sense of rest.

Ungratefulness for God’s daily provisions drives us away from God. We have become a society that is never at peace, we idolize what we don’t have, creating dissatisfaction and a striving to acquire what won’t satisfy us anyway.

Melody Beattie, a guru of codependency, writes:

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.

It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons.4

4. Without gratitude, we lose sensitivity of heart.

Ingratitude is a heart-hardening habit. We should told our children at an early age, “You are becoming today who you will be tomorrow.”

Our daily habits shape our character over the long haul. If we tell the truth today and again tomorrow, we become people of integrity.

Likewise, if we express thanks today and tomorrow and again the following day, we not only experience the benefits of wonder, value, and rest but also are changed in our character. If we complain today, blame tomorrow, and grouse the following day, we become grumpy people no one enjoys.

Conclusion

I want to close with this: Many of us have seen the 📷 film The Bucket List (directed by Rob Reiner [Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007]) it follows two terminally ill cancer patients, Cole (Jack Nicholson) and Carter (Morgan Freeman),

who decide to travel across the world and cross off Carter’s list of things to do before “kicking the bucket.” Some of the list involves seeing famous sights throughout the world, and other parts relate to the important things in life that they took for granted, like helping out strangers and rebuilding family relationships.

How many of us take for granted the God-given, everyday enjoyments of life because we are stuck seeking our own pursuits? Perhaps our bucket list will be shorter when we learn to enjoy life every day.

Grumpy or grateful—it’s your choice. Gratitude begins when we truly understand the grace of life. We deserved death for our sin and received life by God’s grace.

{{PRAY}}