ILLUSTRATION : There was a man who found a barn where Satan kept his seeds ready

to be sown in the human heart. He found that the seeds of discouragement were more
numerous than the others and he learned that those seeds could be made to grow almost
anywhere. But when Satan was questioned, he reluctantly admitted that there was one
place in which he could never get them to thrive. “And where is that?” asked the man.
Satan replied sadly, “In the heart of a grateful person.”

1. Gratefulness PRIORITIZES the Giver than the gift. (v. 15)

When the Samaritan learned that he was cleansed, he delayed his visit to the priest. It was
customary that a person who was healed from a skin disease to present himself to the priest for
clearance and rituals before he can go back to the community.
For someone who had been sick for some time and outcast in the community, it would have been
easier to just enjoy the experience of being healed than go and thank the person responsible.
ILLUSTRATION Take for example a child who just receive a gift or toy from his parent;
immediately the child will open the gift and go to his room or sit on a corner and savor the
pleasure of owning that thing. That is why, we need to remind them to say thank you.

The Samaritan however set aside his personal pleasure and went back to praise God. And he did
it significantly: Did it personally – “he came back”; Did it explicitly – “praising God in a loud
voice”; Did it promptly – “he saw… came back”

Always delight on the presence and goodness of the Giver. The gifts would not last but Giver
will always be there for us to sustain us.

We enjoy the blessings, we forgot the blesser!

2. Gratefulness GLORIFIES God, the Giver. (v. 18)

When we thank God, we testify to His goodness and loving kindness. We give Him the credit
and honor for the benefits that we enjoy. We are encouraging people to turn to God and trust him
for their needs and desires. Every time we give the credit to God for any blessings or good
experiences, we are actually witnessing for the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV) 8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the
nations what he has done.

When we failed to give thanks to God and to his instruments, we are actually robbing them the
credit and honor due to them. When we give thanks to God, we declare his power, his wisdom,
and his love before the world. We declare the reality of His presence and existence. We
acknowledge that He is the power behind all those successes.

ILLUSTRATION Notice the actors and actresses who receive an Oscar or Grammy awards; in
their speech they enumerate the people behind their success and thank them.

3. Gratefulness RESULTS to greater blessing from God. (v. 19)

After the Samaritan expressed his gratefulness to God, Jesus declared that his faith has made him
well. The other nine were simply cleansed physically but the Samaritan was also cleansed
spiritually.

ILLUSTRATION A U.S. News and World Report article said, “People who made a daily and/or
frequent habit of being thankful were not only more joyful; they were healthier, less stressed,
more optimistic, and more likely to help others."

Since gratefulness give priority to God and glorifies Him, He would not hesitate to continue
blessing our lives. Gratefulness is an evidence of good stewardship too. And good steward
receives greater opportunities in life.

Why did the nine lepers fail to return and thank Jesus?

We do not know. But we all know some of the reasons people failed to show their gratefulness.

1. Self-righteousness – “I deserve this!”

Deuteronomy 8:17 (NIV) 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands
have produced this wealth for me.”

Ungratefulness occurs when we think that we deserve the help or blessing or we think that it is
someone’s duty and responsibility to make our lives happy.

2. Forgetfulness – “I did this!”

Deuteronomy 8:18 (NIV) 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the
ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it
is today.
We fail to give the honor to whom it is due. We think that our success or achievement was due to
our own strength and wisdom.

3. Commonness – “It is always accessible!”

Sometimes we no longer show our appreciation for the good things or people easily accessible
and available to us. The so called “normal” provisions never excite us anymore to give thanks to
God.
“the danger of success is complacency, it comes in two forms arrogance and inflexibility”

4. Discontentment – “This is not enough. I want more.”

When one has a discontented heart, gratefulness is absent. No matter how much they receive, it
would always be short and therefore no reason to say thank you. But a contented heart will
always say thank you no matter how little he receive from others.