Am I Thankful ot Resentful?

Martha was feeling grouchy. “I’m in here doing the cooking while Mary sits around in the living room,” she grumbled. Then she went to the Lord and asked Him to do something about it. His answer was not what she expected.

I can sympathize with Martha. I was feeling grouchy one morning. It was our day off, but I still had to do the cooking and cleanup--I was working while my husband was relaxing. A grouchy feeling began to creep over me. “Maybe I’m tired,” I thought looking for an excuse (Isn’t there an excuse for being grouchy?). Then I decided to ask the Lord to show me what was wrong. The word He brought to my mind was RESENTMENT. Who me, guilty of resentment? His answer was not what I expected. But, mulling over the events of that morning, I could see that that was exactly what I was feeling.

Well, I was ashamed when the Lord pointed out the resentment in my heart. “Lord I’m sorry I’ve been resentful,” I prayed. “And I sure don’t like this grouchy feeling it is causing. Please show me how to get rid of this resentment.” He recalled to my mind part of a verse, “Be ye thankful.” “You mean if I were thankful, Lord, there would be no resentment?” Hmm. Yes, that would seem to work in this situation. I could be thankful that my husband was with me that day and be thankful that he could take the day off since he hadn’t had a day off in several weeks. I could be thankful that I could minister to some of his needs. I thought back to other times I had felt resentful and realized that in all instances I could have been thankful instead. I began to look at my responsibilities differently. I chose to see them as ministries not chores--service not jobs.

Have you found yourself at times feeling resentful instead of thankful? Here are some scriptures about giving thanks or being thankful that seem to address this situation:

Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” This verse tells us that whatever we do, we are to be thankful--not resentful.

Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” For everything that comes our way, we are to be thankful--not resentful.

Colossians 3:15 says: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” That grouchy feeling that we get in our hearts can be turned into peace by being thankful--not resentful.

Now read these scriptures again and replace the word thanks or thankful with resentment or resentful and see how it sounds. That sounded awful didn’t it, but it makes you see just how awful resentment is. No, there is no excuse for grouchiness in a Christian’s life and there is no excuse for resentment. Let’s choose to live a life of thankfulness instead.