When someone thanks God for material things

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MarthaSo

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Hi everyone,

I didn’t know if I should ask in the Apologetics section because I know there’s a name for this I just don’t remember what it was.

I saw a video from a catholic mother dedicated to thanking God for finally blessing her with a house.

My immediate thought (and I ask God to forgive me) is ok but what about the thousand other families who prayed that are homeless. How can they interpret this?

I wonder if my question is clear, should people keep these things to themselves instead of declare them publicly and how can I understand her material blessing in light of the so many others who have families in homeless shelters and on the street. A part of me was mad at her for not realizing/ addressing this in her video as it is a catholic channel.

Thanks for helping me accept and understand.
 
MarthaSo said:
My immediate thought (and I ask God to forgive me) is ok but what about the thousand other families who prayed that are homeless. How can they interpret this?
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That God has wonderful things in store for them too? That if her prayers were answered, so can theirs?
MarthaSo said:
I wonder if my question is clear, should people keep these things to themselves instead of declare them publicly and how can I understand her material blessing in light of the so many others who have families in homeless shelters and on the street. A part of me was mad at her for not realizing/ addressing this in her video as it is a catholic channel.
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How do you know she doesn’t realize it? Why can’t we publicly thank God for all that He gives us in a culture that would tell us it was pure happenstance? Is that the message we should let the homeless hear?
 
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If you receive a blessing, it’s absolutely appropriate to THANK whoever came through for you.

What you don’t want to do is give thanks in a way that implies you deserved this blessing or said enough prayers or the right kind of prayers or in any way boasting.

I was in a situation where we received an unlikely healing. A lot of people go unhealed from this condition. Yes, we did certain things to facilitate the healing and yes, we prayed hard. But other people also did these things and didn’t get a healing. Ultimately it is in God’s hands.
I do believe that receiving a favor or miracle or healing confers a certain obligation on us. What the nature of that obligation is isn’t always clear, or the same for everybody.
Jesus even says that from the person who has more blessings, more is expected.

An example I can think of is Immaculee Ilabagiza, who survived the Rwandan genocide (when so many others didn’t) and has dedicated her life to preaching Jesus and the message of peace. She didn’t “deserve” to be saved any more than the next person, but she’s put her time on Earth to good use in gratitude.
 
Thank you, I understand what you’re saying but what about those that are homeless and stayed that way until death. I’m typing on my phone with one hand / thumb as my baby rests on me sorry if I’m not clear.
 
MarthaSo said:
Thank you, I understand what you’re saying but what about those that are homeless and stayed that way until death. I’m typing on my phone with one hand / thumb as my baby rests on me sorry if I’m not clear.
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I can’t say why they didn’t have a house. But shutting up for fear of making someone feel bad while you publicly thank God for giving you a house is false humility.
 
That makes sense. I wonder if the enemy has his hand here, at times I feel so blessed for a particular reason and then i think something like “oh but what about that poor baby whose parents starved them, the pain he must have felt”. Then I feel like everything is chance.
 
I think we should thank God for all of our blessings. And at the same time thank God for helping us to understand and to accept His will.
 
Scripture says Jesus cured a leper, who thanked Jesus more or less publicly, like in the middle of the street. Jesus approved of the man thanking him. He didn’t say, “Don’t thank me publicly because there’s 100 other lepers around here that I didn’t choose to cure.”

Same for Jesus helping a homeless person get a house, jobless person get a job, person with job gets a promotion, person who needs a car gets one, etc. We thank God for every blessing. We don’t refuse to thank God out loud because another person might still be homeless, jobless, promotionless or car-less.
And there’s likely going to be things we ask God for that we don’t receive while someone else does. We need to trust God and try to listen to what he is telling us.
 
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We should thank God for all of our blessings. And some people who could easily afford a house choose not to buy one. As a homeowner, it is a blessing, but also can give many headaches, and be expensive. It’s not only poverty that keeps everyone from owning a home.
 
It is very appropriate for your mother to thank God for a house. You should not just shut up because you don’t want to make someone feel bad. Whenever we pray for something, God doesn’t automatically give it to us. The homeless and all those who are suffering will have blessings coming to them. I thank God for my blessings all of the time.
 
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