For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.      Philippians 2:13-15 HCSB

This is a week where we are focused on being thankful. We will hear messages about gratitude. We will be reminded of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 which tells us that we should give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. But, what does that mean?

It means that in all situations and circumstances that we face, we still have an opportunity to give thanks. We still have cause to be grateful to God. For those of us who are in Christ Jesus, or who are saved, it is God’s will for us to be grateful.

What is the opposite of gratitude? Well, I’m glad you asked. The opposite of gratitude is grumbling, complaining and finding fault in everything around us. Simply put, it’s a lousy, negative attitude.

Negativity is all around us. The worst the news is the quicker the reporters rush to tell the world, the quicker it will go viral on social media. The problem is if we take in too much of that negativity, we will become negative also. We will see the world through a world view. In Romans 12:2 we are warned not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can understand what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.

As Christians, we should be seeing the world through a biblical view. We are to be grateful and thankful. We are to shine as lights in a lost world. But, when we fail to do those things, we look like all the other lost people walking around out there. How can we discern God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives if we are too busy complaining about everything going on in our live and around us? Our grumbling, complaining and negative attitude reflects a lack of faith. It is like telling God we don’t trust Him to work all these things out. We are told in Romans 8:28 that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Does your lack of gratitude say that you don’t love Him and are not called according to His purpose? Does it say that you don’t trust His Word? Or is it both?

Years ago, I worked at a youth shelter which housed both abused children and delinquents who had committed minor offenses. They loved to watch movies. There was a store by my house that rented movies for a very low price. On my way to work, I would often stop and rent a couple of movies. For the first couple of weeks, they were so grateful and expressed their appreciation. But it didn’t take long for them to grumble and complain that they had already seen that movie or they didn’t like that movie. I stopped renting the movies. Their grumbling and complaining was directly opposite the gratitude they had initially. I found a way to stop that, I simply stopped providing them with movies. That stopped the complaining. at least about that subject.

Have you ever thought that God might get weary from our negativity and our grumbling and complaining? Have you ever thought that He might just decide to stop blessing us since we don’t appreciate what He has blessed us with already? Do you enjoy giving to someone who doesn’t appreciate it or complains about what you have given them?

And what about our witness? Here in our Scripture passage, Paul is reminding us to do everything without grumbling or complaining or arguing so that we can be a light to this dark world. We need to stand out so that others can see us and want some of what we have. If we are grumbling and complaining, who wants that? Many lost people already have miserable or unhappy lives. If they see us, as Christians, have the same why would they want that?

When we are filled with negativity and constantly complaining, we are like one of those flickering bulbs that can hurt your eyes and give you a headache. But, when we are grateful, we shine like a beacon to those who are lost. So, let your little light shine and thank God in all circumstances.

Have a great day!