In the last days, that is, end times, the apostle Paul warns us how people will change for the worse. A characteristic of such people is, they “will be lovers of themselves.” They are people who think themselves godly and Christian. The fact is: they have “a form of godliness but [are] denying its power.” Paul lists down some behaviours of such people. I urge you, as you read this article, to check yourselves against this list and descriptions. Unless you make a conscious effort to guard yourselves, you can be quite sure, you will be one of them because the influence of the world is overwhelming.
This series of articles is written by Peter Masters and is taken from the website https://metropolitantabernacle.org/articles/the-cancer-in-all-human-relationships/.
Unthankfulness
The second item on Paul’s list of relationship evils is unthankfulness, or the failure to realise that anything is owed to others. The disloyalty at every level of modern life is only possible because of proud ingratitude. Parents are discarded and ignored by those who owe them so much. Husbands abandon wives, and wives leave husbands, utterly forgetful and heedless of how much at one time each may have given the other.
A conceited age is an unthankful age, in which self-centred minds believe that whatever they have received is their minimum right, and no gratitude or affection is due. If parents, spouse, friends, or anyone else should offer criticism, then they are promptly regarded as objectionable. Horrible traits appear in perilous times because the prevailing atheism is not only evil, but it works evil in the hearts of the people, producing a perverted, twisted society.
The greatest tragedy is when we see this ingratitude appearing in the churches of Christ. Imagine how it appears from Heaven, when people, often young people, saved and nurtured in a particular church and given countless priceless blessings (including, perhaps, their life’s partner), stalk out in pride and resentment because of some small difficulty or admonition! Harsh words may be poured out against the church where those believers were cared for and prayed for by loving Christians who bore with their immaturities, showed them much patience and love, and encouraged and helped them along the path of faith.
Pastors often lament such things in this perilous time, observing that those who go away have learned ingratitude and disloyalty from society at large, rather than learning gratitude from the people of God. The world says that only ‘number one’ matters, and that is the philosophy which took over their hearts.
People are unthankful in every age, but never so much as in perilous times. In the past, when society was more starkly divided into the very rich, the middle classes and the oppressed poor, the latter, the ‘have-nots’, would manifest amazing gratitude for whatever came down to them. Today, by contrast, though most have plenty, it is all viewed as ours by right, and the idea of being grateful produces resentment.
The people of God should refuse to be shaped by surrounding culture, remembering that thankfulness to God is one of the chief pillars of a believer’s obedience and assurance. Do our young people manifest thankfulness, appreciation and loyalty, or are they spoiled by the church with a diet of recreation? In many a fellowship young believers are offered pleasure rather than service, which is the very worst training for spiritual living in perilous times… to be continued