November 28, the root of ingratitude. Although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God

or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts

were darkened. Romans 121.

When gratitude springs up in the human heart toward God,

He is magnified as the wealthy source of our blessing.

He is acknowledged as giver and benefactor,

and therefore as glorious. But when gratitude does not spring up in our hearts at God's

great goodness to us, it probably means that we don't want to pay him a compliment. We don't want to

magnify him as our benefactor. And there is a very good reason that human beings, by nature, do not want to magnify God with

thanksgiving or glorify Him as their benefactor.

The reason is that it detracts from our own glory, and all people, by nature, love their own glory more than the

glory of God. At the root of all in gratitude is the love of one's own greatness. For genuine gratitude

admits that we are beneficiaries of an unearned bequest. We are

cripples leaning on the cross-shaped crutch of Jesus Christ. We are paralytics living minute by

minute in the iron lung of God's mercy. We are children asleep in heaven's stroller. The natural person,

apart from saving grace, hates to think of himself in these images. Unworthy beneficiary,

cripple, paralytic, child. They rob him of his glory by giving it all to God.

Therefore, while a man loves his own glory and prizes his self-sufficiency

and hates to think of himself as sin-sick and helpless,

he will never feel genuine gratitude to the true God,

and so will never magnify God as he

ought, but only himself.

...