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Home Search Topics Contact About | The Sin Of IngratitudeOne of a Christian*s best characteristics is gratitude to God and to others. Colossians 3:15: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.1 Thessalonians 5:18: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Being thankful is commanded but it should not have to be. It should be natural for a Christian. The grace of God has been extended to us in marvelous ways. I love one of the definitions of that word grace found in the Strong*s concordance: The Divine influence upon the heart, including gratitude. When I am complaining I am not thankful. When I am praying for something that I don*t have I am not thankful. When I want more I am not thankful. When I take the goodness of God for granted I am not thankful. When I am not trusting Him I am not thankful. When I do not see His love and mercy I am not thankful. When I do not see His greatness I am not thankful. When I am bound up in the circumstances of my life I am not thankful. When I am not thinking what God wants me to think I am not thankful. When I am not thinking rightly of Him I am unthankful. When we do not know the Lord we are unthankful. When I am not thinking of Him at all I am not thankful. The Lord puts ingratitude in the middle of a list of horrible sins. Ingratitude is serious business. 2 Timothy 3:2-5: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. We are to turn away from the unthankful. It does not mean we are not to love them and give them the gospel. It means we should turn away from what they do. One of the first things good parents try to teach their children is gratitude. How many times have you seen someone give something to a child and then heard the parent ask the child: What do you say? Ingratitude is just plain ugly and it is a bad attitude. I am so glad that God is still good to me when I am unthankful. Matthew 5:45b: . . . he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Even Jesus was thankful to His heavenly Father. He thanked His heavenly Father for doing what was right and best and for hearing His prayers. Luke 10:21: In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. John 11:41: Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
Ingratitude separates us from the Lord and hinders our prayers. Isaiah 59:2: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
When we are ungrateful we do not praise the Lord. |
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Care to discuss The Sin Of Ingratitude with Ron? |