Ungrateful Me

I want more!

For me that was such an everyday phrase. I would constantly throw pity parties for myself lamenting my lot: If only my parents were a bit richer. If only they spent a bit more money on me. If only my job paid a bit better… On and on the list goes.

A few weeks ago, I got half of the score for one of the modules. As you can imagine the first thought that came to me again was, if only…

Although I had gotten one of the top grades, there were still people that did better than I did. Rather than being encouraged about the result, my only thought was that it could have been better. God did, after all, say His children will be the head and not tail.

As I thought about this, the Spirit was kind enough to remind me that I was being a brat. I had ignored all that I should be thankful for and only sought more.

I could not help but feel ashamed of myself. But what could I do? It had become my lifestyle. I said a quick prayer asking God to give me a grateful heart and closed the results.

God being God, knew exactly what I needed. Few minutes after that, I opened my devotional for the day. It was titled “Do you want to be wealthy?” On seeing this, I thought it was going to be a lesson about trusting God for us to be blessed with wealth in the physical sense but it was not so.

The key verse was, “Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith” – Proverbs 15:16 (KJV). The writer talked about how she had been dissatisfied with her not-so-colourful but full wardrobe. The person went to say that at the end of the day, God showed her how ungrateful she had been and that there are so many people in the world that cannot comprehend having as much as she does.

Reading this, all I could see was myself. I am constantly consumed with achieving earthly gains that I forget all I ought to be thankful for, including the salvation of my soul.

I was reminded that all earthly gains are just that, earthly! I can’t take them with me when I leave this world. I saw my sorry state and all I could do was call on Him who is able to renew the heart and the soul. O, that I might have a grateful heart!

 

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”(KJV 16:26 Matthew)