8 Grave Consequences of Being Unthankful
We will repel key people around us
When we are not living lives of praise to God, we are not thankful to Him for His goodness. When we are not thankful to Him, then we will not be grateful for the key people God has put in our lives, leading to accentuating negative aspects about these people in our minds. This results in us repelling them by our negative speaking and communication towards them.
When we live lives of constant complaining, grumbling and lack of thankfulness, we will exude the wrong spirit in our homes and nurture families who are ungrateful towards one another and even towards God. We will be teaching our children that it is only time to “turn on the switch” of thanksgiving during a two hour worship service on Sunday. Unfortunately, this compartmentalization will produce hypocrisy in their lives and result in them not fully serving the Lord!
We will repel the presence of God within us
The psalms teach us that God dwells in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). This also can be reversed: when we don’t have an attitude of thanksgiving towards God, we can repel His personal presence within us, which grieves His Spirit and hurts our ability to fellowship intimately with Him.
God cannot trust us with more blessings
I learned a long time ago that God will multiply the things in my life that I am most grateful for. He will not trust me with whatever I am not thankful for because I don’t appreciate it.
Sometimes we are even thankful for or appreciate bad things that come in our lives which can also multiply and destroy us. For example, we could appreciate the kindness and flattery of a strange woman which could then lead to adultery if we are not grateful to God for our spouses. But if we show gratitude to our spouses, it will greatly aid our marriages. (If we are continually complaining about, and to, our spouses, it will repel them and distance them from us.)
David blessed the Lord with all that was within him, which led him to recounting continually all the blessings of the Lord that continued to multiply in his life (read Psalm 103).
We will suffer continual discouragement and even depression
If we are not continually and intentionally ordering our minds to think on the good things of God, we will not enjoy the peace of God in these troubled times (Philippians 4:8-9). This can lead to discouragement and severe depression. The greatest tool in fighting depression is not medication but worshipping the Creator and being thankful to Him for every good thing He has given us from above (James 1:17).
We will miss our greatest purpose in life: to love and worship God
The Westminster Catechism begins by stating that our highest purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Revelation teaches us that in heaven the elders and angelic beings are continually worshipping our Creator. One of the things they say is, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Rev. 4:10-11).
This Thanksgiving should not be an event or a one-day holiday but should become a catalyst for churches and believers everywhere to have “holy days”: to live lives of praise and thanksgiving. This is the most countercultural thing we can do to strip the devil of his power over us and our families, and will reveal the vast opportunities God has already given us so we can walk in His kingdom purposes.
