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Verse:And Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? —Luke 17:17, KJV
Have you ever done all there is that you could do for someone —maybe a child, sibling, coworker, or even a parent— and he or she acted as though you had done nothing for him or her? This person showed no appreciation for your effort! Well, consider yourself fortunate if you have not encountered someone like this in your family, at work, among friends, or —God forbid— in the Christian church.
Even Jesus experienced ingratitude when only one out of ten healed lepers returned to say thank you. Many of God’s servants dealt with the hurt of ingratitude. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Joshua, to name a few, did all they could to help the ancient Israelites remain faithful to God and avoid the consequences of their actions.
Yet as complaining mounted among the unthankful people, the faithful servants of God must, at times, have been discouraged. Moses experienced his share of ingratitude as well. The very people he loved turned on him, rebelled against him, and threatened to elect another leader to take them back to Egypt.
Joshua witnessed their rebellion. It must have been a challenge for him when God chose him to be the successor of Moses and lead the offspring of rebels into the Promised Land. The prophet Isaiah witnessed the people of God fall deeply into sin. They forsook God and His instructions. Isaiah warned the children of Israel and their kings to repent of their wicked, idolatrous ways so they would not have to suffer God’s judgment by being taken into captivity by the Assyrians. But the people of Israel and their kings were so depraved that when warned, they simply turned a deaf ear.
They turned on God’s messengers and imprisoned a number of them. Christian tradition has it that Judah’s most wicked king, Manasseh, even ordered that the prophet Isaiah be sawed in two (many believe this is referred to in Hebrews 11:37).
How ungrateful they were to God’s merciful call! Today many still behave in ways similar to those of ancient Israel. We carry the sin of ingratitude in our DNA.
Only the transforming power of God can change our stony hearts and replace them with hearts of flesh —soft hearts that will love Him and manifest an attitude of gratitude. Lord, help us to truly appreciate all You do for us every day.
Kollis Salmon-Fairweather