Lessons from Lepers on Thankfulness
In his 2008 book, Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Robert A. Emmons, who spent years studying gratitude, wrote
"grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness and optimism, and that the practice of gratitude as a discipline protects a person from the destructive impulses of envy, resentment, greed, and bitterness."
The gospel of Luke records a series of events in the life of Jesus on His way to Jerusalem; these events teach the kind of attitude disciples should have in view of the coming Kingdom. In this section of scripture, we find the story of Jesus healing ten lepers.
"While traveling to Jerusalem, he passed between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he told them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And while they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And he told him, "Get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you."" (Luke 17:11–19, CSB)
Here Jesus asked three questions, all carrying a sense of amazement: Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?" It seems the other nine lepers were so caught up in their healing that it did not occur to them to return to Jesus and say thank you. Oh, how quickly we lose sight of God's unmerited goodness towards us. The nine lepers reveal a common problem, Jesus was not at the center of their gratitude and thankfulness. By failing to glorify God and returning to thank Jesus, they missed the opportunity to reflect gratitude and thankfulness to the giver and sustainer of all things. Don't miss this in the story, Jesus reflecting his humanity, is disappointed by their actions.
Kent Hughes writes,
There are eternal lessons here for us. Certainly, we must understand that no one is saved by virtue of having a pleasant, optimistic, or thankful spirit. Jesus is not teaching salvation by disposition. But Jesus is teaching that where there is true faith there are profoundly thankful hearts.
4 Lessons from Lepers on Thankfulness:
1. Repent of entitlement. God does not owe us anything.
One of the most destructive phrases you can have in your heart… "is, "I deserve!" The lepers did not cry, “Jesus, I am leper, you owe me! I have suffered long enough, I have a right to be healed.” The cry of the lepers that day was “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” . Thinking you have the right to something is entitlement. Entitlement is the soil that grows the fruit of bitterness. When the idea of "I deserve" or “it’s my right” takes root, whenever expectations go unmet, you will produce the fruit of bitterness in your life. Bitterness is the opposite of thankfulness.
2. Gratitude and thankfulness do not come easy! Work to cultivate this discipline.
Notice the fact Jesus emphasizes the Samaritan (foreigner), don't miss the importance of this nugget, "Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?". Jesus was making a statement for sure; the Samaritans were the outcasts of society and detested by the Jews. Presumably, everyone else healed were the privileged people of promise, the Jews, and they were no where to be found. It is harder for pampered and privileged folks to be thankful than the outcasts and marginalized, which should be an indictment on those who are pampered and privileged. Be careful of taking blessings so for granted that you forget to cultivate thankfulness in your life.
3. Circumstances cannot determine our gratitude and thankfulness.
We, like the lepers, desire to be healed. We want the most favorable circumstances possible in this life. The profound question concerning thankfulness and gratitude comes when our circumstances are unfavorable. How will we respond when we do not get what we want, or even worse, our circumstances are filled with suffering and hardship. In 1873 Horatio Spafford sent his wife Anna and four daughters to Europe; he stayed behind in Chicago to finish work. On the transatlantic voyage the ship sank, and all four of his daughters perished. The telegram from his wife read,
Horatio, "Saved alone. What shall I do?"
While on the long journey to Europe to be with his wife, Spafford began to work on a hymn. Out of great pain, grief, and agony, he wrote these words:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
4. True, kingdom citizen gratitude will lead to action. What actions will you take today and, in the future, to demonstrate gratitude and thankfulness to a watching world?
A lifestyle of gratitude and thankfulness is a lifestyle of wellness. When we model thanksgiving, we communicate something glorious. We communicate the reality of God's goodness and grace in our lives. Thankfulness is the outward manifestation of singing; “It is Well with my Soul."… no matter where we may find ourselves today.
