The Sin of Ingratitude
There are many who are not grateful to God. The Apostle Paul wrote to the local church at Rome about those who have been turned over to a reprobate mind (Rom 1:18–32). He offers a description of these people and why the wrath of God is directed against them. We will look at a few of the attributes of the ungodly unrighteous, and then we will consider their ingratitude.
First, they know God (1:21). Claiming to be wise atheists, they make themselves out to be fools (1:19, 22). These people either say there is no God (Ps 14, 53), or behave like there is no God (1:29–31). God created all things to reveal His glory. The very Creation, in which these people are creatures, tells of God’s divine nature and eternal power (1:20). God exposes the atheist as a liar.
Reprobation is God’s active wrath, even His leaving them to the consequences of their own sins (1:24). God is the restrainer of evil (2 Thess 2:4), but when and if that protection is removed, all hell breaks loose (see Job). Humanity is totally depraved because of sin and the fall from Eden. This includes the mind (1:28). When the mind goes futile so do the actions. Men think wicked thoughts, and then they act in all manners of perversion. What they do is worthy of death (1:32), but God is slow to wrath. Men walk in darkness, repeatedly stumble over the truth of the Gospel, until they finally plunge off the cliff of life and are cast into eternal outer darkness.
Second, they suppress the truth in unrighteousness (1:18). While cheering on the bad behavior of their fellow reprobates (1:32), they deny God by making idols for themselves (1:23). They prefer the lies of Satan to the truth of God (1:25). They raise their voice against the voice of the Holy Spirit calling in the elect of God from every nation. They twist the doctrines of grace into heresies and false religions. They refuse to honor God or give Him the glory. They reap what they sow upon the earth (1:27), and pay the penalty of their innumerable sins in the eternal lake of fire (Rev 20:14–15).
Romans 1:21 reads, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” All of Creation has God’s signature on it, and everybody knows it. Dishonoring God comes in a variety of agendas: evolution; competition; religion; lust; superstition; fear; etc.
People in science and education strive to figure out what Creation is all about and where it all began. They speculate on climate change; rumors of war; new technologies; and they make promises that are forever broken. People in consumer products businesses advertise satisfaction being solely found in their product. When consumers of human culture end up perennially disappointed, instead of turning to God for true contentment, they blame Him. All of this was produced by a foolish darkened heart and leads to an ever darkening disposition.
Now we turn to, “they did not…give thanks.” Ingratitude is sin. Thanksgiving is a commandment, “…in everything give thanks” (1 Thess 5:18). The writer of Hebrews informs us of the frequency of gratitude, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” In everything, continually, there should be gratitude to God by name.
In the midst of war and tribulation God’s people are grateful, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign (Rev 11:17).” The nations rage against God and His people when the saints give thanks. In heaven, there is a report of gratitude for Creation, “…the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever (Rev 4:9).”
The very reason wicked people and nations rage against God and His anointed (Ps 2) are exactly the same reasons Christians love God and desire to please Him in obedience (2 Cor 5:9). Let us consider a few reasons why Christians are grateful and non-Christians are ungrateful to Yahweh and Jesus.
First, people either love/hate God’s name (1 Chron 16:35). One’s name is linked to one’s reputation. In the eyes of the saints, God’s reputation is perfectly flawless. Satan tricked Adam and Eve into questioning God’s integrity, when it was their own lack of integrity that was exposed. Some of their offspring, in the line of Cain, were very angry about this exposure. When men are exposed as evil, they hate God all the more (Jn 7:7). This is why they do not give thanks.
Second, they are not grateful to God for giving good gifts. Again, we see this in Adam and Eve. Satan tricks man into thinking God is something other than benevolent with His grace. God made us, not we ourselves (Ps 100:3). He made us in His own image. He gives grace to the unrighteous and the righteous. In other words, He has always been good to humanity. He does not cause us to sin. He is slow to anger with us when we do sin. He has extended a very gracious salvation toward sinners. He has told us the truth, and even had it written down for our benefit (Bible). He sends Spirit-filled people to us to proclaim His excellencies to us, and He has made this the way He is honored and we are saved. God has withheld nothing good from us. We should give Him thanks, but the wicked do not see grace, nor do they recognize God’s goodness and gifts. This is why they do not give thanks.
Third, they are not grateful to God for being fair and just. God’s people praise Him for always doing right in every situation. The wicked, instead of humbling themselves in their unrighteousness, play the victim. They stir up strife between men because they are actually bitter and angry toward God (see Cain). They feel God has not dealt with the sin of others that has negatively impacted them. They never see themselves as members of a universal coup d’etat against the Almighty. They never consider their own participation in a fallen world. They never view themselves as prime candidates for God’s judgment and punishment.
