1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-11

1. SOME ARE GRUMBLY HATEFUL:
1. With downcast spirit, upraised fist, frowning countenance and stormy disposition they make known their woes and loudly recite their complaints!
2. You might hear them saying things like:
1. "This isn't good enough for me!"
1. Israel had Manna from heaven but wanted something else! They wanted meat!
2. How like the heron. Standing in the marsh waiting for something delectable to swim by so he could grab it. "I'll not settle for any small fry. My meal must be fit for a king!" A perch swam by; "Too bony!" the heron said. Then a catfish came along, "Too small!" he decided. Other fish swam by but nothing was good enough. As dusk came and nothing else came along to his liking, he was forced to eat a snail.
2. "It isn't fair!"
1. "I should have been rich. The world owes me, other people owe me, even God owes me!"
2. "I should have been promoted, recognized, and applauded!"
3. "Nothing ever goes right for me!"
1. "I get all the red lights, flat tires and breakdowns!"
2. ""I get the flu, measles, and grip every time it comes around!"
3. What is the cause of that griping? What motivates that grumbling? It's a matter of focus, largely.
1. Focusing on what we don't have instead of what we do have.
2. Focusing in envy on what the other fellow has.
3. Focusing on problems and hurts instead of solutions and blessings.
4. There are inherent problems with this attitude:
1. It feeds a negative disposition that quickly becomes a habit that ultimately grows into a character.
2. It dishonors God by implying He is not doing a good job of providing or caring.
5. There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived together in a little house. They were happy and contented because they shared all the work. The rabbit cooked the meals. The chicken carried in the firewood. The mouse brought the water from the nearby brook. Each did his work faithfully and contentedly. But one day while the hen was going to the forest for wood a busybody crow asked her what she was doing. When told, the crow complained that the hen was doing the hardest part of the work and that the rabbit and mouse were making an easy-mark of her. Try as she would, the thought kept rankling in the hen's mind, and when she returned home with her load of wood and her still heavier load of discontent, she cackled: "I do the, hardest work ever. We ought to change our jobs." Discontent spreads, as you know, and immediately the rabbit and mouse also thought they had been doing the hardest work. They agreed to change jobs; the mouse would cook, the rabbit would gather the firewood, the hen would bring the water. As the rabbit hopped into the woods, a big fox trailed him, caught him, and ate him. The chicken put the pail into the creek, but the current pulled the pail down under the chicken with it. The mouse wondered why they did not came back, but not for long. While he was sitting on the edge of the big pot of soup, he lost his balance and fell in, Through discontent all three not only lost their happiness but their very lives. So it just goes to show that it never pays to be grumbly hateful!

2. SOME ARE HUMBLY GRATEFUL:
1. With uplifted sprits, hands held high in praise, cheerful countenance and contented hearts they praise and thank God for His bounties.
2. You will hear them saying things like:
1. "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!"
1. "He is the giver of every good and perfect gift!"
2. "He provides all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
2. "God has blessed far beyond what I have deserved!"
1. "How gracious He has been."
2. "All that I have is an unearned providence from the hand of a Loving Father!"
3. "If God told me 'No!' it was for my good!"
1. "I accept His answer as benevolent and right."
2. He is too wise to make a mistake, too powerful to fail and too kind to be cruel."
3. What contributes to that kind of gratitude? What motivates and prompts that positive attitude? It's a matter of faith.
1. Faith that He does all things well.
2. Faith that He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.
4. There is inherent good in this attitude:
1. We become happier, more contented, more positive and optimistic.
2. God is honored and glorified.
5. They stood on the porch, huddled together against the piercing cold. Two children in ragged, outgrown coats, going door to door for old newspapers or pop cans they might be able to recycle into money to buy a loaf of bread or a bottle of milk for their impoverished household. I want to let you in on a secret. These children may have been poor, but they had no self-pity. Instead of complaining about their lot, they set out to do what they could to change it. So they knocked on another door. The lady of the house was busy and wanted to say, "No, I have nothing." Then she looked down at their feet. Thin little sandals sopped with sleet. Socks with holes in the toes. What a forlorn, pitiable picture they presented standing there, hopeful of some help. How many in our world match that desolate condition. While there are some in this world whose bankroll would choke an elephant, many others' wealth could be hidden in a watch pocket. But you know, poverty is not so much a matter of the pocket book as it is of the heart. I guess what makes us rich or poor is whether we are contented or discontented; whether we have a sense of enough or a sense of unsatisfied desire; whether we complain or cheer up. Rich or poor, there are two categories of folk in the world and two attitudes they manifest. In this thanksgiving season, which is your attitude? The plight of the wet and cold children touched the lady's heart and she said, "Why, you must be freezing! Come on in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa and some toast and jelly." Their wet sandals left marks on the floor. While they enjoyed the warm treat, the lady returned to the kitchen to check on her oven. When she came back to the front room, the little girl was holding her cup in her hands, and looking at it asked, "Ma'am, are you rich?" "Rich? Mercy no!" the lady replied, looking at her shabby couch covers. The little girl continued, "But your cups match your saucers" in a voice that showed a hunger not of the stomach. They finished their warm refreshments, and cradling the old newspapers in their arms thanked the lady and left. But they left with them an impression that never faded. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers ... but they matched. She moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were there upon the hearth. She left them. She wanted them there unless she forgot how rich she was. Her heart suddenly felt humbly grateful.

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