Why We Don't Give Thanks

By: H.H. Pope Shenouda III

One of the excuses for not giving thanks is the fact that we do not know what is good for us. Truly, it is only God -with His vast wisdom- who knows what is good for us. But our human wisdom is limited and cannot see into the future.

For example, who would believe that selling the upright Joseph as a slave, and unjustly throwing him into the prison will be for his benefit and the benefit of his brothers and father, Egypt and the surrounding countries? Perhaps the righteous Joseph did not give thanks when he was sold as a slave, and when he was unjustly accused and thrown into prison but, undoubtedly, he frequently gave thanks and knew that “...God meant it for good .... Save many people alive” (Gen. 50: 20)

We do not know what the future holds but we know one thing; that the future is in the hands of God. We thank God because He keeps the whole future in His hands to manage with His good will and give good things to His children. We therefore, have confidence in all that comes from God's hand filled with love. By faith, we see the hand of God in all the incidents we face. And since we are comforted with the work of God, we should rejoice and give thanks.

Our excuses for not giving thanks come from not seeing the Lord’s point of view in situations that bother us so much. For example: the birth of the blind person; was it good and worthy for giving thanks? Even the disciples thought it was punishment for his sins, and they ignorantly said, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But the Lord Jesus said to them, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3). Had it not been for the man who was born blind, this great miracle would not have happened to him, and he wouldn’t have believed in God. He received spiritual eyes that he used to understand the works of God. This miracle opened the door for many to believe.

Unfortunately, we can’t give thanks yet until we see the results! Faith gives us the confidence to know that everything will work out in the end, but “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29)... because “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

Another example is the death of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha; was the sickness and death of Lazarus a matter that deserves thanksgiving? We do have to remember though that all this was “... for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4). If people knew what the Lord would do after the death of Lazarus, they would have given thanks for the sickness and death of Lazarus, as to reveal the glory of God. Faith was spread after raising Lazarus four days after his death (John 11:45). No doubt that this is a matter that deserves thanksgiving. So why couldn’t we praise the Lord before we knew His intentions? Because our human vision is limited to only see the grave where they buried Lazarus and stood outside weeping. With faith they were able to exceed the four days, and they saw Lazarus coming out bound hand and foot in grave clothes; and when they saw the glory of God, they gave thanks.

A good example in the Bible is the conspiracy of Haman. Haman was so full of pride that he became displeased with Mordecai because he would not bow or pay him homage. He plotted to hang Mordecai and destroy his people. It is a disturbing beginning, but let’s see how it ended. Under the command of Esther, all the people fasted and prayed which led into a spiritual period where they came closer to God who interfered and saved them. They hung Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, who was in turn, honored by the King. The situation has made a 180 degree turn from the gallows to glory. Blessed is the Lord in all that He does. Blessed is His hand that interferes and leads the ship during the storm unto a path of safety.

We learn the same lesson from the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. No doubt it was difficult for our father Abraham to offer his only beloved son as a burnt offering (Gen 22:2). But it was for the greater good because it showed Abraham’s obedience, revealing his faith and righteousness (Heb 11:17-19; James 2:21-23). By this test, our father Abraham received the blessing of the Lord who said to him, “In blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants... in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 22:16-18). It was a lesson and example for all generations on Earth, either with regard to Abraham or to his son Isaac who became a symbol for the Lord Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16) and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Phil 2:8).

One of the major reasons that keep us from giving thanks is the lack of remembering the good things the Lord does for us, either in general or in our private lives. David the Prophet reminds himself saying “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Ps 103:1,2). He continued to remember it one by one.

The Israelites in the wilderness kept Manna, to remember the blessings of the Lord (Ex 16:32-34). They laid stones in the midst of the Jordan River to remember the crossing of the Jordan when the waters were cut off (Josh 4:4-8).

Sometimes we do not give thanks because we attribute the good we receive not to God, but to our personal abilities, to those who helped us, or to the surrounding circumstances. In all this, we forget that our abilities are gifts from God; those who helped us were there for us because God has whispered into their hearts. And the surrounding circumstances, we cannot separate from the divine planning.

We also do not give thanks, because we remember our transgressions more than our good deeds. When we reevaluate ourselves, all the good things that deserve thanksgiving, disappear. But afflictions and troubles stay with us. Therefore, not only do we fail to give thanks, but depression and sadness overcomes us and we live in contrary to those who are hopeful and full of joy because they remember the good grace and blessing of God, and continuously give thanks and praise.

Lack of thanksgiving may be a lack of contentment. A content person always gives thanks even if what he has is little, but the discontent, no matter what the Lord gives him, is never satisfied, and does not give thanks. He always wants more and therefore he gives no thanks! A person’s ambition could change to greediness and this causes him to lose thanksgiving.

A person may lose the life of thanksgiving because he’s accustomed to grumbling. For some, grumbling could change to a psychiatric disease. When someone is always grumbling, protesting and complaining, and nothing will appeal to him, and consequently, of course, he gives no thanksgiving. It is a spiritual, psychological and social disease which requires treatment. Contrary to that who gets used to thanksgiving until it becomes a characteristic in him. He thanks the Lord and the people and gives thanks for everything.

Besides grumbling and greediness, the person will suffer from disturbance, despair, depression, unrest, fear of the future, and fear in general, and will fail to give thanks because he is always concerned and confused. Such person needs treatment. Lack of thanksgiving troubles the soul, and the trouble of the soul takes away thanksgiving.

Many do not give thanks because they are so full of joy for receiving good things, that they forget where the blessings came from. Unfortunately, they are self centered. Isn't that a kind of selfishness? But you, do not be like the ten lepers who were healed and did not return to give thanks (Luke 17:12-18). Do not look only at the gift without looking at the giver.

One of the biggest excuses in the life of thanksgiving is holding to your personal thinking rather than the divine planning. We would like to arrange our affairs with our human thinking and act according to our own methods. God might have another plan which we do not understand, so we become angry and do not give thanks. Our thanksgiving in this case, means that we are confident that this incident is good, for which we give thanks to God. Here we come to realize that believing is seeing, and by faith we see the good in all that God does to us, and not rely on human judgments.

Sometimes, we do not give thanks because we forget our sins. If we remembered our sins we ought to thank God as “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Ps 103:10). But even if we receive punishment, we have to give thanks because we suffer here on Earth instead of having everlasting punishment in
the life to come. If we realized the weight of our sins we would accordingly give thanks, even in the painful sufferings, because they are much less than we deserve and they were allowed by God, to lead us to repentance.

Suffering is a gift that deserves thanksgiving and as the Apostle said “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil 1:29). Then it is a gift that comes with glory, and it is said, “... if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom 8:17). As long as suffering is a way to glory, it deserves thanksgiving.

If you endure afflictions for God's sake, thank Him from the depth of your heart, because you were counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name (Acts 5:41). Thank Him because He directed you to the narrow gate which leads to the Kingdom and eternal life (Matt 7:14).

Finally, I say that we sometimes do not give thanks because we consider the good we are in as something normal which does not need thanksgiving. You have many good things for which you do not give thanks, like health and shelter, and you count them as normal, but those who are deprived of them, know their value and if they receive them, surely they will thank God for them. There are many normal matters in our life which need thanksgiving.