Articles
The Meaning of Gratitude
As Thanksgiving approaches this year, it is common for people to reflect about the things they are thankful for and grateful for in their lives. When people examine the ways in which they have been blessed in their lives, they hopefully gain a greater appreciation for God’s work. There are few things that are healthier to the Christian’s relationship with God than being grateful for what God has done.
However, thankfulness does not merely mean having some feeling of happiness because of something good that has happened. True gratitude is reflected in the lives and actions of those who are grateful. By contrast, ingratitude is perhaps one of the core motivations for all sin that exists everywhere. In Romans, Paul describes the plight of the unrighteous in the statement, “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. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (Rom 1:21-23). This behavior of ingratitude is what motivates all the unrighteous to sin. Because they are not appreciative of God’s blessings, they see no compelling reason why anyone should pay any kind of respect to the Father of all blessings.
This gets to the core meaning of what gratitude is. Gratitude is not merely saying “thank you.” Gratitude is a way of life that is embodied in grateful actions. In the Garden of Eden, God blessed the man and the woman with everything they could possibly want. He gave them every tree in the garden to eat except for one (Gen 2:15-17). The fact that God withheld this one tree was neither vindictive, nor unfair. God had already blessed man beyond measure and beyond what he deserved. Had Adam and Eve been truly grateful, they would have had no reason to listen to the wiles of the serpent and they would have had no reason to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. However, not valuing what she had been given, Eve saw that the fruit of that tree was “good for food”, “a delight to the eyes”, and “desirable to make one wise,” and she took and gave to her husband along with her (Gen 3:6). As a result of their ingratitude, sin entered the world, and those who follow in their footsteps have all sinned since that day.
However, the book of Genesis has another story near the end of it that shows the proper application of what it means to be grateful. In Genesis 39, Joseph, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, managed to make a good living for himself and became a prominent servant in the home of one of the most powerful men in Egypt. Genesis 39 is unique in the last section of the book of Genesis in that it mentions Yahweh’s name 8 out of the 11 times it appears in Genesis 37-50, emphasizing Yahweh’s role in protecting and establishing Joseph. In fact, Joseph’s situation is parallel to that of Adam and Eve, in that nothing has been withheld from him—except for one thing. Thus, when Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph into infidelity, he refuses, saying, “Behold, with me my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” (Gen 39:8-9)
Several points can be made from Joseph’s statement. First, he recognized that his master had graciously given him more than he could legitimately ask for. Second, he recognized that taking the only thing withheld from him would have been sinful. Third, and most important, he recognized that giving into the seduction of Potiphar’s wife would have been a sin “against God.” Joseph certainly realized that his power and position were to be attributed ultimately not just to Potiphar, but also to God Himself. Thus, to take what was not his would be showing obvious ingratitude and be a slap in the face to the God who had so richly blessed him.
The same applies to us. Any time we go beyond what we have to demand something for ourselves that is not ours and that we do not deserve, we are showing ingratitude. Anytime we show jealously against our brethren because they possess skills or talents that we do not, we are showing ingratitude. Anytime we show dislike towards our fellow man, we are ultimately showing ingratitude to God for what He has given us. The blessings of God should be more than sufficient motivation to do good and turn away from evil. To fail in doing good and shunning evil shows ingratitude for His blessings.
Let us all strive to live grateful, thankful lives in the sight of our God and Savior.
