Daily Arrogance and an Attitude of Gratitude

We often hear people use the phrase "An attitude of gratitude," but what does that mean exactly? Aside from the obvious, I have been thinking lately about being picky, unsatisfied or covetous and how those traits relate to gratitude - or lack of it.

I was teaching a lesson in seminary a few weeks ago that had to do with people neglecting to express their gratitude to the Lord for everything and I began to think about some of the ways I have been ungrateful.

I can be picky at times. For instance, Once when given a gift for my birthday I wondered why the giver had chosen a less expensive model instead of one that was more exciting. I let this thought bother me for weeks feeling resentful at times. That was decades ago and I'd like to think I have matured some since then. But looking back it was incredibly ungrateful of me to feel anything but gratitude. No one is obligated to give me anything, regardless of the occasion. And the Lord has given me so much that I have no right to expect more from Him or anyone else. Being picky, and then resentful, kept me from being grateful.

I have a friend who often compares himself to others and ends up feeling deprived. Regardless of what he has, he can always find someone who he perceives as having more, bigger, better. Instead of being grateful for what the Lord has blessed him with, he feels like he is "less than" in the eyes of God for not having been given the biggest and the best. This keeps him from feeling grateful and appreciative for what he does have.

I have a relative who wants to be seen as part of the "in crowd." He has spent his life trying to obtain what his neighbors and colleagues seem to have. When a friend buys a fancy car he begins to covet that car as well as the lifestyle his friend seems to enjoy. Coveting blinds him to the wonderfulness of his own life. Believing that he just isn't good enough unless he is like everyone else keeps him from recognizing the talents and gifts he has been given. He sells himself short and he isn't able to sincerely give thanks to God for his life, family or material blessings.

These are obvious examples, but every time we get upset because the maid forgot to clean a window seal, or when we tell a child that they could have done a better job selling those chocolate bars, we are forgetting to be grateful. We forget that we have so much more than most people in the world. We take for granted that our children are healthy and able to participate in school fund raisers. We become narcissistic and arrogant, believing that we deserve even more than we have been granted. And we forget that everything we have - even our next breath, has been given to us by God.