Judges 8: 33-35 – An Attitude of Ingratitude
33 And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
34 And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
35 Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.
You would think that after all God and Gideon had done for Israel that the people would remember that had happened. Here in America we have all kinds of holidays to remember people. We have Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, Presidents’ Day, you get the picture. The people if Israel, however, didn’t even remember what had happened. Once Gideon was gone, the people went right back to worshiping their false gods just like before God talked to Gideon. How sad! Clearly, these people were not thankful for what Gideon had done for them.
Once again, it is easy for us to look at the Israelites and see how we act. Sometimes it seems that no matter how much God gives us, or helps us with, we are very quick to question Him and turn our backs to Him. The same goes for people who influence us. Often we take people for granted and never think about how much people like our parents, pastors, friends, and mentors really help us.
At the root of all this is ingratitude. If are truly thankful for something, and realize that we are, we won’t take things for granted like we do.
Life Step: Think about it…
What kind of things has God given you?
How have people helped to influence your life?
In what ways do we show ingratitude?
How can we show more thankfulness?
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
Obviously God has given me everything. At the top of the list, my salvation. I am still in awe that God wanted me saved. He gave me a fantastic husband, awesome kids, my home, my dog, a great extended family, an amazing church, great opportunities to serve, awesome teen group, and on and on and on. I am blessed. Lots of people have influenced my life. My husband, my kids, Pastors past and present, and friends. As an example, we have great friends that really influenced our decision to home school. 6 years later they are still influencing and supporting us. We show ingratitude daily I think. We make fun of the Israelites, but we do the same thing. It only takes a generation or two to fall short on teaching our children about Jesus and what’s left? generations of kids who don’t know and therefore don’t share it with their children. It really doesn’t take long at all! Once forgotten, it’s easy not to be thankful. Even Christians forget to be thankful. Isn’t this why all of us need a Savior? because left alone we are a mess. We need to be purposeful daily in recognizing how blessed we are and where all our blessings come from. If we stay in God’s word, do daily devotionals and stay prayerful, I think this will help us to be more grateful.
Wow. I don’t know how many times the children of Israel have turned from God, that’s crazy! But we do the exact same thing! One minute we’re on fire for God and we say nothing can come between us, then all the sudden something comes along and BAM! We sin. This happens to me allll the time, so I’m just like the Israelites.. But what Cody said is so true! I take a lot of things for granted, including God. I think since He’s always going to be there, then He’ll still be there when I’m done sinning. That’s such a bad attitude, and I’m sure it breaks Gods heart 😦 I can’t imagine if someone did that to me. But really, God has done so much for me! I don’t know why He’d love a sinner like me, but He does, and I’m grateful for that! But not always as grateful as I should be. I mean He created me, sent His only Son to die on the cross for my sins, and has a home prepared for me in heaven! On top of that He’s always patient with me, forgives me every single time I sin against Him, and loves me unconditionally. That sounds amazing right?! I just need to remember that, pretty much all the time! I don’t want to take God for granted, ever!