As we conclude this brief series on gratitude, we have focused on how our ability to be thankful affects our behavior. We have seen that gratitude is the basis of any faithful service to God and will enable us to receive the greatest benefit from prayer.
As we think about the blessings themselves, we need gratitude if we are to appropriately enjoy the good things that God gives us. Notice what Paul told Timothy:
“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5).
In our final article in this series, we will consider how to enjoy God’s blessings with gratitude. Let us consider a few thoughts.
God Has Given Blessings for Us to Enjoy
James plainly stated, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17). All of the good things we have in life are only possible because of God. Paul told the Greek philosophers in Athens that God “gives to all people life and breath and all things” and that “in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:25, 28).
While it is certainly true that we have many things to enjoy in this life, enjoyment is not the only reason God has blessed us. The blessings He gives us also provide us with the privilege of being able to help others. The Macedonian Christians recognized this privilege. Even though they may have been in “deep poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2), they earnestly desired to use what they had to help others. Paul wrote of them, “For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:3-4). We should view helping others not as a burden but as a great opportunity. Certainly, we work to provide for ourselves, but we also do this in order to help those in need. Paul told the Ephesians, “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need” (Ephesians 4:28).
However, even though we may help others with the blessings God has provided, it is also good to enjoy the blessings He has given. The wise man wrote, “Furthermore, as for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also empowered him to eat from them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God” (Ecclesiastes 5:19). Yet we are not to use these blessings to fulfill sinful desires. Instead, we are to enjoy our blessings in harmony with God’s will. The wise man offered this counsel to the young: “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things” (Ecclesiastes 11:9). We may choose how we use the blessings God has provided, but we must not forget that we are accountable to Him for what we do and how we have used the things of this life.
How Gratitude Affects This
God blesses us, and we must use these blessings in harmony with His will. This necessarily includes showing gratitude to Him for what we have. Consider some things that gratitude will cause us to do:
- We will recognize our blessings as gifts from God. As we already noticed, the blessings we have in this life are gifts from God (Ecclesiastes 5:19). We cannot obtain them independently from Him because we are dependent upon what He provides in Creation. As Paul told Timothy, everything God “created…is good,” so we are to receive these blessings “with gratitude” (1 Timothy 4:4).
- We will honor the Lord with the blessings He has provided us. The wise man said, “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce” (Proverbs 3:9). If God blesses us with riches, then we are to be “rich in good works…generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18). By doing this, we will help produce “thanksgiving to God” as others “glorify God” for the good that is being done (2 Corinthians 9:10-13).
- We will see these blessings as reasons to trust in Him. Paul told Timothy to instruct the rich “not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). The blessings we enjoy should remind us of God’s goodness, as they serve as a “witness” to Him and His care for us (Acts 14:16-17). This should strengthen our trust in God.
What Happens When We Lack Gratitude
What if we receive all the blessings God has given us but neglect to thank Him for them? What will that look like?
- We will eventually forget that God is the one who blesses us. Jesus told a parable about a rich landowner with abundant harvest (Luke 12:16-19). There was nothing wrong with this. In reality, his abundance was a blessing from God. Yet this man forgot that God had blessed him, so he thought he could enjoy what he provided for himself now and turn his attention to the state of his soul later. The church in Laodicea had a similar problem. They had “become wealthy” and thought they had “need of nothing,” yet they really needed “gold refined by fire,” which symbolized the blessings that only God could provide (Revelation 3:17-18).
- We will only use our blessings for ourselves. As we have noticed, it is fine to enjoy the blessings God has given, but we must also be mindful of others and take advantage of opportunities to help those in need. Remember what Jesus said about the rich man and Lazarus: “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores” (Luke 16:19-21). This man never helped Lazarus, even though he was undoubtedly in a position to do so. Because of this, even though he was richly blessed in this life (Luke 16:25), he had his reward in full. We need to recognize and take advantage of opportunities to “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
- We will put our trust in riches and serve them as our “god.” It may seem incredible that anyone would do this, but Jesus warned about it in the Sermon on the Mount: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24). It is tempting to devote ourselves wholly to material things, yet they are fleeting. The wise man warned, “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens” (Proverbs 23:4-5). Instead, we need to “store up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21). We must never view material things as a substitute for spiritual things or ever make riches more important than God.
God has abundantly blessed us, yet if we are to enjoy these blessings properly and keep them in perspective, we need to have gratitude.
Conclusion
Everything good in this life comes from God, but we must receive these blessings “with gratitude.” This involves recognizing that our blessings are gifts from God, honoring the Lord with what He has given us, and remembering that God’s goodness gives us reason to trust in Him.
Let us always be thankful for the many ways that God has blessed us. And let this cause us to serve God in reverence, pray to God in faith, and enjoy the blessings of life in a way that honors Him.
