Chapter Three from Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Thankless children we all are, more or less, comprehending but dimly the truth of God’s fathomless love for us.
~Elisabeth Elliot
“Ingratitude is not always a calloused, who-cares shrugging of the shoulders. Sometimes it’s just fourth or fifth on a list we never get around to following through on.”
Consider the lepers of Luke 17 who met Jesus and begged to be healed by him.
“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?”
Luke 17:15-17
“How often do we neglect to return thanks for a kindness done, a duty performed, or a step saved?”
Nancy explains a 30-day challenge she offers to wives:
1. For the next thirty days, purpose not to say anything negative about your husband – not to him, and not to anyone else about him.2. Every day for the next thirty days, express at least one thing you admire or appreciate about your husband. Say it to him and to someone else about him.
…and how surprisingly difficult that can be for most of us. Ingratitude is an easy habit to adopt – and a habit which must be overcome by God’s power.
Read the first chapter of Romans and mark this verse:
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
Romans 1:21
“An ungrateful person is only one step away from getting his or her needs met in illegitimate ways.” ~ Dr. D. James Kennedy
Nancy lists the following as potential instigators of ingratitude:
- Unrealistic expectations
- Forgetfulness
- Entitlement
- Comparison
- Blindness to God’s grace
A man from India came to the US to study. Paul Tripp asked him what he thought of Americans ~ honestly.
“You have no idea how much you have,
and yet you always complain.”
Ouch.
I am thankful how God has used Nancy Leigh DeMoss to write this book (among others) ~ her ministry is such a blessing to so many people!
that statement about the man from India rings so true ...
ReplyDeleteWe once housed a family of 5, native Africans from Togo (friends of Dan's from college), and I kept apologizing that we only had one bedroom to offer to all 5 of them (mom, dad, 3 kids) - and the man said to me that in Togo, some people's HOUSE is as big as that one bedroom...
WE HAVE SO MUCH!!!
I'm really enjoying this study already...don't have the book yet, but waiting for it at Faith Bookstore...or might go to Family Christian as we get a better discount there??? Anyway - thanks for sharing your insight! Will miss you for the week you're gone, but I totally understand the need for a internet fast...good thing!
ReplyDeleteThis post really touched me. I may repost it on my blog, if you don't mind. Hardly anyone reads my blog, but I will see it and I think I need to see this one a few more times.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for the the connections blogging has given me to amazing like-minded sisters in the faith, like you.