Scripture is filled with the call to gratitude:
- Ephesians 1:16 – “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
- Ephesians 5:20 – “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Colossians 3:15 – “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
- Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
- Psalm 107:1 – “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
- Psalm 118:24 – “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Yet we live in an age of entitlement. Too often, people—especially the young—expect everything to be handed to them, yet fail to value or appreciate what they receive. In a world where everything is taken for granted, the most tragic loss is a sense of gratitude.
A life without gratitude is bleak and isolating, where we quickly realize that a man doesn’t have to die to experience hell.
When I reflect on my upbringing, I am deeply grateful for the foundation it laid. My dad would occasionally take us out to eat, and my grandmother would use Sunday coupons for an Arby’s sandwich. In a family where treats like these were rare, we learned to be genuinely thankful for each blessing, big or small.
Contrast that with an experience I had early in ministry, working with teenage boys. Some of these 15-year-olds had already traveled the world—and were unimpressed by it. They viewed me, a teacher of the Bible, as someone who couldn’t measure up to their privileged experiences. How do you reach a young man who’s just returned from Rome, bored with it, and uninterested in God’s Word because “reading isn’t his thing”?
Still, I never stopped teaching them the hope of the gospel, the penalty of sin, and the inability of the world to satisfy. I prayed that the seeds of truth would take root when their fantasy worlds inevitably collapsed—worlds where they didn’t need a work ethic because their future was already bought and paid for.
Through these experiences, I’ve become more convinced than ever that gratitude is essential to walking daily with God. Gratitude flows from a humble heart, a heart illuminated by God’s truth. Saying “thank you” is good—but feeling thankfulness is even better.
In The Call, Os Guinness reminds us that calling compels us to live with gratitude:
“Let all your thinks be thanks.”
He quotes Dostoevsky’s sobering observation:
“The best definition of man is the ungrateful biped.”
A lack of gratitude erodes our dependence on God and trust in His goodness. It can sour the joy of calling, turning it into pride and eventually despair. Without gratitude, even religion becomes oppressive, legalistic, or apostate.
Gratitude—or the lack of it—was the root of humanity’s fall. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve failed to appreciate the abundance God gave them. That ingratitude led them to sin.
Take time today to “count your blessings”—your life, health, family, home, technology, medicine, travel, beauty, laughter, and above all, the redemption found in Jesus Christ.
May we, like St. Francis, “walk the world like the Pardon of God.” Let gratitude shape our hearts, lives, and worship. Because gratitude is not just a response—it is an attitude.
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