1Thess 5:16-18

Rejoice evermore.  Pray without ceasing.

In every thing give thanks:

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

 

·        We should also be careful to be thankful because it is a command.

• Col 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 
• Col 4:2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
• Heb 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

·        Why is giving thanks commanded? It’s only right and fair.

• Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

We have no excuse for being unthankful to God, our Creator.

To us, forgetting to be thankful (for every single thing) might not seem like something super terrible. But God views this differently than we do!

• Rom 1:28, 32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,  30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,  31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:  32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

What does God think of those who are unthankful?

 

• 2Tim 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,  7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  8   Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.  9  But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

I may think, “I’m not unthankful!?? I thank God all the time for things!”

Even if I am already thankful, do I still have room to grow in this area?

A deeper understanding of thankfulness can come from seeing examples of the injustice of people who were NOT thankful.

Unthankful Nabal

• 1Sam 25:2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.  3  Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.  4  And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep.  5  And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name:  6  And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.  7  And now I have heard that thou hast shearers: now thy shepherds which were with us, we hurt them not, neither was there ought missing unto them, all the while they were in Carmel.  8  Ask thy young men, and they will shew thee. Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes: for we come in a good day: give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine hand unto thy servants, and to thy son David.  9  And when David’s young men came, they spake to Nabal according to all those words in the name of David, and ceased.  10  And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.  11  Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?  12  So David’s young men turned their way, and went again, and came and told him all those sayings.  13  And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff.  1Sam 25:14  But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.  15  But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt, neither missed we any thing, as long as we were conversant with them, when we were in the fields:  16  They were a wall unto us both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.

How good were David and his men to Nabal’s men in the wilderness? They had worked night and day to protect Nabal’s  servants and flocks from robbers and animals. Was it FAIR for him to turn David’s men away when they were simply asking for food in a day when Nabal had plenty? We can easily see how nasty and churlish this lack of thankfulness was in Nabal.

FERAH GLOTT

TO BE CONTINUED