October 22
Matthew 20:1-16; Mark 10:32-34; Matthew 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34; Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:27
We can live life with an attitude of thankfulness or with a mentality of frustration. Henri Nouwen said, "Where there is reason for gratitude, there can always be found a reason for bitterness. It is here that we are faced with the freedom to make a decision. We can decide to be grateful or to be bitter." We see this choice in the story of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20:1-16. A landowner offered to pay workers a denarius for a full day of work and then continued to hire workers throughout the day. When it came time to pay the workers he paid everyone a denarius regardless of the number of hours they had toiled in the vineyard. The response of the first workers was to grumble, to cast judgment on the owner, and to be envious of others. Rather than delighting in the fair pay they received, they became frustrated. In the words of Henri Nouwen, they were bitter rather than filled with gratitude.
There are always going to be reasons to complain in our broken world, but there is also an opportunity to be grateful for all our blessings from God. As followers of Jesus, we are to see his hand at work and be grateful for all the things he has done in our lives (and in the lives of others). So let us release the bitterness and embrace gratitude.
Father God, thank you for your work in my life. Help me to respond to your grace and love with gratefulness and not bitterness. Amen.
How can you learn to respond with gratitude rather than bitterness to the circumstances you face?
We can live life with an attitude of thankfulness or with a mentality of frustration. Henri Nouwen said, "Where there is reason for gratitude, there can always be found a reason for bitterness. It is here that we are faced with the freedom to make a decision. We can decide to be grateful or to be bitter." We see this choice in the story of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20:1-16. A landowner offered to pay workers a denarius for a full day of work and then continued to hire workers throughout the day. When it came time to pay the workers he paid everyone a denarius regardless of the number of hours they had toiled in the vineyard. The response of the first workers was to grumble, to cast judgment on the owner, and to be envious of others. Rather than delighting in the fair pay they received, they became frustrated. In the words of Henri Nouwen, they were bitter rather than filled with gratitude.
There are always going to be reasons to complain in our broken world, but there is also an opportunity to be grateful for all our blessings from God. As followers of Jesus, we are to see his hand at work and be grateful for all the things he has done in our lives (and in the lives of others). So let us release the bitterness and embrace gratitude.
Father God, thank you for your work in my life. Help me to respond to your grace and love with gratefulness and not bitterness. Amen.
How can you learn to respond with gratitude rather than bitterness to the circumstances you face?
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