II Tim. 3:1-2 ... "Realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy."
It is important to recognize something about ingratitude that is rarely noticed -- TO BE UNGRATEFUL IS A SIN! It is one of the 19 that are listed in II Tim. 3:1-9. It occurs there together with being "brutal, haters of good, and treacherous," which no one doubts are sins. Being ungrateful is not restricted to one's relation to God who gives us everything that's good; it extends to being ungrateful to people about us who show us favor with gifts, helpful deeds, and shared time. It is covered by the principles of "lov-ing others as you love yourself," (Mat. 22:39), and "doing to others as you would have them do to you," (Mat. 7:12). We are taught in Rom. 13:8 to "owe nothing to anyone except to love one another."
From a previous article in this series, remember that the word translated "ungrateful" in II Tim. 3:2 essentially means "not expressing kindness for kindness received." According to I Cor. 13:4, kindness is a major component of pure love (agapê). This means God holds you accountable for returning kindness -- in the form of sincere gratitude -- for kindness received. There is a great deal of sin among Christians of which they are not aware, because they fail to show real gratitude when someone gives them a part of their life in the form of a gift or service. In fact, such favor shown is very often not even considered to be a gift.
Perhaps most ingratitude is due to ignorance and indifference, which are products of a self-centered life. Such a person receives the gift and feels no motivation to express gratitude. In many cases, however, the recipient is so self-centered that he thinks lesser people than he somehow owe him special favor. But sin is not mitigated by ignorance, indifference, or conceit. God has said that being ungrateful is a sin, (II Tim. 3:2), and so it is. I appeal to each reader, examine yourself objectively. If you recognize the fault of ingratitude, train your mind and heart to return kindness for kindness received. You will then recognize that, indeed, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," (Acts 20:35).
