I've continued to listen to and be challenged by Andy Stanley. His latest sermon that has set me to thinking is called "I Owe Who?" It is about gratitude and ingratitude and is taken from Luke 17:12-19. It is a familiar story about 10 lepers who were healed but only one returned to thank Jesus.
Andy's main premise is this: "Unexpressed gratitude is the same as ingratitude." If you had talked to the 9 lepers who did not return to Jesus and asked them if they were grateful for their healing, I feel certain that they would have all expressed how grateful they were. They felt grateful. But feeling grateful is not the same as being grateful.
Another point Andy made was that ingratitude in almost impossible to recognize in yourself. That is because you feel grateful. So you would never say that you are guilty of ingratitude. What makes this even harder is that it is so easy to see ingratitude in someone else.
And so I've been challenged this week not just to feel grateful but to actually be grateful. I thanked Phil for cutting the grass and taking care of the yard. He thanked me for the spaghetti dinner I fixed for him last night. Gratitude grows gratitude in others.
And I've begun to realize how often I've prayed for something and received the answer I had requested, and then I forgot to thank God for the answer. Just like the lepers.
I really need to work at this...expressing my gratitude instead of just feeling it. Maybe you do too.
No comments:
Post a Comment