Gratitude is the Solution

Photo by gabrielle cole on Unsplash

As I've been reading my Bible over the past few months, I've seen over and over that the solution to  most any sin is gratitude. 

What is the root of sins like anger, pride, covetousness, and slander? I think one root is selfishness. I don't get my way, so I'm angry. I want to feel better, so I get proud and look down on others, maybe even gossip or slander. I don't have what I want, so I covet.
What is the cure for selfishness? The Bible says: Thankfulness. When I'm thankful for who I am and what I have, I don't have room for selfishness to creep in.

In Colossians 3, Paul instructs us to put off the old self. He gives a list of "old-self practices," including coveting, anger, slander and impurity.
But he doesn't stop there. You can't put something off without putting something else on. So Paul gives us a list of "new-self practices" to put on. These include compassion, humility, forgiveness, and love. "And be thankful" (verse 15).

Thanksgiving is the solution. Gratitude is a mark of a changed life. 

Wow, it sounds so easy. But in practice, it's so hard. In some ways, it's so much easier to be selfish and want our own way. It's easier to focus our eyes on ourselves and our wants. Gratitude forces us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them on God, being thankful for what he has done for us.

This is why I've taken a Gratitude challenge for this year. Every day, no matter what, I'm going to come up with five things to be thankful for each day. So far it's been pretty easy, but I have a very strong feeling that hard days are ahead in 2019. But even on my lowest days, I'm determined to pull out that journal and list five things...just five. My hope is that this practice will become habit and that I won't have to think about things to be thankful for, it will just overflow from a heart filled with gratitude.

TODAY, five things I'm thankful for:
1. Salvation
2. The ability to express myself
3. My friends
4. A warm bed
5. Artistic ability

Before you go ...
1. Will you take the Gratitude challenge?
2. How has gratitude helped you in the past?