THANKFULNESS
INTRODUCTION: Rudyard Kipling was one of the few old writers who had opportunity to enjoy his success while he lived. One time a newspaper reporter came up to him and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars a word. Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, "Really, I wasn’t aware of that." The reporter cynically reached down into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, "Here’s a hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now, you give me one of your hundred dollar words." Kipling looked at the hundred dollar bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks." It’s true, ‘Thanks’ is a hundred dollar word. It’s a word we probably don’t say often enough. And being thankful is an attitude we probably don’t have enough. Unfortunately, now that Thanksgiving is over we typically move from being thankful to being materialistic as the Christmas season is now upon us. But the attitude of thankfulness shouldn’t be discarded as soon as Black Friday rolls around. Let’s see how we can always have a continual attitude of thanksgiving.
1) How can we tell if we’re not thankful?
• We’re complainers. Something is always too this or this is too that’. “This isn’t good enough; that’s not good enough.” “This person’s doing this wrong and that person’s doing this badly.” “I hate my job; I hate this place; I hate these people-but I love Jesus!” You think there might be a contradiction there? Some people are so bad they find something to complain about in everything; even when something good happens. “Oh, wow, you got an unexpected card with $50.00 in it? That’s great; what a blessing.” “Yeah, well, it would’ve been nice if they had broken it down instead of giving me a fifty dollar bill.” Instead of being thankful, we nitpick and criticize everything to death. Eph. 5:19-20. If we would have a song in our heart that came out our mouth in encouragement toward one another, then we would be people who are always giving thanks to God for everything. But if we’re not thankful then what’s coming out of our mouths is not music; it’s poison. Being a complainer drags people down; it’s draining to the soul. Phil. 2:14, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” What a concept!
• We’re never satisfied. Prov. 27:20, “Death and destruction are never satisfied and neither are the eyes of man.” This is talking about being insatiable. Nothing is ever enough. No matter what someone does for us we have the attitude of, ‘what have you done for me lately’. Therefore, since we’re never satisfied we find ourselves to be a people who are expectant and demanding of others. Yet no matter how many times we get what we want we are still not satisfied. The problem isn’t that we’re not getting enough; it’s that we’re not thankful for what we already have. In this attitude we’re pessimistic and negative. We are discontent and miserable. If we are this type of person, then we are thankless.
2) How can we tell if we are truly thankful?
• We’re thankful in all circumstances. 1st Thess. 5:16-18, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Paul didn’t say to give thanks “for” all circumstances, but “in” all circumstances. All our circumstances in life are not good, but there will always be something in those circumstances for which to give thanks. Why is it God’s will that we be thankful in all circumstances? Being thankful in all circumstances allows us to see the blessing in the hardships. We will be able to endure and persevere through anything if we can be thankful even in the trying times of our lives. This is why we can be joyful always. Having an attitude of thanksgiving in any circumstance allows us to be joyful always. Giving thanks in all situations means I see things in the proper perspective. “I am Thankful for: the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed; the sink full of dirty dishes because it means I have plenty to eat; the laundry basket that’s overflowing because it means I have clothes to wear; a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home; the spot at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking; my heating bill because it means I am warm; waking up to the alarm that goes off in the morning because it means I’m alive; the weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I’ve been productive.” Being thankful in all circumstances involves me seeing the positives and it’s about being able to put things in perspective. When we’re thankful in all circumstances we are content. In verse 17 Paul says to pray continually. This too is included in being thankful. Phil. 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Someone once said, “It’s impossible to be anxious and thankful at the same time”. If we go to the Lord with thanksgiving, then our prayers will be in an attitude of reverence and humility rather than selfishness and pride. I’ll be praying continually not because I always want something from God but because I’m blessed already. I’m thankful because of what I’ve already received; from what he’s already done for me.
• We pay it forward. A person of integrity pays pack. But, if we’re really thankful, what we do is pay it forward. 2nd Cor. 9:8-14. We become a blessing to someone who is in need; not in response to them blessing us but simply because we’ve been blessed by God-therefore we bless a complete stranger. Story of helping with the admission at zooboo. James’ K-Love story of woman helping someone at work and turning around and getting handed $500 for Christmas. We can be ‘pay-it-forward’ people when we see the potential. If I give a stranger a blessing, what if that’s what turns their day around; their life around? What if that small gesture of generosity is what opens the door for a person’s soul to be saved? See what potential there is in just being a person who’s thankful? When we’re thankful we’re not just helping those who help us, we’re generous and helpful to someone whom we may never see again; simply because we recognize how blessed we are.
3) How can we be more thankful?
