"A Month of Gratefulness"

I have decided to make the month of February a month of gratefulness.

I did this once before, and it really changed my life.  It is not an easy thing to do, though.  Not only does it involve deciding to be thankful in everything that happens, but it involves also going out of your way to express gratefulness...to others, to God, even to yourself.  AND....(drum roll, please)...it involves the cessation of ALL complaining.

What?  No complaining?  Yep!  At least, no complaining to yourself or to other people.  You can, of course, pour out your heart to God...be it feelings of love, gratefulness, anger, irritation, frustration, whatever.  God is neither offended nor surprised at hearing what you’re feeling inside.  In this post, what I’m suggesting is a set of practices that are totally in alignment with human nature and with the breadth of scripture.


Expressing Gratitude (Biblical Examples)
In Psalm 100, we read of David's expressions of thankfulness to God, and in Colossians 3:12-17, we read of Paul's exhortations to bear with each other, to serve God--and each other!--without complaining, and to adopt a heart of gratitude throughout one's life.

Expressing Complaints to Oneself and Others (Biblical Examples)
It is probably not necessary for me to launch into a long diatribe concerning the dangers (and consequences!) of complaining to our friends and neighbors.  The Old Testament is replete with example after example of the calamities that occurred to the Children of Israel when they were in the desert for those 40 years and began to complain about their living conditions.  "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, Moses?  So that we could die of thirst out here in the desert?"  "We are so sick and tired of manna...why won’t you give us something else to eat?"  There's an old Keith Green song called, "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt," in which he sings of the Israelite's attitudes with such lyrics as, "Well, we once complained for something new to munch...the ground opened up and had some of us for lunch."  (Check out the song on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD9W61KZYxk.)  Complaining is toxic.  Literally.  It releases toxins that kill the body, kill the soul, and kill relationships.  Consider biting your tongue and talking with God about it in the privacy of your own soul.

Expressing Your Feelings to God (More Biblical Examples)
Throughout the history of mankind, no writer or poet has ever been able to capture the feelings of humanity and life and express them as beautifully as David did in the Psalms.  It is absolutely okay to express your feelings to God--even with four-letter words (!!).  God is not at all surprised at what comes out of your mouth and heart when you're speaking with Him.  He wants you to be open and honest with Him about what you're feeling.  Look at the Psalms, they are filled with expressions of hatred, anger, bitterness, and COMPLAINT.  Yes, they are filled, too, with exquisite expressions of love, praise, and gratefulness, but...one has to acknowledge that the Psalms are filled to almost overflowing with the intensely messy feelings of the human condition.  I urge you to go to the Psalms and to use them to help you give voice to the many feelings you experience inside you.  The benefits will be immeasurable.


I wonder, sometimes, if the reason many of us complain so often is, in large part, due to our inability to let surface what we're really feeling inside.  Keeping stuff buried is not congruent with the way we were fashioned.  We were made to feel and to express what we're feeling.  What I'm suggesting in all of this is that as we begin to take our feelings to God and as we begin to express deliberately our gratitude to those around us, perhaps we will find less and less of a need to walk around complaining to ourselves and to each other about what's bothering us in each moment..."It's too hot in here...I can't see the speaker because the person in front of me has such a big head (I wonder if it has it's own weather system?)...Can't that guy see how his texting during the movie is disturbing everyone—ESPECIALLY me?...This lousy class...This lousy job...These lousy people...This lousy house...This lousy country…This lousy life..."

Make the choice, my friends, to express gratitude in everything.  This will take some practice.  (Believe me, I know this from personal experience!)  THAT is why I am suggesting that, while you endeavor to practice these things for an entire month, you focus on one moment at a time.  If you slip up (and you will--we ALL will), no worries.  Just start back up right where you are, because "right where you are" is always a great place to start.  Make the choice, too, to tell God how you're feeling as you’re feeling whatever it is you’re feeling.  And make the choice to stop complaining to yourself and to others.  Do this deliberately, train yourself to be different, and you will.  Do these three things during the month of February, and I guarantee you that your life will NEVER be the same.  If not, come talk to me about it, and, together, we’ll thank God for friends who will love and listen to us even when we can’t help but voice our complaints.

Most gratefully,

Dave