Resources/Articles
The One Thing Gratitude Does
Shawn Bain
...in everything give thanks...
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Every day a thankful heart brings newness to our day, service to our spirits, and inspiration to our work. Every day, gratitude fills a mind with duty, a responsibility with joy, and an opportunity with action. Every day, appreciation brings diligence to our walk with God, a willingness to give rather than to receive, and faith during every trial and moment of disappointment.
Besides all of the above, the one thing gratitude does is REMOVE ALL COMPLAINTS FROM YOUR LIFE. Few people realize the SIN associated with murmuring and complaining. Yes, the word SIN was in the last sentence. It comes from understanding Philippians 2:14: “Do all things without murmurings and questionings.” That passage is not heeded to as much as it should be. It is overlooked. The right to our opinions is often followed by the right to complain and murmur. Some view complaining as a duty. Therefore, some people love to complain like some people love dogs, eating sushi, and vacationing in Florida.
Those who complain often seem to want the attention and sympathy it gives them. Like a dog licking a wound, the complainer feels better in the moment of complaining, but it only makes the actual problem worse. When you fuel the fire of a difficult situation or negative circumstance with negative words, the more severe the situation or circumstance becomes. Gratitude breeds more for which to be grateful just as complaints breed more about which to complain.
Why are there complaints in your life? How did they get there? Murmuring and complaining are symptoms of something deeper. The cause is A LIFE PREOCCUPIED WITH NEGATIVITY. Once a complaint starts, it hits a slippery slope toward repeating itself. One complaint leads to another, then another, then another. Before you know it, you are an OFFICIAL COMPLAINER. You know it. Everyone else knows it. You invite others to join you. You start a club. You call your fellow complainers on the phone to hear the latest complaint. As a result, you create a world around you of woe, pity, cynicism, destruction, and doom.
The remedy of it all is not reducing the complaints. It is to GET RID OF THE MURMURING. That is it. Remove it. Destroy it. Deny it. Stop it. Make a decision to remove all complaints from your life. Shift your focus away from your problems to something for which you are grateful. Develop a heart which pleases God by turning your attention toward the good things in your life rather than harping on the bad. Take hold of a new mind like the one in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” Amazing things will happen in your life when your mind changes from negativity to gratefulness.
