Episode 180: How to Survive Ungratefulness

We live in a world with a lot of ungrateful people, and we can get drug down by serving them.  I hope this episode with encourage you today

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, hello, thank you for joining me on Words of
Truth today, where I use the word of God to
encourage you in your walk with Jesus. I mark your host.
And today we're dealing with the subject of how to
survive ungratefulness. Now, if you haven't been living in a
cave or in the desert or under a rock, and

(00:24):
you've spent time around people to any extent at all,
then you know how ungrateful people can be. This is
especially true if you're in any kind of a serving position.
I mean, maybe you're a I don't know, in customer
care and you hear a lot of complaints from people

(00:46):
all day long, but probably very few thank yous. Or
you're serving in the church taking care of those snotty nosed,
cranky add babies during the service, and when the parents
come back to pick them up after the church service,
there's not even a thank you that follows. Maybe there's

(01:09):
a few complaints. Or how about those of you who
are taking care of a senior adult in your home.
You know the work it requires, and yet sometimes there's
not a lot of gratefulness that comes along with the job,
and it can become very discouraging to continue. Day after
day with what feels like no benefit by way of thanks.

(01:34):
So often our service goes unnoticed, unappreciated, and even taken
for granted. And even worse, you might even get picked
at by some well meaning and some not so well
meaning people who feel like God has given them the
gift of criticism. Well, let me give you some words

(01:55):
of encouragement today, words that might pick you up and
help you to stay in the game. First, you need
to know that you're in good company. If you counted
up all the leaders and all the caregivers who were
criticized and unappreciated, it would be a long list. I mean,

(02:16):
let's think about those in the Bible who were unappreciated. Moses,
for example, he was called to lead the children of
Israel out of Egypt, and the first time they encounter
of a tough time, they say, you've brought us out
into the desert to starve this entire assembly to death.
Now that's almost laughable, isn't it. If I were Moses,

(02:38):
I would have sarcastically said, Yep, that's it. I left
my comfortable home, traveled to Egypt, got your release for
the sole purpose of starving us all to death. In
the desert. Yep, that was my dream that just as
starved to death. Wow. In fact, it wasn't until Moses
died that they really appreciated what he did for them. Well,

(03:01):
some consolation prize that was. Or how about job minding
his own business, living a righteous life before the Lord,
helping people around him, but who appreciated him with a
tide turned against him. His wife called him a fool,

(03:21):
his so called friends tried to convince him that he
was full of sin and that it was all his fault.
And then there's the prophet Jeremiah. He had the unhappy
mission of declaring to Israel that Jerusalem would be destroyed
and that they would be sent into captivity because of
their sin. Did they appreciate him? Absolutely not. In fact,

(03:46):
he was slandered and arrested and put into prison and
called a trader. Remember the apostle Paul. He spent years long,
grueling hours and miles in mission work. He was beaten
and put into prison for his message and shipwrecked several times.

(04:07):
But some of the churches he himself founded tried to
discredit him. He wrote a letter to his detractors and
in his sarcasm, you can feel his pain is found
in First Corinthians, chapter four, verses ten to thirteen. We
are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ.

(04:30):
You hear the sarcasm. We're weak, but you're strong. You
are honored. We're dishonored. To this very hour. We go
hungry and thirsty. We're in rags, we're brutally treated. We're homeless.
We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed,
we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure it. When

(04:53):
we're slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment, we
have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of
the world. There's no doubt that being someone who helps
other people in serving kind of ways can take a
heavy toll on us. I've served as a pastor in
eight different churches, and i can tell you that I've

(05:14):
had my share of ridicule. Ridicule for not visiting enough,
ridicule over my sermons, ridicule for my leadership. But this
is what Paul wrote in tewod Corinthians, chapter one, verse eight.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about
the hardship we suffered in the province of Asia. We

(05:39):
were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure,
so that we despaired even of life. And then when
he had recovered a bit, he tells them in Chapter four,
verses eight and ten, we are hard pressed on every side,
but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but

(06:00):
not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed. We always carry
around in our body the death of Jesus, so that
the death of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
And it's in the midst of that incredible pressure that
he receives strength from God that helped him to make
it through. Jesus said in Matthew Chapter five, verses eleven

(06:25):
and twelve, blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you,
and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because
of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your
reward in Heaven, For in the same way they persecuted
the prophets who were before you. Now we might ask

(06:47):
how we're so blessed in the midst of all that,
I'll tell you why. It's because persecution proves that we're
in good company. The second respect to ungratefulness is to
not allow bitterness to grow in you. You know, our adversary,
the devil, is hard at work trying to get us

(07:09):
to feel sorry for ourselves. Did you know that, to
rip off the scabs covering our wounds, to fan the
flickering flames of anger in our broken hearts until they
burst into a flame that's out of control and terribly destructive.
Sometimes we can feel like we're sitting in a boat
filling with the water of hurt and bitterness, and if

