November 20, 2024 Devo

Some years ago, a homeless man whom we had helped before came to our church and asked if he could take a shower.  I told him he could and got him soap, shampoo, and a towel.  I took him to our men’s shower room and left him alone.  He took a long time showering.  Much longer than even if he wanted to be REALLY clean.  But that was okay, I figured he wouldn’t get the opportunity to do this again for a while.  When he eventually came out, he asked if we had any clothes we could give him.  We did not.  He then asked if we could give him money.  I told him that we don’t give cash to people.  He then got angry and began yelling at me and telling me how horrible of a person I was.  I smiled and told him it was time for him to leave.  He then began to stand in the lobby and swear at me.  That was when I took him by the arm and escorted him to the door.  Some people just have a funny way of showing gratitude, I guess.
I think that truthfully, many people don’t think about showing gratitude much at all.  We could point our fingers at the man and tell him how selfish and rude he was being, but if we pan out a bit and look at the whole picture, I think it’s actually pretty symptomatic of our culture.  There’s a pervasive sense of entitlement that’s there.  We feel as if life owes us.  We feel our government owes us.  We feel that the church owes us.  We feel that God owes us.  When people say that they’re mad at God for not answering their prayers the way they want, I wonder if those same people spend as much time and energy praising God and testifying about His goodness when He DOES answer their prayers affirmatively.  
Jesus asked a spot-on question in our passage today.  “Where are the other nine?”  Ten lepers cried out to Him for help.  Jesus healed them ALL.  But only one, when he noticed that he was healed, took the time to come back to Jesus, fell at His feet, and profusely and passionately thanked Him for such a marvelous gift.  And that man wasn’t even a Jew.  He was a Samaritan.  When I read this story today, I prayed that God would never let me take for granted the blessings He gives me every single day.  I pray that I might not ever become infected with that spirit of entitlement that’s so prevalent.  I want to be always aware that if God never answered a prayer the way I wanted again, I have already been given far more than I’ll ever deserve.  I don’t want to be like the nine who take their blessing and just keep on going.  I want to be among the grateful 10% who give praise, testimony, and thanks.  That’s God’s Word for you today.