Gratefulness

“I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim 1:3 NASB)

2 Timothy is likely the last book Paul wrote and was written near the end of Nero’s reign around A.D. 67.

Paul starts out with being thankful, which seems to be a running theme through all his books but here his circumstances make it more poignant. He is in prison, in chains, in Rome, being treated like a common criminal.

Harper’s Bible Dictionary describes what Paul’s experience may have been like:

Prison Conditions:
Conditions in ancient prisons were often harsh. Most prisoners wore chains; their feet might be shackled, their hands manacled or even attached to their neck by another chain, and their movements further restricted by a chain fastened to a post. The existence of laws prohibiting chains that were too short or too restrictive indicates that jailers sometimes employed such practices. The very word ‘chains’ became a synonym for imprisonment. Some prisoners were also kept in wooden stocks, devices to restrain the feet, hands, or even the neck of an individual (see Acts 16:24). Prisons often were very dark (see Isaiah 42:7); the inner area of the prison mentioned in Acts 16:24 was probably without windows. Although solitary confinement was known, prisoners generally were kept grouped together, accused and condemned, men and women alike. Overcrowding was not infrequent (Isaiah 24:22). Prisons often had poor air circulation, a lack of hygienic facilities, rats and vermin, and food of poor quality. Unscrupulous guards might at times use the withholding of food or even outright torture to extort money from prisoners or their relatives. Although various rulers, especially in Roman Imperial times, struggled to prevent such abuses, the quality of prison life largely remained the responsibility of local officials, and conditions undoubtedly varied considerably from place to place.

Despite this, Paul is taking the time to not only be thankful, but to write to Timothy to instruct him how to carry on. When we read in our translations Paul saying “I thank God” the the work “Thank” is actually 2 words in Greek: “echo”, which translates as “I am having” and “charin”, which translates as “grace” or “gratitude”. This is a deeper picture of what Paul is saying. He isn’t just saying Thanks to God – he has a grateful attitude. Paul isn’t just giving lip service to God, but is truly grateful, and that comes out in is writing. Notice he isn’t asking for his circumstances to change but he is thankful and grateful and is determined to write to Timothy so that the Kingdom would be advanced. While I’m sure that Paul at times would ask God to change his circumstances I also believe that he was content to be there because he was exactly where God needed him to be, and going through exactly what God had for him.

The take away for me today is to have a grateful attitude in everything I do. God loves to hear our petitions and requests, but I think He is more moved by gratitude, and a willingness to be content in all things.

Gratitude = Joy. Lose your gratitude and it’s hard to keep your joy.

I’ll end with a couple of quotes I found:

“It ought to be as habitual to us to thank as to ask.” (C. H. Spurgeon)
“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)