THE BEAUTIFUL QUALITY OF THANKFULNESS
Neal Pollard
Neal Pollard
Her name was Mrs. Broadhead. She was a resident in a west Alabama nursing home. She was known for saying one thing with great frequency: "We have a lot to be thankful for, don't we?" Emaciated, confined to a wheel chair, with a speech impediment due to a stroke, and filled with aches and pains, this was her life's motto.
Wedding and baby showers, small gifts or tokens of appreciation, compliments, words of encouragement, acknowledgments, visits, deeds of kindness, and the like are golden opportunities to express it. Yet, far too many have failed to learn the beautiful grace of gratitude. It is wondered if Jesus used the parable of ten lepers to illustrate not the importance of thankfulness but to give an approximate percentage of those who fail to show it. Remember that when the lone man returned to give thanks to Jesus, He observed, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17).
While demonstrating thanksgiving to God and to fellow men is growing more rare, it is certainly a Christian characteristic! In the midst of general teaching, Paul inserts the charge, "And be thankful" (Col. 3:15). In prior generations, great emphasis was placed upon instilling manners and courtesy within our young people. One demonstration of etiquette was to never let a gift or kindness go without a card, call, or word of thanks. It is extreme selfishness and self-absorption to fail to acknowledge the sentiment of others, whether the expression was big or small! Failing to show gratitude is like telling others that we are spoiled or entitled.
Christians, above all others, have so much for which to be thankful. The remarkable command from Paul is, "In everything give thanks..." (1 Thess. 5:18). Thankfulness for tooth aches, flat tires, bills, taxes, death? Perhaps Pollyanna was a good teacher. She played "the glad game." Whenever she had to endure a bad thing, she chose to find something about which to be glad. Cannot we do the same? Christians are to be found "overflowing with gratitude" (Col. 2:7).
God rejects those who are not thankful (Rom. 12:1). It is an ugly trait to be ungrateful. It is synonymous with being inconsiderate. Paul says to esteem others better than oneself (Phil. 2:4). For all which that includes, gratitude plays a part. Never fail to return a favor, gift, or act of consideration wiht a simple "Thank you." It is your obligation. It will become your joy!
Wedding and baby showers, small gifts or tokens of appreciation, compliments, words of encouragement, acknowledgments, visits, deeds of kindness, and the like are golden opportunities to express it. Yet, far too many have failed to learn the beautiful grace of gratitude. It is wondered if Jesus used the parable of ten lepers to illustrate not the importance of thankfulness but to give an approximate percentage of those who fail to show it. Remember that when the lone man returned to give thanks to Jesus, He observed, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:17).
While demonstrating thanksgiving to God and to fellow men is growing more rare, it is certainly a Christian characteristic! In the midst of general teaching, Paul inserts the charge, "And be thankful" (Col. 3:15). In prior generations, great emphasis was placed upon instilling manners and courtesy within our young people. One demonstration of etiquette was to never let a gift or kindness go without a card, call, or word of thanks. It is extreme selfishness and self-absorption to fail to acknowledge the sentiment of others, whether the expression was big or small! Failing to show gratitude is like telling others that we are spoiled or entitled.
Christians, above all others, have so much for which to be thankful. The remarkable command from Paul is, "In everything give thanks..." (1 Thess. 5:18). Thankfulness for tooth aches, flat tires, bills, taxes, death? Perhaps Pollyanna was a good teacher. She played "the glad game." Whenever she had to endure a bad thing, she chose to find something about which to be glad. Cannot we do the same? Christians are to be found "overflowing with gratitude" (Col. 2:7).
God rejects those who are not thankful (Rom. 12:1). It is an ugly trait to be ungrateful. It is synonymous with being inconsiderate. Paul says to esteem others better than oneself (Phil. 2:4). For all which that includes, gratitude plays a part. Never fail to return a favor, gift, or act of consideration wiht a simple "Thank you." It is your obligation. It will become your joy!
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