Who would have thought that one of the signs of the Endtime would be Unthankful people? It almost seems out of place among the more acceptable egregious sins of the flesh. Few would consider an unthankful spirit and adultery as signs of the times, but the Bible reveals the matter.
2 Timothy chapter three states that in the last days perilous times will come where people are “…lovers of themselves, lovers of money (greedy), boastful, proud, abusive, unholy, unforgiving, slanderous, treacherous, conceited, and without natural affection…” The “Unthankful” are right in the middle of those carnal attributes. The modern believer mostly ignores such “minimal infractions” and would never include them with these other sinful activities. The “white lie” crowd are still among the elect, i.e., they still think that sinful activities are not all the same. However, God thinks the Unthankful should be included, thus His Word has made it so.
Those who are thankful recognize God and His provision. “Thankful” ultimately leads us to the Cross of Calvary where He gave to us what we could not give to ourselves. The absence of this thought is that of humanism, thus, the unthankful disposition is the acceptance of self-sufficiency or self-reliance.
Thanksgiving may be a national holiday, but the spirit of it pertains to a lifestyle. The origin of the day is rooted in recognizing God’s goodness and not man’s ingenuity. I submit this concept as secularism moves to dismiss our need for God and employs the strength of humanity. The question that must be answered is whether we live thankful; not whether we celebrate the holiday around a family table.
Paul wrote that love keeps no record of wrongs; is not boastful or proud. Thankfulness is akin to Paul’s I Corinthians description of love. There is a prism of this word that manifests itself in our everyday life. The “Thankful” honor God for the things He has done. It does not boast in self-sufficiency or personal achievement. Thankful bestows praise upon others while removing themselves from the equation. This message must be a continual endeavor. There are no days wherein we disregard the goodness of God. It might even be said that to be Thankful is the fruit of the Body of Jesus Christ in the last days, and not just for the church at large, but also for our local body of believers. We are, and must be, a Thankful people!
Pastor Jeffrey Harpole
