"Which List is Longer?"

By: Zach Wood

1 Corinthians 5:16-18 (NLT)

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

 

I would not call myself a chronic complainer, but I also would not admit to always having the most thankful attitude.  I am married to a wonderful woman who is able to act as my "mirror" when I need to hear things about myself.  There are times when she responds to my crabby attitudes and ungrateful grip sessions with words that show me I need to keep my mouth shut unless I am going to say something positive.  Sometimes, I just find it so much easier to complain about what I do not have and forget that I need to be praising and thanking God for the life I do have.  I am sure many of you can relate to this description.  I am sure you have probably found yourself having gripe sessions that would drive any company of friends or relatives to the other side of the continent.  I know I have. 

 

Why is it sometimes so much easier to complain about what we do not have rather than be thankful about what we do have?  The answer is our focus on life and circumstances.  I will be very honest and say that I constantly struggle with being controlled by surrounding circumstances.  My wife is truly a God-send in reminding me that I need to be controlled by joy for the Lord and not by circumstances.  My focus needs to remain on the blessings God has given to me and what He blesses me with every single day.  

 

I find many times that my complaint list is longer than my thankful list.  How about you?  Which list is longer?  Do you have more complaints or more thanks?  We know what we should have more of, but why don't we?  We get focused on what we do not have.  I really like what Paul says in this passage.  He tells us to always be joyful.  That is my huge struggle.  I am not always joyful as I need to be.  What do people see in me and in you?  Do they see joy or hear complaints?  Paul also tells us to always be praying.  We need to live in a constant state of prayerful attitude.  We need to always have the thoughts of prayer going through our mind.  Paul goes on to say that we need to be thankful in all circumstances because it is God's will for us who belong to Christ Jesus.  Do you belong to Christ?  If so, then you need to act like it and live it!  That is what Paul is saying.  

 

As we near Thanksgiving Day this week, I encourage and urge you to take some serious "down time" and think of how long your lists are.  Do you have more complaints or more thanks?  If you have more thanks than complaints, then keep up the great work!  For the rest of us, we need to seriously work on our thankful attitudes toward God.  He has given us everything we need.  We honestly have no right to complain about what we do not have because He always provides for us.

 

As you are "stuffing" your face with turkey and other delicious foods, remember that God has abundantly blessed us with so many other things as well!  Be thankful.  Remember that this Thanksgiving time needs to extend throughout the rest of the year.  Our thankful list needs to keep growing and our complaints list needs to keep decreasing.  Be thankful for what God has done and has continued to do for you and around you.