1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”
In life we can either be “humbly grateful,” or else we’ll likely
become “grumbly hateful.” And the difference between these two attitudes is
often more related to our perspective than it is reality. Think about it! There are some people who
have so much—so much to be thankful for—but rather than being grateful, they
are, instead, dissatisfied and discontent. And they don’t mind letting others
know about it, either.
The problem here may be an inflated sense of entitlement—that attitude which says “I’m
owed so much more than I’m getting!” A sense of self-entitlement is at odds with an attitude of gratitude.
You see, gratitude is not a measurement of how much we have, but
rather how thankful we are for all we have received. Gratitude flows from recognizing
that “Every good thing given and every
perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James
1:17). When we understand that ‘everything we are’ and ‘everything we
have’ is a gracious gift and blessing from God, our perspective can change. After
all, what exactly do we deserve?
The Bible says that “all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 3:23, 6:23).
That’s what we deserve; that’s what we are owed! So, if we receive anything
better than that, we are, as Dave Ramsey might say, “doing better than we
deserve.”
Perspective changes things, doesn't it? Think about small
children at Christmas time. So many of us have laughed over the years as we’ve
watched children enjoying the empty boxes as much as the toys that came in them.
But where we see “empty boxes,” they see “open possibilities.” That’s
perspective!
If we view our lives from the perspective of entitlement, we’ll
complain about how empty the box is. But if we view our lives from the
perspective of gratitude for all of God’s blessings, we’ll see how truly full that
box is and how open it is to possibilities.
Through Upward Sports, we hope to help our children develop this kind
of perspective. But, our examples as adults and our choices as parents will
either encourage this attitude of gratitude, or else enable a spoiled sense of
entitlement.
Paul asked the Corinthians, “What
do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you
boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor 4:7).
Today, perhaps your box looks awfully empty. But, there is a gift
you can receive that will not only change
your perspective, but will change everything. To understand how blessed we really are, we first
need to receive the greatest blessing of all—Christ. The Bible does indeed say
“the wages of sin is death,” however,
it doesn't stop there. It goes on to say, “but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Christ is able to reconcile us forever with God, forgiving our sin and promising everlasting life.
If
you try to fill your box with mere religion or good works, or if you try to
fill it with mere pleasure or possessions, you’ll still just have an empty
box. But if you truly repent of your sin
and turn in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who died for sin and rose
again, then He Himself can fill it.
John the Baptist once said, “A man can receive nothing unless it
has been given him from heaven“ (John 3:27). If you have already received this
greatest of all blessings, then realize how rich you are in Christ Jesus! You can be humbly grateful rather
than grumbly hateful.
But if you have not received this good and perfect gift, I pray
Heaven comes calling, maybe even today,
and God may grant [you] repentance leading
to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim 2:25). What have you received? Are you truly grateful?
