Praising or Pouting?
In the gospel of Luke, there is a story about some very unthankful guys (Luke 17:11-19). Jesus heals them of a deadly, debilitating disease and they simply go on their merry, healthy way. Are we sometimes guilty of going on our merry way through life, forgetting the Life Giver Himself?
To illustrate how we often fail to give God the thanks he deserves, Chuck Swindoll told the following story of a man he visited in a dismal veteran’s hospital:
“The day I arrived to visit, I saw a touching scene. This man had a young son, and during his confinement in the hospital, he had made a little wooden truck for his boy. Since the boy was not allowed to go into the ward and visit his father, an orderly had brought the gift down to the child, who was waiting in front of the hospital with his mother. The father was looking out of a fifth-floor window, watching his son unwrap the gift.
The little boy opened the package, and his eyes got wide when he saw that wonderful little truck. He hugged it to his chest.
Meanwhile, the father was walking back and forth waving his arms behind the windowpane, trying to get his son's attention.
The little boy put the truck down and reached up and hugged the orderly and thanked him for the truck. And all the while the frustrated father was going through these dramatic gestures, trying to say, ‘It's me, son. I made the truck for you. I gave that to you. Look up here!’ I could almost read his lips.
Finally the mother and the orderly turned the boy's attention up to that fifth-floor window. It was then the boy cried, “Daddy! Oh, thank you! I miss you, Daddy! Come home, Daddy. Thank you for my truck.” And the father stood in the window with tears pouring down his cheeks. How much like that child we are.”
Have you ever prayed fervently for something and then received the exact answer you wanted, only to be so excited about the outcome that you forgot to thank God? “Oh please Lord, let me do well on this test!” Then you score an “A+” and realize that you’ve told everyone you could possibly tell before you remember the One to whom you prayed! Been there; done that.
Then there are those who not only forget to thank God, they complain about nearly everything. It’s not unlike what Pastor John Beukema of Illinois
“One spring afternoon, an older couple came to the church looking for a handout. They were ragged, dirty, and claiming to be homeless. They said they didn't want money, just some food.
I took them across the street to ‘Chateau 7-Eleven.’ While they waited outside, I bought them each a sub sandwich, chips, and a Coke. I watched as they ravenously attacked the food. The man took a big gulp of his drink and made a face. From his seat on the pavement of the 7-Eleven he looked up at me and said, ‘What is this? Diet?’
I laughed right out loud because I immediately saw myself. How often I react that way, even to the gifts of God.”
The Bible says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). Have you taken stock of the many gifts with which you have been blessed? How about that breath you just took or the meals you’ve had this week? Gratitude starts with the seemingly small and insignificant things.
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” —Psalm 136:1 NKJV
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