Blessed Yet Complaining

Blessed Yet Complaining

A church sign once read, “America: God’s spoiled child.” Is America spoiled? Though we are the most prosperous nation on the face of the earth, it seems we struggle with contentment. Instead of being thankful to the Almighty for abundant provision, we find ourselves complaining. We hardly celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday anymore. Instead, Thanksgiving Day has been reduced to Black Friday Eve.

A lack of gratitude leads to a bad attitude. For whatever reason, we find it therapeutic to complain. In a podcast about discontentment, Dr. Kevin Elko said, “We justify and camouflage our complaining as venting if that word puts a positive spin on it.” But instead of finding a stress relief, it only allows us to see the deficiencies of a situation all the more.

First Thessalonians 5:18 states, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Let’s stop for a few minutes today and count all of our blessings—from the food on our tables to the clothes on our backs. Let’s allow an attitude of gratitude to permeate our hearts and our minds. An old hymn declares, “Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done.” When we stop and take inventory of what we have, not only does it help us see all that God has given to us, but it also keeps us from seeing all of the deficiencies of a situation.

What do you have to be grateful for today?

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18