"I hate my job!" I shouted down the phone, thus concluding an hour-long tirade about nearly every aspect of my job. For 60 minutes I had criticised my boss, slated my colleagues, whined about my pay, and complained about the unchallenging and seemingly meaningless nature of my work. What had begun as a pleasant chat with a good friend soon turned sour as the frustration I had been feeling took over the conversation.

Now I am sure that I am neither the first nor the last person to complain about his or her job. However this was no mere gripe session to let off steam, this conversation was symptomatic of my entire outlook on life at that time. I had been going through a particularly frustrating time at work but the frustration did not stop there. Soon the dissatisfaction that I felt in relation to my job spilled out into other areas of my life and the resentment, anger, and unhappiness I felt at work took over my entire disposition. Needless to say, this was one of the lowest periods of my life spiritually as well as emotionally. The joy that had previously marked my Christian walk slowly slipped away and was replaced with discontentment.

During this time, a spell which lasted about a year, I often wondered where it was that I went wrong. I knew that I was becoming more and more discontent and generally unhappy. I tried to blame it on being overcommited, overtired, and all around overstressed. However none of these things were part of the real issue. My problem was that I had lost the attitude of gratitude.

Reaching for the Golden Apple

The Bible has a great deal to say about the topic of thankfulness. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture is chock full of both examples of and teaching about the necessity of a grateful heart. One example that is especially poignant, though, comes in Genesis 3 where we read of the temptation and subsequent sin of Eve.

I realise that most of us don't think of the account of Eve and immediately jump to lessons about gratitude. Rather we think of sin, the Fall, and its consequences and rightly so. This, after all, is the ultimate point of Genesis 3. But if we look a bit deeper into the story we find that Eve actually has a lot to say about thankfulness and the disastrous results that come from an ungrateful heart.

In Genesis 3:1 we find Satan in the garden of Eden with Eve. He initiates conversation with her by asking, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden?"'. The question is immediately striking because it is so blatantly false. God had given Adam and Eve access to all the trees of the garden with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Right away Eve should have suspected that Satan was up to no good.

Eve replies to the question by correcting the false statement. She says that God had given all the trees of the garden for fruit except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Though accurate in her response, as we read on we realise that Satan has still managed to achieve his intended result. Through the crafty wording of the question Satan has turned Eve's attention from all that she does have to the one thing that she doesn't. In one fell swoop he has planted in her the seeds of ingratitude which blossom into sin. As Eve replaces her thankfulness and contentment with ingratitude and greed she finds the forbidden fruit irresistible. And the result is disastrous.

The Importance of Gratitude

So what do we learn about gratitude from Eve? First, we learn that thankfulness is the starting point of obedience, just as thanklessness is the starting point of sin. As Francis Schaeffer has said, "The beginning of man's rebellion against God was, and is, that lack of a thankful heart". In the case of Eve, her ingratitude is inextricably linked with her disobedience. As she begins to focus her attention away from what God has blessed her with to the one thing God has withheld, she becomes dissatisfied with all that she has thus making herself vulnerable to Satan's temptation.

The same thing occurs in Romans 1:18-32, where we read of the depraved gentiles who have chosen to follow their own way rather than God's. In verse 21, we see that the starting point of their downfall rests in the fact that they did not glorify God or give him thanks. The ultimate result of their ungratefulness is godlessness.

When we give thanks to God we acknowledge both his presence and his rule in our lives. When we are grateful for our jobs, even in difficult circumstances, we admit that the kingdom of God stands at the centre of our working life and that living for the Kingdom encompasses our entire life. Once we stop giving thanks for our work, it is a short and slippery slope to sin.

Second, thankfulness breeds contentment and allows us to live for the present moment. This is especially true when it comes to our career. I have met many people whose entire attention is placed on the next rung of the career ladder, on the next promotion and pay rise. They are not satisfied with their present status and work in light of the future instead of the present. Now, planning for the future is not a bad thing; however, when we allow all of our focus to be diverted to reaching the next level we miss what God wants do in us in the present. Thankfulness allows us to look at the present moment and be satisfied with it. Only then can God begin to teach us and to use us.

A heart of thankfulness

Admittedly, cultivating an attitude of gratitude is not easy, especially when circumstances become hard. However, the teaching of Scripture remains the same, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thess. 5:18).

Wherever you find yourself in life, begin to develop a heart that is marked by thankfulness. Pray that God would change your attitude to the situations and people you find difficult. Read the Psalms. Make a list of all that you have to be grateful for and compare it with the list of things that you don't have. See if the first list is not greater than the second! And remember, a heart of thankfulness has enormous potential in the kingdom of God, while ingratitude has disastrous results.