Play along with me for a moment.  Use your imagination.  Pretend you are a parent of a child you love dearly.  You give freely of the very best you can to ensure that child has all that is necessary to enrich them to become a productive and healthy adult.  Your goal is to see them mature able to make it on their own.  Your guidance includes giving them those provisions that will best accomplish the goals you have set.  There are times when even though they petition with the very best of intentions, in your wisdom you deny a certain request because you know that plea is not in their best interest, perhaps even harmful.  No matter how intense the begging, you continue to hold your ground for the sake of a better life, safer or more prosperous in the long run.

Now, pretend you are within earshot but out of sight, and you over hear that child of yours complaining with great emotion about the provisions you have made for them.  They are discontent with what you give, and very vocal about what you withhold.  They have no concept of the danger or long term view of their desires.  You have their very best interests at heart, yet, they are ungrateful, unthankful and critical of your intentions.

Perhaps that thankless child will go so far as to pull up stakes, turn his back on your goodness and seek to draw from their own resources to provide for themselves the best way they know how, with an immature and childish perspective until at last they become overwhelmed to the point of destruction in their effort for independence and self sufficiency.  The wisdom of parental discernment suddenly will become that child’s reality and understanding may be the result.  Perhaps potential ruination is the very means by which they are able to recognize parental love and good will.

Now.  Let me back up to that part where that child is complaining about you, the parent.  What impression would you have, if you were a casual observer, listening to the complaints and accusations of that child.  Would you be inclined to want to meet that child’s parent?  Would you be at all interested in pursuing a friendship?  Would the child’s depiction of their parent be one that would persuade you that the parent would be worthy of your time and attention?

Now to my reality.  When I hear a fellow believer, or myself, uttering ingratitude and unthankfulness, it is a reflection of our opinion of the One to whom we belong.  We are verbalizing what is in  our hearts….discontent, dissatisfaction maybe even distrust, with the very God who made us and redeemed us.  Am I that whining unhappy child that won’t be content until I have been given my own way?  What am I  revealing about my deepest thoughts about my Heavenly Father?