• Be mindful of the little things. In order to be mindful of the little things, we need to be thinking about the little blessings. The words think and thank have the same root, reminding us that thanksgiving comes from thinking about our blessings. However, if we’re in a habit of complaining about what we don’t have, we’re not going to be mindful of what we do have. But, if we have an acute awareness of the little things, we will have an attitude of thankfulness. James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” There is no gift too small when it comes from God. We might classify them as ‘the little things’ but in reality, they are huge because they come from God. Thomas Kempis said, “Be thankful, therefore, for the least benefit and thou shalt be worthy to receive greater. Let the least be unto thee even as the greatest, and let that which is of little account be unto thee even as the greatest. If the majesty of the Giver is considered, nothing that is given shall seem small and of no worth, for that is not a small thing which is given by the Most High God”. If we’re not thankful for the little things, why should we expect God to give us the greater blessings of life? But if we have the attitude of thankfulness then we will see the little things as big blessings. In thankfulness the little things hold great value and significance.
• Remember things could be worse. Charlie Brown was bringing out Snoopy’s dinner on Thanksgiving Day. But in his bowl was just his usual dog food. Snoopy took one look at the bowl and said, "This isn’t fair. The rest of America is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is dog food; just because I’m a dog?" He stood there and stared at his dog food for a moment and said, "I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey." In order to be thankful people we really need to put things in perspective. Whenever I get on my pity pot and get into complaint mode the God of Grace has always done a wonderful job of putting things in perspective for me. How does he do that? By showing me someone who has it worse than me. I think that is one of the major reasons we have the book of Job. If you ever think you have it bad, read the book of Job and hopefully you’ll walk away with a different attitude about your situation. Jonah. Another story of, “you think you have it bad?” Jonah was a whiner and complainer toward God for sending him to preach to the Ninevites. But not without some cause. The Ninevites were ruthless people who had wreaked havoc on the Israelites before. But God allowed Jonah to be thrown overboard a ship and then to be swallowed up by a large fish. But listen to Jonah’s prayer. Chapter two. Are you in a circumstance where you feel distressed? Do you feel the currents swirling around you and the waves and breakers are sweeping over you? Are you feeling threatened by the engulfing waters like our friend Jonah? All this was a reality for Jonah. And he spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish before he came to his senses and prayed this prayer. How long have you been in your “fish”? How long have you been complaining about your situation? God allowed this to happen to Jonah because of Jonah’s disobedience. But I believe it was also due to Jonah’s lack of thankfulness. (VS. 8-10). “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” What are you holding onto that is worthless? Are you forfeiting the grace that could be yours? But the problem is we don’t see that. Instead, we become miserable complainers and all the while God is saying to us, “Let go of that worthless idol and be blessed.” Jonah saw this and that perspective allowed him to be thankful. He knew it could’ve been worse and God could’ve allowed him to suffer more or even die in that fish. Instead Jonah recognized that God was showing him mercy and wanted to give him another chance. This allowed him to be thankful even in this circumstance.
CONCLUSION: Max Lucado tells about living as an American in Brazil. One day, as he was walking along the street on his way to the University to teach a class, he felt a tug on his pants leg. Turning around, he saw a little boy about 5 or 6 years old with dark beady eyes and a dirty little face. The little boy looked up at the big American and said, "Bread, Sir." He was a little beggar boy and Lucado said, "There are always little beggar boys in the streets of Brazil. Usually I turn away from them because there are so many and you can’t feed them all. But there was something so compelling about this little boy that I couldn’t turn away. So, taking his hand, I said, `Come with me’ and I took him into a coffee shop." Max told the owner, "I’ll have a cup of coffee and give the boy a piece of pastry…whatever he wants." Since the coffee counter was at the other end of the store, Max walked on and got a cup of coffee, forgetting about the little boy because beggar boys usually get the bread and then run back out into the street and disappear. But this one didn’t. After he got his pastry, he went over to the big American and just stood there until Lucado felt his staring eyes. Lucado said, "I turned and looked at him. Standing up, his eyes just about hit my belt buckle. Then slowly his eyes came up until they met mine. The little boy, holding his pastry in one hand, looked up and said, ‘Thank you, sir. Thank you very much.’” Lucado said, "I was so touched by the boy’s thanks that I would have bought him the store. I sat there for another 30 minutes, late for my class, just thinking about a little beggar boy who came back and said, `Thank you.’" This young lad had an attitude of thankfulness and it was expressed. If we have this attitude, it will show. We will be expressive, we will be praising God; we will have joy in our hearts. Having an attitude of thankfulness is ultra important in the life of a follower of Jesus.
