The Holy Spirit gave my congregation a healthy dose of things to think about this Thanksgiving season, especially regarding our gratitude for all that God’s done for us. In light of His teachings, it’s difficult not to be humbled by His grace. Sincere gratitude bears much fruit in the soul. “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). By grace we are shown that we have so much to be grateful for; when this gratitude blooms in our souls, we are blessed with even more grace.
For as long as we remain humble towards God’s grace, we are filled with gratitude. This gratitude is like a seed when it falls on fertile soil (when humility receives it); it sprouts forth with additional fruit.
We are encouraged throughout the Bible to abide in a thankful heart, to remember all that God has done for us, not just to His glory, but also for our own benefit. In human terms, we might think giving another person gratitude is a gift to the receiver; however, in God’s economy, being grateful is actually a grace gift for the giver.
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.”
— Psalm 50:14-20
For gratitude to bear its intended good fruit (ala “grace upon grace”), it must be genuine. False humility towards the Giver of grace results in pseudo gratitude which annihilates any hope a person might have of receiving blessings. “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE’” (James 4:6).
This past Thanksgiving made me think of the joy which accompanies a believer’s humble gratitude. It also gave me insight into those who seem to be missing the mark – counting blessings which just aren’t there – and the resultant misery in them. In other words, I witnessed so-called “Christians” praying to God and celebrating Thanksgiving in Christ’s name, in the traditional sense; yet, all the while bearing the fruit of unbelievers. So, when I sat down to read my Bible a couple of days after Thanksgiving, Psalm 50:14-20 really stood out to me. “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (v14) is the command for receiving grace upon grace. However, as the psalmist points out, there are those who pretend to obey God but their heart is not with Him, “But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to recite my statutes’” (v16). V16-20 rail against these arrogant posers, uncovering their games.
Arrogance cannot bear the good fruit of thanksgiving. A lot of people were gathered around Thanksgiving dinner tables with every reason to be thankful – people who call themselves “Christians” – and yet, their misery betrayed them.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
— Matthew 7:21-27
Sadly, I fear a lot of people claim to know Jesus, but He doesn’t “know” them (v23) – the proof is in their misery, for this is the very fruit of arrogance towards the Giver of grace. These folks use Bible verses like punch-lines during their prayers, as if simply conjuring up Holy Scripture is enough to reap the same benefits one receives when they truly abide in it. They disrespect the Lord by treating Him like a mop used to clean up their messes. The whole scene is repulsive, and yet the charade is carried on with little to no regard for its lack of substance. To echo the psalmist’s sentiments, why bother pretending at all? What is the purpose other than to potentially worsen your judgment? Why pretend humility when you, “hate discipline, and you cast [His] words behind you” (Psalm 50:17)? Why pretend gratitude on Thanksgiving if you have no respect for the One you ought to be grateful towards?
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
— John 14:12-17
Jesus spoke very simply about humility, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (v15). If someone has no regard for Him (e.g., no love), they won’t keep His commandments because they are arrogant, and arrogant people do not receive grace upon grace (ala John 1:16). In the absence of God’s grace, there is misery because “God is opposed to the proud” (James 4:6). The Thanksgiving holiday for Christian posers becomes a form of judgment to them. Why?
Ingratitude is toxic.
One-sided, selfish relationships are always toxic. A person who uses Christ’s good name during Thanksgiving and yet remains arrogant towards Him has poisoned their own celebration. Users never come out on top, especially those who arrogantly suppose they can use the Lord. As the Word of God teaches us, this type of attitude is treacherous, “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it”(Matthew 7:27).
I don’t like having to write blogs like this, per se. I do so, though, for the sake of empathy with and encouragement for those of you who approached Thanksgiving this year with a heart filled with gratitude for the Lord; only then to break bread with people who have little regard for the One who provided the bounty set before them. It’s a dichotomy of sorts, bittersweet; but, nonetheless a necessary part of my calling, and yours, too, as you press on in Truth.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
— 2 Timothy 4:1-5
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins