Gratitude - Going Beyond a mere Thank You

The other day, someone posted a thing on FB about how bad it was to force children to show thankfulness in the form of requiring them to say, “Thank you” to others and forcing them to right thank you cards.

On one side I was appalled.  I thought that if we don’t teach them to be thankful then they will just be selfish little beggars who never show gratitude.  But you know if I am honest with myself and you, I have to admit that being someone trained under that very system, I actually find myself fighting against giving thanks to others for their generosity or their kindness.

There was a song we sang in church that I am finding myself remembering and the song started, “Give thanks with a grateful heart.”  I don’t know how many times I have sung that song without really considering what I am saying.  I thought I was grateful, but lately, as I rethink this, I must admit that there is an attitude of either ungratefulness or thinking I am some how deserving of the good things that are done for me.  In fact, I can remember being resentful towards some people because they were not giving me my due or supporting me as I thought I should be supported.

I am realizing that in me there is this little boy who resents being told to be thankful or being expected to say thanks.  As a result, my thankfulness is somehow stifled.  Instead of being thankful when I receive a gift or someone’s help I find this awkward feeling rising up in me.  Instead of responding to the kindness with a sense of gratitude I start struggling with a voice that says, “You better say ‘Thank you,’ or else!”  That causes me to hesitate which intern brings shame because I haven’t done it and pretty soon I just want to forget the whole thing.

But as I consider the sermon I heard Pastor Ron Flores Jr. preach, I am beginning  to realize that I have freedom in God’s grace; freedom to respond with a grateful heart.  As long I struggle under the externally and internally imposed “You must!”  my flesh rebels against doing the required thing.  I am realizing that the response to legalism and performance-ism is often rebellion.  I don’t want to rebel against God’s will but as Iong as I deal with it in the realm of must/must not, I will find myself fighting against God’s ways and his intent for me.

But as I consider what was shared in that Sunday Sermon that I listened to on line, I am left thinking, “Wow, have I ever got this wrong. Lord, thank you for the freedom you have given to me by your Grace.  Thank you for your example that encourages me to think beyond the limitations I and others have set on me.”  I have freedom in Christ.  So often I have missed the true picture of what the freedom looks like.

I know that this is not the freedom to do whatever I please; the freedom to be selfish.  Instead, it is the freedom to try and fail without shame, knowing that Christ has already begun a work in me that HE will continue to work on until the day I go into Glory.  I am free to live as a child of God for the rest of my life.  I am free to pursue God with my whole heart soul and mind, with all of my strength because He has made a way where there seems to be no way.  Grace has empowered me to live the abundant life that He has foreordained for me to live.

But getting back to gratitude and how and why we express it; consider the following -

If I am forced to show gratitude to those around me, then I become someone who demands it.  True gratitude comes from the heart not via coercion from the outside.  When we demand or expect gratitude then our focus is upon ourselves.  This is a case of trying to save ourselves and thereby losing ourselves.

These words came to me as I was pondering Ronnie's sermon.  True gratitude flows from the heart unhindered.  It is a natural response to what Jesus has done for me.  And because I have every reason to be grateful/thankful because of what He did on the Cross and his giving us his Holy Spirit, thankfulness is not something compelled but rather it is something that naturally flows out of the Christian heart.  And as we are grateful to Christ, we are able to be thankful to all those around us and for every little thing.  The Law cannot bring about righteousness, only God’s Grace can do that.

Walking in God’s Grace,

Pastor Alan

What is Worship?

I have been walking with God for over 25 years and still some Christian terms are not really clear to me. But on an occasion I get a clear picture. One of the loaded terms we use in Christianity is the word "Worship".

For the longest time I thought worship meant singing in church. But as my faith grew and I went to seminary the picture got bigger, but not clearer. Pretty soon everything is worship. Giving tithe, singing, praying - in fact the whole church service is often referred to as the "Worship Service" But this is just a list of activities; it doesn't get to the root of the meaning.

I have come to the conclusion that godly worship is this: The appropriate response to the presence or the knowledge of God. What our worship looks like after our encounter with God, is a matter of the state of our hearts. When our hearts are dark and filled with sin we can respond one of two ways. We can reject God (in belief that He is rejecting us) or we can worship him. I think when our hearts are not clean, true worship is when we fall down before God in humility recognizing that we cannot save ourselves and that we can only look to the grace and mercy of God for our salvation. I think we should even beg for it, but not because that is what God demands, but rather it just shows how much we realize we cannot live without God's mercy and grace.

I think our response to God - our worship - will vary from day to day. I think "acceptable worship" is a wide brush stroke. I think we can sing, dance, fall on our faces, laugh for joy, weep tears of gratitude, and the list goes on. But what ever it is, it must be authentic and true. Jesus says his people will worship in spirit and in truth. The apostle Paul tells us in the first verse of Romans chapter 12 that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.

We are told in the Word of God what we are to worship the Lord our God only. Which seems to imply that there are other things that we could worship; other gods, the creation, wealth, personal freedom, pleasure etc. In this sense this kind of worship is not godly or appropriate worship but rather idolatry. I think when we put other things before God we are saying that in worshiping other things we are giving something besides God power over us. In godly worship we recognize that there is no greater power than our Triune God; God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

I pray then for you reading this that you find an outlet for your worship that is acceptable in the sight of God. I pray that you will be set free to abandon all your fears and hang-ups and worship the God of Glory in spirit and in truth. I truly believe that as we learn to worship God in Spirit and Truth, that we will have greater freedom and a greater joy than we have ever experienced. I am not suggesting anarchy, but freedom from fear of other's rejection and freedom to respond to how God is moving in your heart. There is a place for this, maybe in your personal prayer time, maybe in a home group setting, maybe atop a mountain; I don't know. Only you in your earnest and sincere seeking of The One True God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit with the guidance of the Word of God, can know what worship will look like for you.

Some would say that God would never ask you to do anything you are uncomfortable with. I would strongly disagree. Its when we step out of our comfort zones under the calling of the Holy Spirit that are set free to worship in Spirit and in truth.

To God be the Glory! Amen