To Timothy, My Son
Most of us have concluded that the years 2020-2022 have been pretty world-changing. There was another set of three years long ago that brought a lot of change in the Middle East – the years 68-70AD. In that space, Peter was crucified upside down, Paul was beheaded, and Jerusalem and the second Jewish Temple were destroyed. Other apostles had already been martyred for the faith in Syria, Egypt, Greece, Armenia, Persia, and India.
Paul knew that this letter to Timothy (2 Timothy) was his last. His time to depart this earth was at hand (see 4:6). God had given Paul revelation about pieces and parts of end times prophecy, but as was typical of the Lord, He gave Paul no timelines. Paul thought it must be soon, maybe in the next 10-20 years. Paul knew other apostles were being killed, false teachers were building wealth and reputation in the church, and young men of the second generation, like Demas, were falling away.
How about Tim? Timothy was godly but the youngest of the Ephesian elders. He was timid. He had stomach issues. Paul chose his words carefully under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and encouraged Timothy to avoid the spirit of fear which is not from God. God through His Spirit gives power, love, and self control. He exhorted him to stay faithful and to entrust the gospel to faithful men.
The 19 Horribles
In the third chapter Paul gave Timothy a heads-up about how people would change in the last days before Jesus’ return. In only five verses, Paul listed the 19 Horribles. These characteristics have been around since Genesis, but toward the end, society will come under a dominant spirit of the age (zeitgeist) and be defined by it. You might feel these Horribles are strangely familiar.
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Do you notice #7? Right there in the list of horribles … “ungrateful.” Just like “the hinge” in Romans 1:21 that started the long slide downward for society, unthankfulness and ungratefulness are no small sins. The Greek word means “without grace.” Ungratefulness emphasizes personal hurts, disadvantages, and inequalities, finds flaws and faults, embraces victimization, and rejects authority and society at large for messing everything up. The sister of ungratefulness, three words further on, is “unappeasable.”
“The wicked are always ungrateful.”
Miguel de Cervantes
Companions of Ungratefulness
It is a well-settled proverb that we imitate our companions (Proverbs 22:24-25). It is through others that we often invent, or reinvent, ourselves. We may dress alike, laugh the same, use the same phrases, and repeat their views about things. The companions of an ungrateful person will often become ungodly. You may say that is a harsh statement. I ask you to consider if it is true. The incessant highlighting of wrongs, faults, short-comings, and injustices will strongly impress the mind to also begin seeing the cup way below half-empty.
A person that is thankful and expresses that gratitude attracts different people. She knows there are big problems that require great thought, humility, and serious discussion, but she will highlight things in or around the situation that are cause for joy and cause to give credit to God or other people. This is not a matter of spinning the truth or “redefining reality,” but it is recognizing every reality as a mix of light and darkness, of beauty and brokenness, of merit and mess. It is a characteristic of greatness and great leaders.
It is possible that a believer well grounded in the faith and convinced of the Sovereign One’s control will be able to maintain heaven’s perspective in the midst of ungrateful company. But they will be thought of as alien. Ungrateful people think a chronically grateful person is “just unreal” or is “living in a make-believe reality.”
“Ingratitude is always a kind of weakness. I have never known men of ability to be ungrateful.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Steer Clear
At the end of the Horrible 19, Paul says, “Avoid such people.” Steer clear of them. Don’t seek their company. Paul used the word “avoid” in his letters to Timothy and Titus, saying to avoid quarrels, avoid irreverent babble, and avoid controversies. Similar idea. Ungrateful people are known for the skills of irreverently quarreling about controversies – fault-finding, knit-picking, and mocking.
Instead, Timothy was to surround himself with people who wanted to seek after God, to give credit to Him for what He had done, and to thank those used by God for making life and service a better experience.
So what about you?
First question: Are you described as a person who is ungrateful?
Second question: Do you hang out with ungrateful people?
Do some introspection and evaluate if you are th(i)nkful. Are you on a regular basis looking for things for which to think thanks? Do you express that thanks to God verbally or write it down?
You feel like you got such a good deal. You received a benefit, but did not have to pay for it. In Norwegian and a number of other languages, the word gratis is actually used for the word free. You did not pay for it. It was gratis.
In Namaqualand, South Africa, there is a beautiful burst of glorious flowers that come gratis with the first rains that end the dry season. An otherwise parched desert produces this kaleidoscopic carpet. What a great metaphor for a dry heart, full of ingratitude, experiencing the spring rains of God’s grace resulting in a variegated burst of th(i)nkfulness.
He actually ridiculed and harassed him for always saying “thank you.” Since he found it so irritating, our colleague tried to refrain from saying that he was thankful when with him.
The Psalm 50 crowd is a bit more like you and me. They know about God, but they have gotten lost in empty religious routines, eyes half-open, trying to keep the rules. Righteousness is about a relationship, not rules and routines. But they forgot.
Interesting that God chooses the word sacrifice. Sacrifices in the Old Testament were offered on an altar. It was costly, took effort and purposeful choice. And God knows that giving thanks (externalizing credit and fame to someone other than self) doesn’t come naturally to us humans. It takes effort; it has to be a purposeful choice. It is a sacrifice to offer up thanksgiving, especially when it is directed to God.
In complete contrast to ingratitude, I welcome you to consider the mandate of Ephesians 5:20, “Give thanks in everything” and to join the Psalm 50 crowd in breaking free from routine into a living and thank-filled relationship with your Creator and Redeemer.
Giving flowers at the end of a concert, or a conductor pointing his finger to orchestra members in gratitude, are gestures of someone giving credit to another. Speeches given by award recipients typically deflect praise and thanks to parents and friends. Christian coaches and quarterbacks throw their thanks to teammates and to Jesus Christ.
The outside appearance of a box can hide a multitude of things. It is often quite difficult to imagine what is inside. The actual item may be a lot smaller than the box, but the box is filled with tissue paper as a playful deception. That’s part of the giddiness of Christmas giving – concealing the contents, avoiding the predictable. At the appropriate time, however, the lid comes off and what is inside becomes visible.
The Psalmist makes a revealing statement about the righteous person in Ps. 140:13. Someone who loves God and is cleansed by the Lamb, will surely give thanks. They will have a bent towards wanting to be th(i)nkful. It will fit for them and not feel out of place.
th(i)nkful 