Grumbling vs. Gratitude

 

My classroom rules are all Bible verses. I love this because my students can see that these aren't just things I've randomly come up with to make their time in school miserable or take away their fun. These are things that God wants us - all of us - to do in life. They're not just for the classroom, but for home, work, church, social events, everything. Each new class has a unique personality and they seem to have difficulty with a different class rule every year. This year's class has trouble with this rule: Do all things without grumbling or disputing, (Philippians 2:14)

It's so easy to grumble. "Do I have to do this?" "Why do we have to do so many problems?" "I hate math!" And it's not just my students. I can find myself grumbling as well. "Ugh. I do not want to go back to work tomorrow." "I have so many papers to grade!" "I hate dealing with these things." 

So what's the cure for grumbling? Gratitude. I started something with my class where whenever they grumble, I ask them to give me something they're thankful for. If they're upset because it's not a lab in science today, they might say something like, "Even though we're not doing a lab today, I'm thankful that we get the opportunity to do labs in science." It's amazing how quickly their attitude changes when they have to think of something they're thankful for in response to their grumbling. In fact, often they can come up with more than one, and their classmates start chiming in with more, too. Pretty soon they realize that they have a lot of blessings to be grateful for.

It's a practice that can help me, too. Even though I'm not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, I'm thankful I have a job. I'm thankful that I love my school and my co-workers. I'm thankful that my job helps to not only supply my family's needs, but some of our wants as well. Even though I have a lot of papers to grade, I'm thankful for the progress I see my students. I'm thankful for technology that makes it so that I don't have to average grades manually. Even though I hate dealing with difficult situations, I'm thankful God is with me. I'm thankful He guides me and gives me wisdom in how to respond. I'm thankful for an administration that is very supportive to teachers. My whole outlook changes when I take a moment to switch to an attitude of gratitude. 

I think that's why 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." We don't always know God's will for our lives, but here in the Bible we clearly see that God's will for us is to be a people who give thanks. It takes our focus off our difficulties and turns it to the One who is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). 

There are seasons in life that this practice becomes even more difficult. I know that looking at my examples above one might think that it's easy to give thanks when your biggest problems are as insignificant as I described. But what about when a loved one has died, or a diagnosis has been given that you hoped you never have to face? What about when a marriage is crumbling or a wayward child is breaking your heart? Does it still work then?

Yes! I know this from experience. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 was my verse of the year one time. I resolved to come up with something I was thankful for every day of the year. That year God showed me the power of gratitude. My dad was in the hospital for a month with severe pancreatitis that almost killed him. In fact, he had medical personnel stopping by his room simply because they had seen his chart and couldn't believe that not only was he alive, but he wasn't even in a coma. At this same time, my grandpa was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Later that year, a woman that I had known from youth group gave birth to her first baby and a few days later slipped into a coma and died. Eventually both my father and grandfather ended up back in the hospital for more surgeries. It was year that I spent so much time in the hospital that I accidentally turned into the hospital parking lot out of habit one day. It was a difficult year, but I found that searching for things to be thankful for made the year easier to cope with. I was thankful that both my father and grandfather survived that year. I was thankful that my friend had wisely made arrangements for her baby. There were so many blessings that I could have easily missed because I was too focused on the problems. Gratitude doesn't change the situation, but it lifts our focus to the One who knows our situation intimately.

Life is hard. We never know when things will seem to be flipped upside down. Gratitude keeps us from wallowing in the problems, and instead lifts our attention to God.

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”