(07:33):
we don't keep bailing it out, what happens, Well, the
bitterness pretty soon will overwhelm the boat and will sink
in self pity and anger and forgiveness. But then Jesus
comes along and he gives us this word from Luke,
chapter six and verse thirty five, where he says, love
your enemies, do good to them, lend to them without

(07:56):
expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the most High, because
He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Wow, now
maybe you have the same problem I have whenever I
give myself in service to somebody, just being honest, even

(08:19):
though I don't like to admit it, I think down deep,
I think I'm looking to get something back, right, aren't you?
In the very least. I'm looking to be loved or appreciated,
or to find some self worth, or even just a
thank you. And what happens is when we don't get
something back, we we get bitter. But then I hear

(08:41):
Jesus saying that real life doesn't give to get, but
that it gives without expecting anything back. I don't know
about you, but I have to really grow in this
area of my life. Jesus tells us that the Father
is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Sometimes my thoughts
haven't been that kind. I have to be honest, and

(09:05):
yet what I've learned is that I can't afford to
let anger and bitterness grow in my spirit. You see,
we've got to flush bitterness out of every day through
prayer and sometimes many times a day. It's like drinking
water to flush your system. And some people need a
lot more flushing than others because they've gone through a

(09:28):
lot more pain and bitterness through life. How about you.
The third principle for dealing with the ungrateful is to
be reminded that we ultimately are serving the Lord if
you're in career ministry, for example, your ministry might write
the check, but you know what your ministry isn't your

(09:50):
real employer. Or if you're in the service industry, you're
a nurse or a doctor in some kind of care
home or at home taking care of somebody. You're not
really serving those people, but you're serving Jesus Christ. Remember
the words of Christ in Matthew chapter twenty five, thirty

(10:11):
six to forty, talking about the time of judgment. Jesus
will say, I was naked and you clothed me. I
was sick and you visited me. I was in prison
and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord,
when did we see the hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see

(10:33):
you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
And when did we see you sick or in prison
and visit you? And the King will answer them and say, truly,
I say to you, as you did it to one
of the least of these my brothers, you did it
to me. Wow. And then the apostle Paul follows up

(10:54):
in Ephesians chapter six, verses seven, and eight by saying render,
serve with enthusiasm as to the Lord and not to
men and women, knowing that whatever good we do, we
will receive the same again from the Lord, whether slaver free.

(11:15):
Sometimes we forget who we serve because we get our
eyes on the wrong people. When people are ungrateful, we're
tempted to tell them off and quit right. But then
when we get our eyes focused on the right person,
we get our perspectives straightened out. That's the only thing

(11:35):
that kept Paul going, realizing he was serving Christ first,
not people. In fact, we're really mediators of God's love
for people, even critical ones, And if by God's grace,
love can flow through us in spite of our hurts
and pains, then we can continue to minister to them

(11:57):
on behalf of God. I mean, at the end of
it all, don't you want to hear the words of Christ,
well done, good and faithful servant. That's all that really matters.
The final thing I'd say about ungratefulness is that there's
a spiritual battle raging all around us, trying to discourage
us from being the people God wants us to be.

(12:20):
But I want to tell you that through Christ, we
can defeat the devil, and so I want to challenge you,
me included, to be a source of encouragement even if
you're alone in the battle. And by that I mean
look for people who are serving others and look for
ways to encourage them. Tell the members of the worship

(12:41):
team what an awesome job they're doing, even if you
don't like some of the songs, they put their heart
and their soul into it. Let the children's workers in
your church know how much you appreciate what they're doing.
If you're in the dentist's office, let the nurse know
you appreciate her or his I told my chiropractor the

(13:03):
other day that I felt like God sent us to
him because of how much good he had done for
us in his treatments. I think it really lifted his day.
And if you feel underappreciated, don't just fume and pout
about it, but start giving to others what you desire
for yourself. Begin to set a pattern of appreciation that

(13:24):
will overtake those around you. You see, when you encourage
another human being, you're really serving Christ himself. When you
speak words of appreciation, you're speaking Christ's words. When you
encourage your doing Christ's work. When you hug, you're showing
Christ's love in a way that can be felt. There

(13:46):
are too many insensitive, critical, ungrateful people in our world
and in our churches today. But by our example, we
can begin to change the trend, at least with the
people we hang out with the most. We can begin
to set new patterns of thanks and support. But it
has to start with you and me. Here's a passage

(14:09):
of scripture that comes to mind that i'll just leave
you with today. It's from First Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verse
fifty eight. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in
the Lord your labor is not in vain. Thanks for

(14:32):
listening today, And if this is helpful to you, would
you pass it along to somebody else You can help
me get the word out. See you next time.