Ingratitude

Bible In A Year | Read: Luke 17

11Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”  Luke 17:11-19 

Overview of Chapter

Jesus begins with some teaching on how we should be concerned about other people’s sin. If we love other people, we won’t want them to pursue self-destructive behaviors. But we are also supposed to forgive, so this concern is never done in a judgmental way. He then goes on to challenge people not to expect God to be impressed by our good deeds or forget to thank him for the things he does for us.

These are all difficult challenges. We have a tendency to either go to the extreme of thinking everyone is responsible for his or her own sin, so someone else’s action are not our business or to think we have the right to judge everyone else’s behavior. We are supposed to love others enough to help them not make mistakes, but judgment is not a part of that. We also tend to do the opposite of what Jesus says about thankfulness. We want God to be thrilled with each of our acts of obedience and sacrifice for him but then don’t thank him for what he does for us.

Thoughts on the verses

When you give your best, go the extra mile, or do something extraordinary for someone else, a little recognition is appreciated. But, if after a while, all your effort goes unnoticed, it’s a little discouraging and you feel like someone’s taking you for granted. Most of us appreciate being appreciated.  

On one particular journey, Jesus encountered ten men with leprosy begging for help. Leprosy is a disease that attacks the nervous system, causing disfigurement to skin and bones, even sometimes curling the fingers like a claw. Because it was spread by human contact, lepers were cast out of the community. It was devastating. That’s why they begged for help. And that’s why Jesus’ miraculous healing is so extraordinary. And yet, only one out of ten came back to give thanks. 

God has done more than just go the extra mile for us. He has done extraordinary things for us in Jesus. But how often do we forget to be grateful for the many blessings we’ve received from Him or others? Before long, if we forget to give thanks and express our appreciation, we get boxed in by ingratitude, and our hearts grow cold to the goodness of God and others. It’s not just about saying “thank you” so much as it is to notice how lavishly He loves and cares for us and, in turn, respond by living a life of gratitude towards all.

Action Steps

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.

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