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Respectable Sins 10: Unthankfulness

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Retrieved from the website of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA

Jerry Bridges begins his chapter on unthankfulness with the story of the ten lepers as found in Luke 17. The ten men cried out for mercy, and Jesus healed them of their leprosy. Only one of the ten returned to offer thanksgiving to Jesus. Bridges summarizes our reaction: “How could those nine men be so ungrateful as to not even turn back and say a word of thanks to Jesus?” But the trouble here is that we are often just as ungrateful. Our lives are full of innumerable things for which we could give thanks to God, the greatest of all being the miracle of new life through Jesus Christ. Bridges says it simply, “Taking for granted all the temporal provisions and spiritual blessings that God has so richly bestowed on us, and so failing to continually give Him thanks, is one of our ‘accepatble’ sins.”

Bridges reminds us that being thankful to God is not just a nice thing to do but, in fact, the “moral will” of God. Romans 1:18-32 provides us with a picture of a society descended into moral anarchy. The cause is clear: “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (v. 21). So we see that being ungrateful is the beginning of a path which leads to moral chaos. Really raises the stakes, doesn’t it?

We have a moral imperative to give God thanks for his many blessings to us, most of all for our salvation in Christ. Bridges goes farther, however, and makes it clear that our gratitude is to be offered in every circumstance. This is not acting as if everything is okay. It is giving thanks by faith. Specifically, the faith by which we give thanks is rooted in the promise of Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Because we trust the God who made this promise to his people, we give thanks even in the darkest times. The alternative is a descent into the kinds of sins that Bridges discusses in the coming chapters: pride, selfishness, impatience, lack of self-control, and anger.

What are some temporal blessings for which you are thankful to the Lord today? In what areas of your life can you apply the promise of Romans 8:28? Have you taken the time today to simply tell God “thank you” for the gift of salvation in and through Jesus?

Respectable Sins 9: Discontentment

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Are there circumstances in your life which provide many opportunities for grumbling, complaining, bitterness, or anger? If so, then Bridges’ focus on the sin of discontentment may be helpful to you. He begins by suggesting that there is a place in the Christian life for “legitimate discontentment.” This type of discontentment might be directed at needed areas of personal growth or at prevailing sources of injustice and evil in society. I think that it is important to make this distinction. The Christian belief in the sovereignty of God over all things does not require God’s people to passively accept whatever happens. I would argue the opposite. Because we believe that Jesus is Lord, then we should work for positive change in our personal lives and in the culture around us. There remains, however, a variety of discontent with our circumstances which “negatively affects our relationship with God.”

Think about our present situation concerning COVID-19. There are plenty of reasons for Christians to be active at this time. We all need to take precautions to protect the health of ourselves and others. There are people in unique seasons of need, and we should be prepared to help them and speak to them about Jesus. If we conclude that acts of injustice are being performed, then it is right for us to identify and speak out against these acts. And yet, we need to do these things with balance and care. God is in control. He has purposes and plans which he is working out in the midst of this season. He has blessings for his people that exist because of this virus. If we believe in and rely upon God’s providence, then we should be seeking what the Lord has for us in this time and refusing to live with sinful discontentment and related anger and bitterness.

Bridges helps us to see that we so commonly live with discontentment, complaining about various things in our lives, that it is difficult to even think of this as sin. As he does in the case of anxiety, Bridges asks us to turn our attention to Psalm 139. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (v. 16 ESV). Or again: “For you formed by inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (v. 13 ESV). From these verses, we see that God attends to both our days and our bodies. And if God is doing this, shouldn’t we consider the possibility that God has special blessing for us in whatever circumstances we are facing?

In what ways – either personal or societal – do you experience legitimate discontentment? When considering discontent as a sin, when do you find yourself most likely to grumble or complain? Ask a friend or a family member to help you identify things that lead you to discontentment. Ask God to help you see that he is sovereign over even these things.