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Thankfulness
November 26, 2011

The end of November in the United States is a time of Thanksgiving, and with this comes an attitude of thankfulness. It is easy to overlook the acts of kindness done by others as we live in a world that seems too focused on the negative. This is compounded by a society that expects praise to be bestowed on those who do what is expected. In the current era, we praise those who do the minimum, sometimes to the exclusion of those who go above and beyond. By narrowing attention on what is negative in society, we ignore what is great in society. Instead of thankfulness, we show indifference. We also live in a world where the entitlement mentality reigns supreme. Because we think we deserve something because it is our right, we are less likely to be thankful for what we have. What can we take from our modern existence when applied to teachings from the Bible? Let's start with a story from the life of Jesus.

Luke 17:11-19
And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

In this account, Jesus came across a group of ten men who suffered from leprosy who asked for mercy . Each was directed to present himself to the priest, and all were healed. Of these ten, only one returned to give glory to God. Giving glory to God is one way we express thankfulness. Jesus shows that it was noted that only one in ten returned to give glory to God and commented that this person's faith made him whole. An attitude of thankfulness presumes we recognize we have been given something beyond what is our right to have. The Samaritan recognized God's intervention on his behalf, and it was this faith that made him whole. We express our thankfulness for many things that touch our lives. A very common way of giving thanks is for the food we eat. And in the modern economy, we probably can be thankful to be able to afford the food at the store. This practice of giving thanks for food is part of the thanksgiving tradition in modern American history, and transcends Biblical history into the Old Testament. Even Jesus was thankful for the food he had.

Matthew 15:29-39
And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus’ feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children. And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

In the story about feeding this large group of people with just a little bread and even fewer fish, we marvel at the miracle of making the food multiply. We tend not to marvel at the fact that Jesus gave thanks for what he had been given. After giving thanks for the food, and after the group of 4,000 men, not even counting women and children had eaten, the food was multiplied by seven times. Sometimes we like to debate how this happened. We overlook that this was a miracle, and this miracle was based on faith that began with an attitude of thankfulness. So a question arises in my mind. Can faith and thankfulness be linked together, and if so, can this focus our attention on what the Bible teaches. Consider the facts as presented in these two accounts. A leper was healed of his disease and returned to give thanks. Jesus said that this man's faith restored his health. In the second story, after giving thanks, a major miracle occurs through faith. In both of these stories, the recipients did not have an entitlement mentality. In fact, by asking for mercy, the lepers acknowledged their request was without merit. There was nothing they had previously done to warrant this action of healing. With the food, the disciples knew they had too little food to be of benefit to feedthe masses. They did not feel entitled to receive more food, their actions show they felt no special privilege. In faith, they did give thanks, and their needs were met. In both instances faith was demonstrated because while not having something, they knew they needed something. Instead of feeling like a victim, being ripped off, or a just not having any luck, they gave thanks. Their thanks and attitude of thankfulness outwardly showed their faith, because faith is displayed when we hope for something that we haven't received. That's what the Bible shows.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Thankfulness is more than just an attitude. When we live a lifeand do not have an entitlement mentality, we are more able to connect that we are not worthy to receive any gift of God. We accept mercy from God, and we build a life of faith. So be thankful for what we have. We are not entitled to it. Even if we worked very hard for something, what we have is a gift from God for which we must give thanks. Without thankfulness faith cannot grow.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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