How to be Grateful

Thanksgiving is upon us  and I can't help but consider what it means to be thankful.  I woke up this morning with the meaning of thanksgiving in mind.  I have pondered it for some time and want to share a few thoughts on the matter.

Several years ago I heard a sermon about money.  In a nutshell, people who live in North America need to understand that we are rich when compared to the rest of the world.  This wasn't a new concept to me but there were a few points that hit home.  Most people in the US have more than one television.  We have rooms for our cars.  Note that I said cars, not car.  When we have problems, it is something like our air conditioning is not working and it is getting hot in the house.  My cell phone got wet and isn't working.  Poor people don't have problems like these.  

Problems for other people in the world look more like this:  I have no roof over my head.  What will I eat today?  How can I protect my family since we live on the streets?  My child was bit by a poisonous snake and it is an all day walk to get to the nearest doctor/medical facility.   Will they survive?

How can I not be thankful when my life is so much better than theirs?  Still, I can't feel guilty for what God has given me.  By God's grace I was born here and not there.  For me it boils down to this:  The key to thankfulness is knowing what you have and thanking God for it.  When you focus on what you have you begin to see more and more of what you have and it makes you grateful.  I believe it is a cycle.  As a person who lives in the US, I can only speak to what I know having lived here my whole life.  What I see around me are people who focus on things other people own and they desire to have the same and more.  Actually, it is too often the case that they don't actually have ownership.  They borrowed in order to have and they are deep in credit card debt.  Advertising fill our eyes and hearts with desire for things and riches.  We believe riches and things will satisfy our souls.

John Fischer wrote in his book, True Believers Don't Ask Why that we live in a wet world but all the water is full of salt and, therefore, cannot satisfy us.  On the contrary, it drives us to want more.  We have to break this cycle.  We must focus on the One who provides what we have, however little we believe it to be.  Everything that we have is Christ.  Everything we don't have makes us need Him more.   I think the last 2 sentences are from John Fischer too. 

I was talking with my sister this morning and she mentioned some things about her job and some discontent she was feeling.  I mentioned she has first world problems.  She readily admits this and I told her the good thing is that she realizes she has first world problems.  She knows she is rich and she and her husband use their money in a way that honors God.  I know she is thankful for what she has.  Still, I could not help but think of scripture from Ecclesiastes that I shared with her.  I will close with the verses but want to say one last thing.

Though we will always have cares and needs and wants in life, when we live in thanksgiving and concern for the needs of others, God will keep us occupied with gladness of heart.  Therefore, find things in your life for which to be grateful and genuinely thank God for them.

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them - for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil - this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart.


Ecclesiastes 5:18-20


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