Gratitude Matters
Gratitude has become a buzz word these days. People are always talking about having gratitude and living a life a gratitude. I love all the people around me wanting to live life with more gratitude. It’s an awesome goal and one I have made for myself as well. To live a gratitude filled life. When I started with this as my goal, I realized that I didn’t understand to a full extent, what is gratitude?
A quick online search shows me that gratitude is a noun. I am not an english major but I do remember that a noun is identifying a thing, place or person. And in this case, this noun can not be a verb. So gratitude is a quality we can have and the expression of that quality would be – giving thanks or appreciation. In order to have a life of gratitude, I have to be a person who outwardly expresses, thankfulness or appreciation. My words and actions should be the indicator of gratitude in my life. Ok, so… how does this look in real life?
One person in scripture that has a great grasp on gratitude is Joseph. The last 13 chapters of Genesis are all about Joseph. By most standards, Joseph has a right to not be grateful. None of us would fault him if he were a grumpy person or had a chip on his shoulder. We would probably not like him much but when he told the story of his childhood, we would all nod our heads and understand why he behaved badly.
Joseph was the 11th born son of Jacob. Jacob had several wives, but his favorite was Rachel. Rachel couldn’t conceive for years and when she finally did, this son, Joseph, became Jacob’s favorite. Joseph had no control over the family dynamic that he was born into. Fighting, jealous wives. A dotting father. Jealous brothers. This is the start of a great prime time drama! His brother’s hatred towards Joseph was real and only became worse when Jacob gave Joseph a special coat. One that no other child of Jacob had been given. Jacob’s sons hated Joseph because Jacob loved him more than his brothers. It says in scripture that they couldn’t even say a nice word to him. Add to that, Joseph has a couple of dreams. When he shared these dreams of how his brothers would bow down to him, he had no idea they would hold it against him. So far it may not sound too bad to be the favorite and get the good gifts, but just wait!
When Joseph was asked by his father Jacob to check on his brothers and the flocks, Joseph obeys. When his brothers see him coming their jealousy reaches a pinnacle. They decide to kill Joseph put his body in a dry well. Joseph’s oldest brother Reuben speaks up and suggests they just leave him in the well and let him die on his own. To keep their hands “clean”. They run with Reuben’s plan but when a band of traders came by, they decided they would rather sell him and profit off it. Joseph goes off with the traders to be sold as a slave in Egypt. This is the part that we really begin to see, Joseph had a rough life. What’s crazy is, he doesn’t use his circumstances to live as a victim. He lives with gratitude.
To this point, we don’t see much of Joseph’s personality. His brothers hated him because of their father, Jacob’s, love. But we really begin to see Joseph’s character as he enters Egypt. He’s sold to the captain of the guard, Potiphar, to be a house slave. Joseph serves his new master well and because of his service, Potiphar’s household is blessed. Potiphar notices how well Joseph works and puts him in charge of the whole house. All is great until Potiphar’s wife makes advances towards Joseph and he runs away rather than give in. Falsely accused of trying to rape his master’s wife, Joseph now finds himself in prison.
Again, Joseph has not done anything to deserve the treatment given but rather than being angry we see him serve the jailer well. In fact, he serves the jailer so well that the jailer puts Joseph in charge of everything! Joseph serves for years and attends to the needs of those in the jail. He is forgotten and left there, all the while serving his master well. When Pharaoh has a dream no one can interpret, his servant remembers that while in jail, Joseph interpreted a dream that came true. Pharaoh calls for Joseph. Joseph could have been angry or let Pharaoh know that he was wronged, but again, he serves well. He interprets the dream of Pharaoh even giving detail on how to arrange things for the future good of Egypt. Because of this, Pharaoh put Joseph in charge, get this, of all of Egypt! Second in command to Pharaoh only. And because of Joseph being in charge, Egypt and surrounding areas are saved and even proper after years of famine.
Now back to gratitude. Joseph had an understanding that his life was valuable, even if others disagreed. He knew God loved him and even under difficult circumstances, God was good and because of that Joseph could serve well. Now from our perspective, we may not think that God is good if this were to happen to us, but that’s the thing about gratitude, it’s not focused on us individually, it’s focused on the person we believe is the giver of life.
Joseph showed gratitude to God each day as he severed his masters. He worked to the best of his ability. Each time he was given an opportunity to take credit for his work or the outcome, Joseph gives God the thanks. Joseph’s life reflects a life opposite of entitlement. Joseph wasn’t owed anything. His life was difficult because of people and situations outside his control. But what Joseph could control, his actions, shows that he had a heart of gratitude. He trusted that God was good even when life was hard. And because of that, God gives Joseph favor with each of his employers. And more so than that, because Joseph lives this way, he saves his own families lives in the famine! He was given an opportunity to hate or punish his brothers but Joseph recognizes that God used those terrible situations for good. This same person could have been bitter and angry. Spending his life being a victim of others but he chose to live a gratitude filled life. He used his words and his actions to reflect the character of gratitude that he clearly had. Colossians 3:17 is a great verse about living our daily lives – each action and word – filled with thanks!
