how to give thanks
Gratitude is the feeling of appreciation for favors received. It is a debt that is not legal but moral, in which all the beneficiaries have no reason not to pay. Words of thanks do not cost much, but they always fill the recipient with joy, whenever they are expressed.
It is our duty to cultivate the virtue of gratitude, so as not to take people’s goodwill for granted, no matter how small we think it may be.
Ten desperate people came to Jesus asking for help. Jesus took pity on them and healed them. To Jesus’ greatest surprise, only one returned to acknowledge what God had done with his life, and more surprisingly, this was the most unlikely to come; because he was a foreigner and a Samaritan.
On the other hand, Jesus also rejoiced for this one who was coming, and left Jesus with more blessings. (Luke 17:11-19). This shows that only about 10% of us sincerely show gratitude.
Gratitude requires humility: If you are not humble, you may find it difficult to express cordial compliments. Gratitude shows the sincere state of mind. It pays to be grateful at all times, both in our successes and in our failures.
Of all the vices known to man, ingratitude is the worst. A realistic saying goes that ‘gratitude is the least of all virtues, while ingratitude is the worst of all vices’. A thoughtful heart is a grateful heart. Gratitude says Ballou ‘is the most beautiful flower that springs from the soul’. Saint Paul urges us to always be grateful.
Appreciative minds are always happy people. There are thousands of reasons why you should be thankful. Do not let a day go by without making several compliments. A joyful life begins with a deeper appreciation of God’s love.
In the words of the renowned American writer and motivational speaker, John Mason, ‘be aggressively grateful’, almost in the same statement, Nnamdi Azikiwe, the 20th century Nigerian journalist and politician, notes: ‘To my God, a heart on fire, to my neighbor, a heart of love and myself, a heart of steel’.
Gratitude as a healthy gesture springs from the heart and makes the heart happy. By being grateful, we create beautiful memories in people’s psyches and leave behind beautiful memories. Start being thankful right away, if you don’t you won’t know how much you’ve been blessed to be thankful for.
George Kaitholi warned: ‘Appreciation can work wonders, it can encourage the discouraged, turn the lazy into assets, make the small achievers better, and help the high achievers…the best way to make a good impression on Others is to let them know that they are making a good impression on us’ we make good impressions by praising their efforts on us, thus motivating them to do more. Therefore, be ever thankful that you have no reason not to.
There is nothing that hurts the human heart more than total or when the giver discovers that the rejection of his gifts was not appreciated. Sometimes we spend a lot of time begging, pleading, or telling what we haven’t received from God, instead of showing gratitude for what we have received.
That’s why we hardly give thanks again when we receive favors like the other nine lepers who didn’t bother to appreciate the good work of Jesus in their lives. May be, they thought it was their right to be healed.
Gratitude is a treasure of the heart. Never miss an opportunity to say sincere thanks. The practice of thanksgiving has a very old and very solid biblical foundation. Cain and Abel, the 3rd and 4th human beings created by God started it all (Gen 4:3-4). After the great flood and the destruction of the original world created by God, Noah gave thanks to God (Gen 8, 20, 15-22, Lk 17, 11-19). Abraham made several offerings and sacrifices but the greatest was that of Isaac – it was a clear manifestation of his faith (Gen 22: 1-3).
In the New Testament the parents of Jesus started it (Lk 2, 22-24), Jesus also did it in Mk 14, 22-23. Thus, when we express gratitude we are not doing something new; instead, we are continuing the great tradition of scripture.
Now, meditating on the nature of gifts, it is good to be aware that whatever we give to God must be of the highest quality, for example, the number one reason God accepted Abel’s gift was because of his quality.
When we thank God, we add nothing to His greatness or perfection, but we hurt Him when we vehemently refuse to do so. Our offerings and sacrifices to God must be costly (2 Sam 24:24).
Man is always indebted to his creator, an existentialist philosopher; Martin Heidegger didn’t mince words when he said: ‘By calling man to think, being has endowed man’s nature with a thankful thought, a thought that remembers and gives thanks. In reflective, grateful thought, man perceives himself as indebted.”
The blessings that come from being grateful are multiple.
God is not pleased when we show signs of ingratitude and total disobedience. Let’s master the secret of remaining grateful so as not to offend him. When you are grateful you are at peace with yourself. It’s an emotional thing.
If you are always grateful, it will be difficult to fall ill. I speak from experience, but this does not mean that if you get sick, it means that you are ungrateful. I have not been able to see any happy person who is ungrateful.
Being grateful causes heaven to fill you with more favors and multiple prosperity. The beautiful and wonderful things that surround us, the flowers, the trees, the clouds, the birds of the sky and even the contemplation of the supreme happiness, God Himself, are sufficient reasons to be grateful to God.
An ungrateful heart always complains and growls and this is not good for your health. When the Lord freed the Israelites from bondage to slavery, and even fed them manna from heaven, they were still ungrateful, and their ingratitude displeased the Lord (Numbers 11:1). God is not pleased when we dislike his goodness upon us.
The key word here is to develop a grateful attitude, because great blessings await those who are grateful: they will be more glorious and receive earthly gifts in abundance from the giver and controller of the universe. May our hearts overflow with gratitude at all times.
