[GLOBAL ECONOMIC TIMES]  There are many times in our lives where we question whether we are right or wrong. However, what should be shown first rather than judging what is right or wrong is a warm welcoming attitude. Even if the other person shows shortcomings, if it is not from evil motives but from lack and weakness, first of all, say, “You did a great job. You should welcome them warmly and encourage them by saying, “You’re great.”

People undergo comprehensive checkups to check their health. This is because health must be maintained while healthy. Blood pressure is also talked about in numbers, and diabetes is also talked about in numbers. If the number is not normal, the person has a health problem. 

Likewise, our believers can also check the state of their faith. Among the various figures that show the state of one's faith, the most important figure is the gratitude index. This is to check whether my gratitude index is truly normal. This is because the higher the gratitude index, the better and healthier the faith, and the lower the gratitude index, the less healthy the faith. In fact, people with healthy faith are people who are always thankful for everything.

Nowadays we live in a truly prosperous era. If you think about it, you have no idea what a convenient and good world we live in. Meanwhile, countless people are living in a world that they only dream of in comics or science fiction. However, there are far more people these days than in the past who commit suicide because they cannot live. However, because of that insatiable greed, we live without self-sufficiency and without gratitude. Another reason is arrogance.

Actually, this is more than enough to be thankful for. However, compared to others, we want to be ahead, have more, and rise higher, and so we want to reach the highest peak, higher than anyone else in the world. So it is endless competition. However, even if you reach the top, you will be chased from that moment on. So, I feel anxious about the chase and have to fight to avoid it. That's why you continue to feel anxious, resentful and dissatisfied with the world. Pride! This is the main cause of dissatisfaction and resentment, and at the same time, it is the cause of lack of gratitude. But God commands us to be thankful. Gratitude is a command from God. It is a command from God that must be obeyed.

W. Brake said, ‘He who knows how to be thankful will have a bountiful harvest.’ Just as a locomotive goes in front and the carriages follow behind, if gratitude stands in front, a bountiful harvest will surely follow. When you live a life of gratitude, things to be thankful for will follow. Therefore, the Bible speaks to us in a very strong tone. “Always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

We always feel burdened by these words. Isn't it? A husband who has to watch his young wife dying of cancer! Can he really be grateful? No matter how much you pray and cry out to God when you have a long-term illness, will gratitude come out of your mouth as you see your illness getting deeper and deeper? Will the parents of a young disabled child who will have to carry a heavy cross for the rest of their lives really express their gratitude? If I were to encounter such a situation, would I really be able to say, “Thank you God”? However, the reason we cannot just ignore these words lightly is because they are the words given by God and a command that must be absolutely obeyed. What these words are saying is that a spiritually healthy person is actually someone who is thankful in everything because of Jesus and can always be thankful because of Jesus. We can be as happy as we are grateful.

A person who is thankful even in times of adversity! He is a strong believer who cannot be broken by anything in the world. The more gratitude we have, the better our faith becomes, the happier our lives become, the more attractive we become to the world, and the stronger we become. Gratitude is an expression of faith that confesses and acknowledges happiness to God. People become happy not because of their living conditions, but because of the faith that allows them to be thankful. The higher the gratitude index, the healthier and better the person's faith. Let us all live while increasing our gratitude index.

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