Introduction
A few weeks ago we looked at the Quest for Contentment. In that post I asked the question; “What does it mean to be a contented person and how do we find this contentment?” We found our answer in Philippians 4. You have a purpose in God, found by being in the presence of God, and achieved by relying on the power of God.
This week we are going to follow that up with a look at the power of gratitude.
The Power of Gratitude
Consider the following questions:
Question 1: How often do you feel thankful versus dissatisfied?
Question 2: Do you find yourself feeling better about your own situation when you notice others who appear to have more problems than you?
Question 3: For those who follow Christ, is your prayer life focused more on asking God for what you want rather than expressing gratitude for what He has given you?
Question 4: Is your life characterised by panic and stress more than it is by peace and joy?
Your answers to these questions may give you an indication of the level of gratitude you feel in your heart.
What exactly is gratitude?
Gratitude – the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
It is crucial to understand what gratitude is and what it produces. We must also distinguish between thankfulness and gratitude. While gratitude includes thankfulness, it encompasses much more.
The Greek word for “thanksgiving” is ‘eucharistia,’ and for “thankful’ is ‘eucharisos.’ In context, they both mean to be actively gracious and grateful as an act of worship to God. God implores us constantly to be thankful.
Gratitude comes from the root Greek word ‘chairo,’ which means “to be joyous, rejoice, be glad.”
Gratitude is a state of heart. It overflows with action regardless of circumstance. It is a demonstration of a life of thankfulness.
How do we get or experience this life of gratitude? Grateful people are happy people – it sounds good, but how do we become grateful? I don’t believe gratitude is something you can just manufacture. It is not something you can switch on and off. It is a way of life that you cultivate. It is a state of the heart that you embrace each day. It encompasses your thoughts and your emotions.
If you grow in gratitude it will positively affect every single aspect of your life. Wherever you are on the journey of faith, a life of gratitude is God’s heart for you. It will be a source of joy. It is what will cause you to live for Him. It will help you say no to sin. It will lead you to love people who don’t deserve it and forgive those who have hurt you. It will help you to see the world with the eyes of Christ and sleep peacefully each night. It will help you to navigate setbacks and enjoy walking in God’s plan for your life.
So we all need Gratitude. Society needs to experience grateful people. You can be thankful and grow in gratitude, whether you are a Christ follower or not, because we are all made in God’s image. However, there is a limit to the amount of gratitude your life represents if you do not see your need for Christ and the wonder of His forgiveness of sins. If you are exploring faith, keep pressing in.
Jesus, Simon the Pharisee, and the Prostitute
In the story of Simon the cynical Pharisee and the prostitute who found perfect peace in Luke 7:36-50, we see a contrast between jealousy and pride on one side, and gratitude and grace on the other.
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50
The Pharisees were Jewish religious leaders. They were influential in society and seen as those close to God who should be listened to and followed. They knew the Old Testament scripture back to front, but to them their external appearance and actions were often more important than the state of their hearts. When Jesus arrived on the scene He turned their world upside down. He didn’t come as an earthly King, which is what they were expecting. He was electric to be around. He performed miracles. He spoke with greater authority and wisdom than they ever could, and people followed him.
The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat because He was taking away their power and control. Unlike them, Jesus prioritized genuine transformation of the heart and life over mere external behavior modification. As a result, they constantly questioned, mocked, and sought ways to trick Him in order to get rid of Him.
From the outset, you read this passage and think that it’s Simon who invited Jesus for a meal, maybe he was a different kind of Pharisee, a good Pharisee. However, notice Jesus’ comment. He said, “You didn’t give me water to wash my feet.”
The roads were dusty, and so guests would arrive with smelly, sweaty feet. Usually, guests would be given some water and a cloth to wash off and freshen up. There was nothing provided. Usually, the host would often kiss the forehead of their guest as part of an initial greeting. This was a sign of respect in their culture. There was no kiss.
In addition, people held in a place of royalty or honor may have even been anointed with oil, and they didn’t anoint Jesus either, proving they didn’t recognise Jesus as the son of God.
This was not a fun dinner party. They had invited Jesus for alternate reasons. They had other motives. They were not thankful for what Jesus came to earth to offer and their actions towards Him did not display gratitude.
It’s possible for us, and many in society, to see Jesus the same way. Jesus can be seen as a threat to the way of life we want to live. He could ask you to give up what you really want to hold onto. He is here to disrupt our lives for our good! To shake us up from our self centered, comfort-driven ways of life. He calls us to live for something greater than ourselves.
Just as they are looking for a way to trip him up – there enters a lady of the night. A prostitute. She has heard of this man named Jesus, who loves the broken. This man who will talk to the messed up. She may have even heard Him speak to crowds and seen the miracles He had performed.
