The Heart of Thanksgiving (1)

…because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Himas God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools… Romans 1.21, 22

The nature of affections
Keeping our hearts with all diligence involves having the right affections in place and keeping them properly focused and intensified. All affections are valid, but only when they function as God intends.

Christians do not deny the value of fear, for example; however, we recognize that we must fear God, and nothing in this life, not even death. And we know that love is the greatest affection, but only when we keep self-love in check, so that we can love God and our neighbors for beauty, goodness, and truth.

Affections are not merely feelings. They’re not just attitudes or aspirations. Affections engage our mind and conscience on their way to being expressed in words and deeds – hopefully, those which bear witness to Jesus.

But to make sure our affections work this way, we must be exercised in their best use. And this makes thanksgiving a most important attitude of the heart. Fear is the first affection to master, and love is the greatest. Thanksgiving, meanwhile, is the most practical of affections, both because it’s the easiest, and, since we are called to give thanks in everything, it establishes the regimen for exercising all our affections as God intends.

The heart that knows to practice thanksgiving will be trained to master all the affections in ways that enable us to show Jesus to the world. It will also strengthen us against the tendency to drift into sin.

Failure to give thanks
Romans 1.18-32 unfolds a tragic vista outlining the course of human history. It is a litany of rebellion, distancing from God, moral decline, misery, woe, and death. It shows us what issues from hearts devoid of gratitude to God.

God graciously and energetically makes Himself known to the peoples of the world, revealing His eternal power and divine nature through the things of creation and culture (vv. 19, 20). His purpose in this is that human beings, piqued by the majesty, grandeur, bounty, goodness, wisdom, power, and mystery of the created world, would recognize the hand of God and devote themselves earnestly to seeking Him (cf. Acts 17.26, 27).

However, rebellious humankind chooses a path that leads to a deserved death. Three times in this tragic account we read that God “gives them up” to debasing, degrading, and destructive behaviors (vv. 24, 26, 28). Each successive “giving up” accelerates a downward spiral into greater spiritual rebellion, moral degradation, and social and cultural collapse. This is nothing other than the wrath of God, which He is revealing from heaven against all the unrighteousness and ungodliness of people who, by their ingratitude, offend against divine holiness and justice, and suppress the truth of God (v. 18).

Wherever, following this pattern, people have rejected the knowledge of God, spiritual confusion, moral decline, social upheaval, and the abuse of humankind and creation have abounded. God’s plan to fill the earth with goodness and bounty has been denied, ignored, assailed, and substituted for by human beings who insist they know better than God how they ought to live. The end of all such hubris is, of course, death (Prov. 14.12).

But let’s not miss what I consider to be the most important part of this passage – the hinge on which humankind swings away from the grace and goodness of God into a life of rebellion and self-destruction. That hinge, that all-crucial turning-point, is ingratitude. Because people refuse to acknowledge God and to give Him thanks for His many gifts and great bounty, God gives them up to gods of their own making, to the worship of self, things, and sensuality, and to the destruction of their bodies, societies, and souls.

The importance of thanksgiving
Thanksgiving matters to God. Because He is our Creator and Sustainer, because we would neither exist nor be able to continue in life apart from His constant and steadfast love, we owe a debt of gratitude to God, a debt which is easily enough repaid, and which He receives with satisfaction and pleasure, like sweet incense offered to His nostrils.

Yet giving thanks is among the most neglected of human duties toward God. Even among those who know the Lord, we are more likely to express grumbling and complaining, and take the goodness of the Lord for granted, than give thanks always and in everything.

But if the lack of thanksgiving is the first step down the slippery slope of self-love, sin, rebellion, and destruction, learning to give thanks is a spiritual solution to many ills, a solution that can bring us peace in times of hardship, joy in times of want, and a witness for our loving Lord and King before every person to whom He sends us day by day.

For reflection
1.  Meditate on Romans 1.18-32. How do you see this pattern reflected in our world?

2.  What do you understand by thanksgiving? When is thanksgiving appropriate? For what?

3.  The standard for thanksgiving is to give thanks always and in every situation. Does that describe your experience?

Next steps – Transformation: Think of five ways you might bring more thanksgiving into your life. Share these with a Christian friend, and ask your friend to pray for you as you begin to practice these.

T. M. Moore

This is part 4 of a multi-part series on Keeping the Heart. To download this week’s study as a free PDF, click here.

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Where do the heart, mind, and conscious – which together comprise the soul – fit in our Christian worldview? Our free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, shows you how to understand the workings of your soul in relation to all other aspects of your life in Christ. For more information and to register, click here.

Join the Conversations! Our newest feature invites you to listen in as T. M. talks with Christian leaders about books, culture, faith, and much more. His conversation with Dr. Stan Gale on the role of forgiveness in the life of faith can be found by clicking here. His discussion of works by C. S. Lewis  with The Fellowship of Ailbe Board Chairman Charlie Hammett can be found by clicking here for The Great Divorce and here for The Abolition of Man. Or click the Resources tab, then scroll down and click on Conversations to watch all three.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.