Ingratitude!

In my twenty-three years of serving in the ministry, I have seen one disappointment and failure of the church: ingratitude. We are people who are busy focusing and murmuring about minor situations and issues. I've witnessed the focus be on what color of toilet paper to buy. What type of music. The message the preacher presented, to someone not being happy about the kind of decorations used in the sanctuary, to primarily being focused on building and worldly things instead of focusing on the things of God.

Paul gives us a warning in His Word. In Romans 1:21, he clarifies that man's leading sin is that he did not glorify or give God the praise for what he had. We get so busy, just like the church at Corinth, that we want to take credit and focus on so many different things that don't make a difference when it comes to the eternal; therefore, we miss the point of our purpose for assembling, which is to glorify God and not each other.

A church that will grow is one where the worship is filled with joy and gratitude for being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Not where we are emphasizing things that don't make a difference. I have always said that if we put as much time on the positives, praising God for the professions of faith and telling people about the good news of Jesus Christ and things that bring him glory and honor, we would see so many more positive things in our own individual lives.

Are you a person who has gratitude or ingratitude for what God has done or will do in the future?

Romans 1:21: "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 darken."