Thanksgiving is coming up in just a few weeks. We’re in the season where people tend to be more verbal about what they’re thankful for; however, having an attitude of thankfulness should be something we have all year, not just a few weeks out of the year. If you’re a Christian and have accepted the gift of Jesus, then you have everything to be thankful for. We should be the most thankful and gracious people! Unfortunately, in reality, Christians aren’t the most thankful and gracious people. I wanted to take a break from the regular blogs this month and share some passages in the Bible that talk about gratitude and how we can be filled with more gratitude all year long.
Are you a big complainer? Do you make it known when things aren’t going exactly how you want them to go? I’m going to be the first to say that complaining tends to come easy for me. If I’m not careful, I can go in a downhill spiral of complaining about even the littlest things in my life. Here’s what God says about complaining:
God doesn’t want us to be complainers. Even when we’re going through hardships, we still have so much to be thankful for. We should constantly be going to God and praising Him for everything He’s done for us! This is easier said than done though… So how do we shift from an attitude of complaining to an attitude of gratitude? Let’s take a look at Ephesians 2:4-5
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”
Grace is undeserved favor. We’re dead in our sins; however, through the grace of God, we are saved. This in and of itself is enough to give us a reason to be thankful! When we experience God’s grace, it changes us – it gives us a reason to be filled with gratitude.
God gives us so much grace; therefore, instead of being filled with bitterness and anger, we should be filled with immense gratitude! As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I want you to take some time this week to think about God’s grace and love for you. Think of specific times you’ve experienced God’s grace and use this as a reminder of the incredible gift you’ve been given. Taking time to reflect on all God has given you is especially important when you’re going through hardships.
To recap, experiencing the grace of God leads us to being filled with gratitude. Having immense gratitude should then cause us to be more generous in all areas of our life – especially more generous with giving grace to others. Let’s take a look at the parable of the unforgiving servant to see what God thinks when he gives us grace, but we don’t give grace to others:
We can’t expect God to give us grace if we’re just going to turn around and not give grace to others. Experiencing God’s grace should lead us to want to be more generous with grace to those around us.
Let’s take a look at one more verse about generosity:
“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.” - Proverbs 19:17
While we shouldn’t be generous to others just for the reward, God does bless those who bless others. Is there someone in your life (or a group of people) that you could be generous with your grace as we head into the Thanksgiving season? I encourage you to let God’s grace soften your heart and turn this season of gratitude into never-ending gratitude.
Cornerstone Impact Update
The last post from our Biblical Approach to Finances series was in August covering basic investing concepts. While this blog was longer than some of the others, I'd really recommend you read through it if you're not familiar with investing. The goal of this blog (and this series) is to help others better understand how to gain control of their finances, specifically from a biblical perspective. Check out the last blog post here:
Courtney Dent
Eventide
"Investing shouldn't be about greed. Investing should have a greater purpose for the world, not just for yourself." - Robin Cheriakalath John (Eventide CEO)
Check out a short portion of the Good Faith Podcast as Eventide's Finny Kuruvilla and Robin Cheriakalath John talk about how Eventide's team decides to invest in a company:
Inspire
It can be easy to ignore what the companies you're invested in profit from. However, as Christians, we shouldn't be invested in companies just so we can make more money – we need to care about how these companies are making their money. Check out what Inspire's CEO, Robert Netzly says about this:
Robert Netzly, CEO
Free Cornerstone Shirts!
Have you ordered our most recent Cornerstone t-shirt? Our last shirt design was so popular, we decided to have the same design in a different color! Remember, there are limited quantities for each size, so order soon to ensure we have your shirt size.
