“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.†(Romans 1:21)
One of life’s greatest tragedies is that of being unthankful. When that takes place life begins to lose its basic meaning and many imbalances occur. Things just lose their stability.
As a husband and father, I see how important it is to be thankful. There is no end to the list of things that are deserving of recognition. A few moments of reflection brings a flood of memories; things, events, people, and circumstances that remind us of how thankful we should be.
Being thankful is more than we can assign to one particular day each year.
Being raised in the times of the “Great Depression†provided many opportunities worthy of remembrance. We didn’t realize we were poor, because we were thankful. It was later that we were reminded how poor we really were. We were taught to be thankful and pray prayers of thanksgiving unto God, who was worthy of our thanks. Meals were real simple; beans or greens, onions, cornbread and milk, and a few chunks of salt meat for seasoning. (That sounds like a good menu even now!) There was an occasional glass of iced tea – what could be better?
Lest I forget, there were a few houses I lived in as a child that didn’t even have screens on the windows. Think about that! And our yard was worn smooth by the busy feet of children playing. We never complained about any of that. It didn’t matter all that much because we were thankful.
As I look back over the years, I am more convinced than ever that “…a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.†(Luke 12:15)
So many have been so spoiled by the abundance of things that they are incapable of being thankful for anything.
It really all begins with the old “first things first†principle. If we do not start off with the “God principle;†putting Him first, loving Him first, thanking Him first; it is doubtful we will ever come to realize the need of thankfulness on any level. Many families have been broken by the absence of thankfulness to God and each other.
- We need to love and serve God in thankful, committed service to Him in every way.
- We need to be thankful for our spouse, or children, our church, our friends.
- We need to be thankful for our country and our freedoms. But more than all –
- We need to make sure we thank God for the gift of Salvation; the plan of Salvation. (Acts 2:38)
It is serious business! To offend God is the worst thing a person can do. He will not be ignored.
“…When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.†(Romans 1:21)
The late Charles Grisham pastored New Life Apostolic Church in Detroit, Michigan for many years before retiring.