She was probably thinking: “Would he love me? Would he care for me? My life is a wreck. I just take in man after man to get by. I am shunned by any upstanding society. The religious leaders want nothing to do with me, except maybe a secret fling on the side. I am broken and I need help. He is the only one I have got, andI am so thankful for Him and who he is that I just have to show Him today.”
Do you feel like that lady? Do you feel in desperate need? Maybe you feel like you are at the end of your emotional, physical or spiritual rope?
She has probably been following Him for days and has finally built up the courage to talk to Him. She brings her perfume, the only thing of value she has. She wants to demonstrate her thankfulness for Him. Her heart is overflowing with gratitude.
She stands behind him, and she doesn’t feel worthy. She weeps. She pours out all her perfume. It is raw emotion. She can’t contain her feelings. She is desperate to be loved and accepted by Jesus.
Imagine the scene. A little awkward, highly emotional, very uncomfortable. The Pharisees start thinking: “This guy clearly isn’t God, because there is no way God would allow a prostitute to be that close, to waste money on Him.”
But Jesus knows their thoughts, as He knows all of ours. He tells a story about two people who owe money. One a little and one a lot, and both are let off their debt. Jesus asks, “Who would be more grateful?” The point is, when we realise our need for Jesus, when we realise the seriousness of our sin – our gratitude increases. When we don’t think we need Him, like the Pharisees, we don’t feel the need for His love and forgiveness. They don’t mean anything because we can do it on our own. We think only messed up people need Jesus, but that’s not me!
Jesus closes off by saying that if you don’t display love toward Him and others, it shows you have not truly received His forgiveness because you don’t think you really need it. However, if you see your need in light of Christ, it overflows with extravagant gratitude.
He closes by saying to the lady, “You are forgiven.” This is something that only Jesus can do. No amount of status, money and ability can do that. “Go in peace.” We all want peace. Only He can give it.
How can we live as that woman did toward Christ? What caused her to overflow with gratitude in the presence of Jesus and leave new and peaceful?
The Bank of Gratitude
Thankfulness is a momentary emotional response to receiving a gift. Each time you are thankful for something or someone it is like deposting value into your Bank of Gratifude. The bank of Gratitude pays you interest in the form of love, joy, peace and purpose that increases the more you hold in the bank of Gratitude. Value in the bank of Gratitude, love, joy and peace is spent each day through each circumstance we face. If we do not deposit thankfulness, our value decreases.
Once our account reaches zero we can take out a loan. As collateral we have to give our energy, gifting, character. The interest payments required are the finite resources of energy, ability, personality, money and possessions. If we do not reduce that loan with thankfulness we run out of those things and that results in a life characterised by pride, anger, cynicism, rudeness, impatience and more.
We see this in operation everyday and particularly this story. Simon was a religious leader who relied on his standing in society, his ability to memorise the Torah and generate a following and more. He saw Jesus as a threat to his way of life and influence. He was not thankful to Jesus for anything, and so his overflow was cynicism, rudeness and pride.
The lady of the city on the other hand recognised her need. She saw her sin and was overwhelmed with thankfulness for all that Christ had come to earth to do. This built up her bank of Gratitude and it overflowed in a demonstration of love to Christ. She in turn was paid interest in peace, joy and purpose.
It’s also important to see the difference between thankfulness and gratitude. Gratitude is more about what I can offer, than being thankful for receiving something. Gratitude is more active than thankfulness, more than a feeling.
The extent of our gratitude for what Christ has done for us, will determine the active demonstration of love for Him.
The extent of our feeling of goodness will determine the way that we judge others for their faults. The recognition of our need for Christ and our thankfulness for what He has done will lead us to radically pursue His presence at the cost of ourselves, our status and our possessions.
Gratitude will lead us to repentance from our lifestyles and it will result in true peace that only He can give. The illusive 5 letter word we are all searching for.
There is a saying that says Grateful people are happy people. And I think that is true. I would also say that Grateful Christ followers are Joyful people. Why do I say that? Because joy is something deeper than happiness, it is something outside of circumstance, it is the sense that no matter what, there is always something to celebrate because God is on the throne and He loves me.
Final thoughts
Gratitude will draw us into the presence of Christ.
Gratitude will increase our joy and contentment.
Gratitude will open doors in relationships and every aspect of our lives because people love to be around those full of joy.
Gratitude kills jealousy and stops us comparing ourselves to others.
Gratitude overflows our love for Christ and others.
Gratitude moves us to transform situations rather than being happy with the status quo.
Gratitude helps us to make an eternal impact as we choose to walk in God’s will for our lives.
Lasting Gratitude overflows when we prioritise thankfulness for Christ’s work in every aspect of our lives starting with His radical forgiveness on the Cross and affecting our hearts, desires and pursuits.
“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:28-29
