You are declared to be forgiven but you are afraid to believe it can be true . . . You see, when you think about it, we are really not much different from the lepers. We receive blessings on every side and often take them, enjoy them, and never give God thanks for them. Our purpose this morning is not to create a climate of guilt. Let me give you seven things that will help you be more grateful.
True gratitude focuses on the greatness of the giver rather than the gift.
Every holiday there is some woman who is given a little box as a gift. Generally she will scream, cry, or maybe dance. But then the next thing she does is find the giver of the gift and she embraces him and kisses him and expresses gratitude to him. How silly it would be if that woman opened the box, saw the ring and then celebrated the ring with no acknowledgment of the giver. Yet when we are grateful for the gifts of God without being grateful for the God who gave the gifts, we do the same thing.