Is Gratitude a Thing of the Past?
A stranger held the door open for me as I was entering the restaurant and he was leaving. I responded with a heartfelt “thank you.”
When Jim opens the car door for me and sees that I am safely inside (which he almost always does), I try to always thank him for that kindness.
When I receive a gift from someone, I thank them verbally for that gift, and sometimes send a thank you note.
When I am asked to speak at a Ladies’ Day at a congregation, I usually begin my talk with a thank you for the invitation and the hard work that went into making the day possible.
When I pray to God, I thank Him for so many blessings in my life. They are too numerous to list!
Do you see a trend here? Saying “thank you” was instilled in me at a very young age. In fact, if I failed to thank someone for some kindness given to me, and my mother was anywhere nearby to observe that oversight, I would not be thanking her later for the spanking I would get. I’m thanking her now, even though she has been gone for several years, for her teaching of common courtesy to me at a very young age.
But I’m wondering if gratitude has become a thing of the past?
I offered for a young woman to go in line before me because she had just a few items in her cart and my cart had many items. She rushed ahead of me without so much as a word.
When someone works hard to offer an event for a group at school or church and not a word of thanks is ever uttered, wouldn’t you agree that it would appear that gratitude is a thing of the past?
When our young people are taken to many different events for spiritual training and also for fun, and not a word of thanks is uttered to anyone who sacrificed time and money to get them there, wouldn’t it seem like they have not been taught to be thankful?
When Bible class teachers and school teachers sacrifice time and energy preparing and teaching a child in class and never receive a word of thanks, doesn’t it seem as though gratitude is a thing of the past?
You may be thinking to yourself, “she certainly has her negative attitude on in this post.” And maybe I do. But I know the importance of having a grateful heart. I also know that you aren’t born with a grateful heart. Your heart has to be trained. And, sadly, I know some young people who are not being trained to be grateful for what they have. I also know some older people who were never taught to be grateful and to express it to others.
At the end of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he says some very important words to them:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, emphasis added).
These same words apply to us today.
Parents, please teach your children to not only say “thank you,” but to develop a heart of gratitude for those things they are given so that those words will be heartfelt.
When we sing the song “Thank You, Lord,” do you really mean those words, or do you just like the catchy tune?
May all of us daily give thanks to the One who makes all things possible for us.
Please don’t let gratitude be a thing of the past.
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
