Do you have a heart of thankfulness?
A low long huff escaped my lips as I realized one of the volunteers, un-volunteered themselves, leaving me with more work. Sometimes our sounds can give away what is happening in our heart. A low huff when someone lets us down. A muttered grrrr when the driver ahead of us is moving too slow. A sigh and maybe even an eye roll when our roommate leaves a mess on the floor again. Disappointment and frustration are understandable but grumbling takes it to another level. Philippians 2:14 says “Do everything without grumbling…” because grumbling can point to a deeper issue -pride. And pride can cause us to experience failure and loss.
Pride says, “I’d rather not serve in this situation. I’ve done enough, haven’t I? I want someone to serve me.” We complain because things do not go our way when we think they should. Because after all, isn’t our way best? Pride says I can do whatever I want with my life, my day, my time. Our arrogance or overconfidence make it hard for us to listen to the wisdom of others.
Instead of grumbling, which can be hard sometimes, I try something a little different. I try to follow Jesus’ example of humility which leads to thankfulness. Jesus shows us what true humility looks like. Scripture says He came to serve, not be served, even though He had every right to be served (Matt 20:28)! Jesus shows us that humility considers others as more important, more worthy of our time and energy, than ourselves. Jesus shows us that humility also breeds thankfulness (Matt 15:35-37).
If you find unpleasant sounds escaping your lips, take a minute and examine your heart. Perhaps there is some pride that needs to be exchanged for humility. When we are humble, we do not think we deserve more than what we have, instead, we are grateful for what we have been given. We see all that we have been given as a gift, even the opportunities to serve others. So follow Jesus’ example of humility, serve which leads to a heart of thankfulness.
