An Attitude of Gratitude

"He appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, even to celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel." 1 Chronicles 16:4

In a devotional I was reading the author asked the question, "Have you ever known a church hiring someone to just to be thankful? When King David set up the worship leaders for the tabernacle, he appointed certain Levites just to continually thank and praise the Lord. Thanksgiving was their job." He continues by asking, "What if our churches hired a person whose only job was to go around with a thankful attitude and to motivate others to have the same? We could call them Pastors of Gratitude. How would that look on their business card?" Gratitude means the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. There is nothing wrong with having someone whose sole responsibility is to be grateful. Scripture talks about being thankful in many places. In fact, we are encouraged to "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18)." Let us imagine that you are one these Pastors of Gratitude. What would the job description look like? It would probably read something like this: "Must celebrate, be thankful and praise the Lord at all times. The individual will be required to continually express the love of God without ceasing. The job requires that you are always patient and kind. You will never be jealous or boastful or proud or rude. You will never demand to get your own way in any situation. You will never be irritable. At no time will you keep a record of being wronged by anybody on the church staff or within the congregation. You will never rejoice about an injustice done to anyone associated with this church. You will always rejoice whenever the truth wins out. You will never give up on anybody. You will never lose faith either in yourself, your God or anybody else associated with this church. You will always be hopeful in every circumstance no matter how dire. Finally, you will endure through every circumstance whether good or bad or whether it involves you or anybody else associated with the church. You will never fail this church, its staff or the congregation who attend it each week." Are you excited to take this position? Even more, are you thankful to be a Pastor of Gratitude? The author of the devotion continues by saying, "God wants to hire all of us for that job. It's His will for us to be grateful Christians." I understand what he is trying to get at, but in all of this, there is something that is missing when it comes to being grateful or thankful in our relationship with God, the church and the world around us.

Gratefulness and thankfulness must be real. If our gratitude doesn't come from a place of authenticity, whatever actions we display will come across as hollow and phony. This is because the circumstances of life don't create our character, they reveal it. When you are truly thankful for what God in Christ has done for you then it will be easier for you to bear the fruit of the Spirit of God His love is producing through you. Otherwise, you will be forced to live your Christian existence as if it truly is a job; something you are only doing because you have to or because you hope to get something from it you are missing in your relationship with God. When you know your identity in Christ, what you have inherited as a result of your faith in Jesus and how God looks at you, thankfulness will be a natural byproduct of your walk. When you realize God is meeting the deepest desires of your heart for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life, you will be thankful. Furthermore, as a child of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, you are now completely forgiven of all your sins, holy, blameless, righteous, sanctified, justified, have eternal life, are a citizen of heaven, free from God's wrath, at peace with God, complete, cleansed, filled and sealed by the Holy Spirit and so much more. You won't need to be a Pastor of Gratitude, but will already be a grateful person because of what God has done for you and the inheritance you have freely been given. It is this knowledge in the core of your spirit that allows you to be thankful in every situation. It is why I believe the Apostle Paul said, "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:11-13)." Paul had been imprisoned, shipwrecked, beaten, betrayed, abandoned, and so much more. Yet, he was thankful in the midst of this because in his weakness the Lord gave him strength. That same Jesus who strengthened Paul, giving him encouragement and a thankful heart, lives inside each and every born again Christian. Knowing that there is nothing that we desire that can't be found in Jesus and that He has given us Himself to meet our needs is the foundation of what gives us an attitude of gratitude. In the end, we don't work for God as if He has hired us for a job, but rather He is working through us because we are resting in the job He has already completed. That gives us a reason to celebrate, to thank and to praise the Lord.