Oftentimes, I’ve thought of my ingratitude (or complaining or griping) as a fairly minor sin. I know, we’re supposed to give thanks in all circumstances because this is God’s will, but surely, we can all appreciate a little rant, right? In Romans 1:21, Paul says, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” A lack of thankfulness to God dishonors him, and is one of the first evidences of a depraved mind and foolish heart.

We’ve had opportunity to reflect the past few days on the ugliness of ingratitude as groups of young people who are angry (it’s not always clear about what or to what end, but they are angry) have been constructing burning barricades in major intersections, looting grocery stores and pharmacies, destroying public property, and fighting running battles with the police. Their greed-fueled anger and hatred is given full vent on Twitter and other social networks, and although Chileans enjoy prosperity far beyond other South American countries, the eyes of man are never satisfied (Prov 27:20). While we may not be throwing rocks at police and destroying property, our ingratitude is just as insidious and just as odious in God’s sight. When we truly fear and honor God, we will live a thankful life, because it is only by God’s grace and mercy that we continue to exist and enjoy the things we have.

We thank God for how he continues to build his church in trying times. Our city was under a curfew for about a week, so we met for prayer meetings in a couple of homes and one Sunday we had to cancel our services because there was no public transportation and the streets were filled with burning trash and tear gas. This past month we have been teaching about how missions is a normal part of every healthy church, and God has given our people specific opportunities to give the gospel, as well as bringing several visiting families to our Sunday services. If death itself cannot hinder Jesus from building his church, neither will a few protesters.

We are thankful for a small step forward on the paperwork front: we had to take an eighth-grade equivalency test (four hours, in Spanish, with essay questions) to validate our studies in order to apply for a driver’s license. In God’s grace, we both passed! We are thankful for God’s providential re-ordering of our plans so we remember to say “if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (Jas 4:15). Then we must remember to honor God and thank him when our plans actually come to fruition.

This is our November 2019 email update. You can sign up to receive our updates in your inbox here. You can download a printable PDF here.