The One Thing That Will Ruin Your Thanksgiving [And How To Stop It]
Today is Thanksgiving. You've likely already seen dozens of gratitude posts on social media. Maybe you're preparing to go around the table and share what you're thankful for. It's become our annual ritual and there's nothing wrong with that.
But there's something lurking beneath the surface of our celebrations that can ruin the entire day. It's subtle. It's common. And according to the Apostle Paul, it's spiritually dangerous.
I'm talking about ingratitude.
Now, before you go away thinking, "Of course we should be grateful, that's literally the point of Thanksgiving," hear me out. Because Paul didn't just encourage gratitude as a nice addition to the Christian life. He warned about UNgratefulness as a serious spiritual threat. And understanding what he said might just save your Thanksgiving, and a lot more than that.
// The Surprising Danger of Ungratefulness
You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. [2 Timothy 3:1-2]
Paul's warning to Timothy paints a sobering picture. Among the sins he lists: pride, boastfulness, cruelty, and… ungratefulness. It's sandwiched between "disobedient to their parents" and "considering nothing sacred," as if Paul knew that ingratitude is both a symptom and a gateway to spiritual decline.
In Romans 1, Paul goes even further. When people knew God but refused to give Him thanks, their thinking became futile and their hearts darkened. Ungratefulness wasn't just a symptom of their problem, it was the beginning of it.
That's why Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians that being thankful in all circumstances isn't just good advice. It's God's will for us.
// Three Quick Routes to an Ungrateful Heart
I've noticed three patterns, in my own life and in walking with others, that can quickly erode our gratitude.
WE TAKE OFFENSE. We read tone into text messages that isn't there. We misinterpret someone's silence or absence. We assume the worst and write entire stories in our minds about what people must be thinking or intending. Here's the truth… we judge others by their actions while judging ourselves by our intentions. Paul's counsel in Ephesians is clear…get rid of bitterness and anger, and instead be kind and forgiving, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
WE COMPARE. Theodore Roosevelt nailed it… comparison is the thief of joy. Social media has turned this ancient temptation into a round-the-clock occupation. We scroll through curated highlight reels and think, "How do they get to do that when I don't?" or worse, "They don't deserve that." James warns us that jealousy and selfish ambition aren't just unwise, they're demonic in origin, leading to disorder and every kind of evil.
WE BECOME SELFISH. Let's be honest… most of us spend our days trying to remove everything and everyone who makes life uncomfortable. Even our prayers reveal this. We pray mostly for what would make our lives easier. But Paul challenges us in Philippians to stop being selfish, stop trying to impress others, and instead think of others as better than ourselves.
// The Antidote Is Humility
C.S. Lewis wrote that humility isn't thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. That's the antidote to ingratitude. When we shift our focus from what we lack to what we've been given, from what others have to what God has done, gratitude becomes possible again.
// The Question That Changes Everything
So here's my question for you this Thanksgiving… What are you grateful for today?
Not what you should be grateful for. Not what sounds spiritual. But what actually stirs genuine thankfulness in your heart when you pause long enough to notice?
Maybe it's the people around your table… imperfect, complicated, but yours. Maybe it's a second chance you didn't deserve. Maybe it's simply that you're still here, still breathing, still able to start again.
Gratitude doesn't erase our problems or pretend life is easy. But it reminds us that even in the mess, God is present. Even in the difficulty, His faithfulness remains. And that changes everything.
This Thanksgiving, choose humility over comparison, forgiveness over offense, and others-centeredness over selfishness. Let gratitude undo what ingratitude has done.
Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!
Keep looking up,
Pastor Alan Hannah
Pastor Alan is the lead pastor of Allegheny Center Alliance Church. To find out more about ACAC, go here.