Blaming the rich, or the powerful, or another race, or another nation, they are sure somebody has received preferred treatment. They are also sure it is not them. When someone comes along and tells them that all of us deserve hell, they balk because deep down inside they think more highly of themselves than they ought to. Ungrateful people are self-made men. They have made idols of themselves, and they have worshipped themselves as God. They give thanks to themselves, for their achievements. They say to themselves, “I couldn’t have done it without me.” Pride convinces them that they would do a better job of being God than God, and this is another reason they do not give thanks to Him.
Fourth, they are not grateful to God for His love (1 Chron 16:41). God’s people have a simple command, “Love God.” They love to love God because He first loved them (1 Jn 4:19). If you hate someone, it is impossible to love them. So we might suggest haters of God love God for their own good, but this proves impossible. Human history has found unregenerate man unwilling and unable to love God. If a man loves God, he keeps God’s commandments (Jn 13:34). This is also the way to love his neighbor.
In truth, only one man has ever loved God, and that was Jesus Christ. When God spread His love in the hearts of the elect (Rom 5:5), He began to subdue their hatred toward Him. His light shone in their hearts and exposed the darkness (2 Cor 4:6), but His love kept shining while darkness was exposed and expunged. Truth became a delight while lies were now abhorred in the illumined regenerate heart. Although the clean-up process is painful, the saints of God are grateful to Him.
God promises to love those who come to Christ because when they come to Christ, they are coming to God, who is love (1 Jn 4:8). They receive God’s love in Christ, and it causes them to love Christ and God. Without Christ, without love, the unrighteous will never love God and they will never know the love of God, and this is why they act as if God does not love them. If they loved Him, they would give Him thanks for first loving them. Instead, they are exposed for loving sin more than loving God. This is why they do not give thanks.
Fifth, they are not grateful to God for their future. God’s people are grateful for the hope of glory. We rejoice in Jesus’ promise to go ahead of us into heaven, to prepare a place for us. We do not love this world (1 Jn 2:15), but our affections are reserved for the world to come. Unrighteous sinners love this world, and they fight with one another to get more of it. New toys, second houses, the next luxury vacation, another wife are all the fodder of the ungrateful. They trample their neighbor in order to please themselves.
The sinful need for more is called “greed,” and when greed lusts, it is covetousness of a neighbor’s property, which can sometimes lead to stealing. God’s commandments are despised because they are perceived as unfair restrictions. Lust drives men to sin in diverse manners. The world never satisfies, and men are never content in their lust for that which never satisfies. Here is insanity.
God liberates His people from these idols, and gives them a token of heaven by giving the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Law of God is now working in their hearts. Sanctification is the gracious working of holiness into a Christian heart. It makes the things of the world grow strangely dim, and it illumines heaven to motivate God’s people to store up their treasure there. The Holy Spirit causes the will of man to grow fond of heaven and less fond of sin and the world. Heaven, where Christ is seated in glory, is their forever focus (Heb 12:2). Only temporary distractions from the devil hinder the view to the object of their love. Though the storm clouds form, the Christian knows the Son is still shining in the sons of day (1 Thess 5:5).
The darkness of this world only anticipates the outer darkness of eternal hell (Mt 8:12). Darkened hearts of people sitting and walking in darkness is truly a great darkness (Mt 6:23). It was a dark day when the sons of darkness thought they had snuffed out the light of life at Calvary, and darker is the day when they realize darkness cannot overtake the light of the world (Jn 12:35). The sun still shines, though the earth turns its back on it.
Men have turned their back on God, and therefore, they walk through the valley of the shadow of death (1 Jn 1:6). Sinful men are full of darkness (Lk 11:34), and their unfruitful deeds of darkness (Rom 13:12; Eph 5:11), expose their darkened minds, void of understanding (Eph 4:18), and black darkness has been reserved for them in the future (2 Pet 2:17). All of this causes a grim outlook from a hardened heart, and they find no reason to give thanks to God.
In summary, we have proposed that ingratitude is a sin. We have conducted a brief survey of the attributes and actions of the ungrateful ones. We have shown how diametrically opposite their position is to the grateful ones, who give thanks continually to Jesus in everything.
In conclusion, each person much examine his/her own heart. Does your heart overflow with thanksgiving to God, especially regarding His greatest gift, Jesus Christ? Do you resent God and hold a fatalistic view of the future? Do you deny His existence in thought, word, or in action? Why have you resisted His gracious gift to you? What is distracting you or holding you back from receiving Him, who will inspire your gratitude by His love? Turn from darkness and come into His marvelous light, today. You will be grateful to Him that you did.
David E. Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 17, 2021
