Grateful Everyday 

January 29, 2023 

We all like grateful people who appreciate what we do. Gratitude comes from noticing the goodness in life and realizing that it comes not just from us, but goodness comes from other people and God. We live in a selfish culture, that encourages us to want things, to think that when we buy that thing we want, or get it as a gift, that will make us happy. We live in a culture of envy. I think I’m doing ok, until I notice someone has a better, newer version of something: Then I want what they have! In a materialistic culture, a culture of envy, we expect the things we accumulate will give us lasting happiness. But happiness over things or accomplishments usually wears off quickly. We are not happier. Sometimes we feel jealous of others and unhappy. It is hard to be grateful.  

Then there’s this idea, that wherever I am in life, there is a better time ahead that matters more than what I am doing now. When I was a kid, I thought things will be great when I grow up! That is when real life will start. When I had grown up, I thought, “Things will be great when I finish school. That will be amazing!” I finished school and thought, When I find that special someone, life will be better. I got married and thought, things will be great when I get a church to serve. That happened, I thought life will be better when I have kids. When I had kids I thought life will be better when they are finally out of diapers. They grew, and I thought, life will get better when we buy a house. I found myself whatever moment I was in, wishing to be in the next moment. I can’t wait for that new thing: an achievement, new friendship, new possession or vacation. That thing will fill the emptiness inside. 

A selfish culture feeds this mindset. You need to get what you want. Treat yourself. The problem is, Jesus said, if you want to follow me, it won’t be smooth sailing. You have to take up your cross. You have to change diapers. You have to deal with your arthritis. If you follow Jesus, don’t yell at your annoying neighbor. 

A selfish culture makes it harder to be grateful every moment. But there is still hope we can grow in gratitude, although it takes some work, and help from God. 

Why would you want to be more grateful? Because gratitude has benefits: grateful people are happier, healthier. They have better relationships with other people. Being grateful keeps us from dwelling on negative things and helps us be more positive. I want to be happier, have better mental and physical health, and better relationships, how about you? It would be awesome to be more grateful!  

How do you practice gratitude EVERYDAY? Not just on good days, but also on bad days. We’ll look today at the apostle Paul, who was very grateful to God, although he had many really, really bad days. 

Here is a key verse for our message today. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Whether you are doing laundry, going to work, picking up kids from events, do it for the glory of God. Chores and the things you do for others are not something you wish away. Instead, you say, I’m here for God, whatever the assignment. I’m grateful to be of service.  

If you do all you do for God, gratitude and happiness will follow. 

Because in so much of my life, I pursue what I want. But Jesus says, “Deny yourself.” And Paul says, when you are deciding whether to do something, decide to do it, not because you can. Instead, do it because it brings glory to God. Because so much of what I do in life, I do for me. And yes, it’s important to take care of yourself and set boundaries. But culture gets us to think life is all about having the freedom to be of absolutely no use to anyone. When life is actually more fun, more meaningful, and it’s easier to be grateful and happy everyday when you have a purpose: when you do it all for the glory of God.  

What if, whatever you do you can find meaning and fulfillment and spiritual satisfaction by doing it all for the glory of God? In another text from Paul, 1 Cor. 15, starting at verse 9, Paul talks, very humbly and gratefully about why he is so grateful to God. He says I am the least of all the apostles. And I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. He rounded Christians up and thought it was a good thing if they would die! But by the grace of God, he changed. And he says, because God was so forgiving and loving, he worked harder than any of the other apostles, although he says, it was really God’s grace working in him. I don’t think Paul was bragging or complaining about the other apostles. He is saying, I’ve been so transformed by Jesus! Because of who Jesus was and what He did, I just got to work. Whatever I did, I was doing it for his glory. I worked really hard. 

I can imagine him explaining, while other people or apostles went to bed, I probably stayed up a little later praying and strategizing. While most wanted comfort, I realized that following Jesus was not gonna be comfortable. I was beaten but kept on telling people about Jesus. I was shipwrecked, and I just moved on. I was bitten by a poisonous snake, but I just shook it off. While others stuck with the way we’ve always done things before, I always tried to do the right thing. I spent so much time in the Bible, and let it renew my mind. If Paul wasn’t being humble, he could say, I wrote a lot of the New Testament. But he was humble, he didn’t say that. Paul could say I was in prison, but I just kept on praying. I served Jesus and sent out letters to churches, teaching while I was in prison. We went to cities without a single Christian, and we managed to start churches in homes. We’d raised up leaders and we didn’t have a lot of resources; we just got the job done. Paul could talk about his life and ministry, and he was not wishing the difficult moment he was in away. No, he just said, whatever I do, I’m gonna do it for the glory of God.  

If eveything you do is for God, happiness and gratitude will follow. That’s how Paul felt: just happy to do what he could for God, grateful for God’s love.  

Paul might say: Is someone chained up to me in prison? I’m gonna tell them about Jesus Christ. If I have paper and a pen, I’m going to write a letter to the Philippians because they need it.  

You know what Paul didn’t do? He didn’t say, Well, God let me down. I prayed for help, and here I am, shipwrecked again! No, he considered it a blessing to be alive, God was with him. When Barnabas turned on Paul, he didn’t say, I can’t take it anymore. Christians, you can’t trust any of them. No, he said, I’m not going to get bitter, I’ve got to keep going, I’m on a mission from God! 

Paul was grateful on his bad days. He kept going, he was so happy what God had done for him. Whatever kind of day it was, good or bad, he was going to do all he did for the glory of God. If you do it all for God, happiness and gratitude will follow. 

I’m really happy to see all the people from (trinity/St. Peter’s) who help at the food pantry or donate to it. I’m so happy for all the people who donate to and serve the church and help make chicken pies! Giving and volunteering are a great way to do something for God’s glory. They are selfless acts.  

I want you to think of anything you do as for the glory of God. Anything you do for a family member, a friend, or a neighbor. Anything you do for work, any chores you do for you, doctor appts for you. We need you to keep on keeping on. We need you doing all you do for the glory of God! 

When it’s a bad day, if you remember this day is for God, it makes it a better day. If you do it all for God, happiness and gratitude will follow. 

My challenge for you this week is when you work, when you take care of someone, when you are getting over a big disappointment, tell yourself this is for God. Say, I’m working every day for the glory of God.  

We’ve learned the past 4 weeks to be selfless: 

To speak boldly what we believe deeply and share our faith. 

We learned that a servant is who we are, a servant of the Most High God. 

We learned to be extravagant in generosity, that we are not victims of our finances, but we are contributors.  

Today we talked about how we tend to think happiness comes from our good days and the things we can buy and achieve. But happiness comes on ordinary days when we live for God’s purpose! Living for God, we find our passion for life. We deny ourselves and do the work. We find doing God’s work makes us full of joy and grateful! If you do it all for God, happiness and gratitude will follow. Amen.