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To: PieterCasparzen

“Gratitude reciprocates” is unscriptural. If we do good things because we think we may get something in return, such works are then sinful.


Oh my, you are judgmental. And not in a good way.

Gratitude is a real thing. And if you actually live your life truly grateful for your blessings, you will live a good life. Whether you are a rich actor or a poor nun in India (mother Teresa). Gratitude is Gdly.

If you do good things to get things, you aren’t grateful but greedy. So your comment was a harsh non sequitur.


20 posted on 03/07/2014 10:26:19 AM PST by Yaelle
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To: Yaelle
“Gratitude reciprocates” is unscriptural. If we do good things because we think we may get something in return, such works are then sinful.

Oh my, you are judgmental. And not in a good way.

Gratitude is a real thing. And if you actually live your life truly grateful for your blessings, you will live a good life. Whether you are a rich actor or a poor nun in India (mother Teresa). Gratitude is Gdly.

If you do good things to get things, you aren’t grateful but greedy. So your comment was a harsh non sequitur.


Any mention of sin usually evokes people accusing one of being "judgemental".

I invite you to read the Scriptures I referenced in post #26.

The Bible exhorts us to be grateful to God in many, many places:

Psalm 136:26

"O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Most every professing Christian would agree that we ought to be grateful. On the other hand, we have Mr. McConaughey's quote:

"He has shown me that it's a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates."

Firstly, regarding the troubling phrase "scientific fact". Man can not search out and understand God apart from God's revelation, purely with his own human reasoning. Scripture does not condone those who, wise in their own conceits, would prove scripture from human-devised knowledge (science):

Job 37

"23 Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent in power, and in judgment, and in plenty of justice: he will not afflict.

24 Men do therefore fear him: he respecteth not any that are wise of heart."


1 Corinthians 3:19

"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."

Thus the Bible tells us to not rely on the wisdom of this world to prove Scripture to ourselves, but to accept it as true by faith:

Romans 10

"16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."


Secondly, there is no guarantee that gratitude - or anything we do that is godly - will be reciprocated during our earthly lifetime.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

" I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason is sin.

Isaiah 64:6

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

Romans 14:23

"And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

Though the Bible exhorts us to be grateful to God, the Biblical exhortation is the reason why we are grateful, not because we want to it to "reciprocate". Mr. McConaughey used the word "reciprocates". That's the wrong reason to do something. Reciprocates implies someone else will be grateful to you if you are grateful to others. If if no one ever in our entire lives were grateful towards us, for everything we ever did good towards anyone, the God's Word tells us that he STILL wants us to be grateful towards him.
31 posted on 03/07/2014 12:33:38 PM PST by PieterCasparzen (We have to fix things ourselves)
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