Thankfulness. Gratitude. Appreciation. Whatever synonym you choose to use, we all need more of it. Let's take a few minutes today to consider why thankfulness is a critical component of a healthy spiritual life.
The World Wants Us to Be Un-Thankful
The world around us certainly puts on a good show regarding thankfulness. Wander down the greeting card aisle of any store and you will see an entire section of "thank you" cards. Here in the United States, we have an entire holiday that is (supposed to be) dedicated to giving thanks. Most parents train their children to say "please" and "thank you." And yet everywhere we turn we are directly or indirectly taught to be discontent.
Commercials bombard us with the latest and greatest things that we don't have. Social media feeds us photo after photo of the blessed lives that we're not living. Entertainment presents us with glamorous looks and superhuman feats that we haven't achieved. But suppose we chase those things, and suppose that we purchase, receive, achieve, or experience what we chased. What will we find? Contentment? Fulfillment? Not likely. Chances are far greater that we will barely finish checking off one box before another appears. Got the latest Apple product? It will be old news within months. Sporting the latest fashion? It will be laughable soon. Managed to tidy yourself up with artificial good looks? Every birthday that you celebrate makes that more and more difficult to maintain.
Why does the world do this? Well, for starters, the world is wicked and ungodly. It is bent on going the opposite direction from the Lord. But there's also big bucks in keeping people discontented. Imagine if everyone was grateful for the home, the car, the clothes, the phone, and the stuff that they had. Sales would drop. Stores would be less crowded. Black Friday wouldn't exist.
I'm not trying to be a downer; I'm just trying to point out that the world is designed to keep us discontented. There's nothing wrong with working hard and doing the best you can for yourself and your family, and there's nothing wrong with enjoying what the Lord has permitted you to have. But the world wants us to make it our priority - it wants us to become obsessed, to idolize discontentment. No matter how much we have, or how much we achieve, the world is always going to ask us to believe that it is not enough. It will always set elusive goals and have us chasing counterfeit contentment. The result is not thankful people; the result is covetousness, idolatry, greed, lust, vanity, and pride. Consider II Timothy 3:1-5 (emphasis added):
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
The Bible Expects Us to Be Thankful
In contrast, the Lord expects us to be thankful people. Appreciate what you have. Be grateful for all that the Lord has done for you. It can't be that difficult, can it? And yet so many of us struggle with it. Why? Not only is the world around us constantly at our elbow encouraging us to be discontented, and not only is our old sinful nature willing to comply with that, but the Lord also sets a high bar for our thankfulness. He asks us to be thankful for everything.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
I Thessalonians 5:18 (emphasis added)
Most days that feels like a tall order. It is easy to be thankful for good things, but how are we to be thankful for the things that we would consider not good? The Bible has the answers.
The Bible Shows Us How to Be Thankful
Too often, we are not thankful because we are simply focused on the wrong things. Philippians 4:6-9 (emphasis added) instructs us what we should think about:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Furthermore, we would do well to remember Romans 8:28 (emphasis added):
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
But the Lord provides us with more than these instructions (though the instructions are enough!). He also gives us insights into the things that Paul was thankful for, which serves as a model for us. Let's take a look at the specific things the Holy Spirit gave us in Romans through II Thessalonians. We can be thankful for:
faith spoken of throughout the world (Romans 1:8)
grave given (I Corinthians 1:4)
enrichment in all utterance and knowledge (I Corinthians 1:5)
the testimony of Christ confirmed (I Corinthians 1:6)
coming behind in no gift while waiting for the Lord (I Corinthians 1:7)
confirmation unto the end that we may be blameless (I Corinthians 1:8)
fellowship in the gospel and continuance of Christ's work (Philippians 1:3-6)
faith, love to the saints, hope in heaven, and fruit (Colossians 1:4-6)
making us meet to be partakers of the inheritance (Colossians 1:12)
delivering us from the power of darkness and translating us to the kingdom of His Son (Colossians 1:13)
redemption through the blood and forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14)
the work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope (I Thessalonians 1:3)
growing faith (II Thessalonians 1:3)
charity toward one another (II Thessalonians 1:3)
If the Lord saw fit to put these things in His word, then we can be sure that they are things for which we too can be thankful, which would please Him. But let's make a few observations about this list. First of all, did you notice how much of it pertained to biblical doctrine, the present work of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of life to come? In other words, the Bible emphasizes being thankful for spiritual things. There is certainly nothing wrong with being thankful for physical things (consider Christ's example in Luke 22:19, John 6:23, and Acts 27:35), but how often do we stop to consider our far greater spiritual blessings?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ...
Ephesians 1:3 (emphasis added)
Secondly, did you notice how many of those statements of thanks pertained to the believers at Corinth? Stop and consider that: approximately 1/3 of Paul's specific thanksgiving that the Holy Spirit preserved for us was related one of the most carnal churches in the New Testament. The Corinthians has problems stacked on top of problems - some of which are embarrassing, shameful, public faults - and yet Paul remained deliberately, specifically thankful for these people. We would do well to remember that next time we get irritated or disappointed with our fellow believers. Which leads us to one final observation about Paul's thanksgiving...
Throughout each of Paul's epistles, including the epistles not included above, there is both direct and indirect evidence that Paul thanked the Lord every single day for the brethren. When was the last time you thanked God for fellow, like-minded Bible believers?
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
II Peter 1:1-4 (emphasis added)
No matter how frustrating they may be at times (and we can be sure the feeling is mutual), we ought to thank God that we're not alone in this Christian walk.
Thankfulness Is a Powerful Weapon Against Sin
Let's explore one final aspect of thanksgiving before we close today. The title of this post suggests that thanksgiving is a key to spiritual health. We have seen that it is contrary to the pattern of this world, that it can put our focus back on the things that matter, and that it can benefit our relationship with fellow believers (regardless of their condition). But the Bible also presents thanksgiving as a powerful weapon against sin itself. Carefully consider Ephesians 5:3-4, where it says:
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
That's a heady list of sins, isn't it? And, like most lists of sin in the Bible, one that none of us can deny. You may not be guilty of everything there, but each of us is certainly guilty of something there. If it's not one thing, it's another. But notice the contrast that is being created: don't do these things, but rather do this thing. And what is that thing? Giving of thanks. Earlier in this post, we said that a lack of thanksgiving results in covetousness, idolatry, greed, lust, vanity, and pride. There is a relationship among sins. The verses above equate uncleanness with covetousness, and Colossians 3:5, which equates covetousness with idolatry. I don't claim to have it all figured out yet, but the one conclusion I can confidently draw from that is one sin leads to another. They work in concert with each other to produce unrighteousness. The combinations might be unique to each one of us, but like termites, where you find one, you will find more. And all sin shares in common selfishness, or pride. What is the antidote to that? The Bible presents the answer clearly and concisely, as usual. And while I am no advocate of secular science and psychology, even they have (finally) caught up to the Bible on this subject (even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then). You don't have to read these articles to get the point, but I've included the titles and links for these secular studies for the sake of illustrating the point:
“Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier” by Harvard Health Publishing
“Thanksgiving – How Gratitude Can Have Positive Impacts on Your Sleep, Pain and Wellbeing” by Michelle Pun, Jenna Gillett, & Paige Karadag
“Three Emotions That Can Help You Succeed at Your Goals” by David Desteno
“Gratitude and Well-Being: A Review and Theoretical Integration,” by Alex Wood, Jeffrey Froh, & Adam Geraghty, Clinical Psychology Review
The Sum of the Matter
In our battle against sin - including our proclivity towards discontentment, which is a gateway to virtually any and every other sin we can imagine - there is something to be said for the power of giving thanks. But let's allow God's word to be the final word on the subject:
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