grat·i·tude
ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun
- the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
- "she expressed her gratitude to the committee for their support"
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Gratitude
The Forgotten Virtue
If you were to type Gratitude into the Google search engine above is what you would find returned for you. In the world we live in today this virtue seems to be all but forgotten. Gratitude is something we struggle with in a big way. Our American culture has become so enamored with power, prestige, and popularity that we tend to overlook what we already possess.
With Thanksgiving approaching this week I feel that this topic of GRATITUDE is well worth spending some time on. There is no doubt that each of us has those things in our lives that bring us down or present challenges, and if we allow ourselves to dwell upon them our moods will be sour and our outlook downcast. It is far too easy to fall into this trap and be the Eeyore in the room.
Let it not be! I think back to one of the classic TV comedies of all time, The Beverly Hillbillies, and an episode when Granny had been overcome by her “corn squeezins” and was marching around the yard singing, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart. . . “ No I am anything but advocating hitting the bottle to find your joy. What I am saying is that if we have joy in our heart the difficult things of this life will not bring us all the way down. If we are a Christian we can know true joy, that joy that is not to be confused with happiness, but a hope and contentment knowing that God will take care of us.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV
From www.biblegateway.com
I believe that if we take this passage from the New Testament of the Bible and look at it as a roadmap for life then we can have tremendous impact in our outlook and our relationships. My personal view is that if we begin in faith we will know how to love and be loved, which in itself is a great source of joy. It is through our relationships with God, family, friends and others that we experience and refine this process. If we take these first two seriously then we will be far more able to live in peace, be patient, and show ourselves to be kind and good. Each of these then builds us up in faith, and as we become more like Christ then we learn gentleness and self-control.
One of the primary ways to express our joy is through gratitude. When we were little children one of the first relational items we are taught is to say thank you. This is a fundamental practice that we have begun to overlook and it results in the entitlement mindset that has become so prevalent in modern America and around the world. We are owed nothing but a common defense and an opportunity live peaceably together in liberty by our government. This is spelled out in full in the Constitution of the United States of America. We are also owed nothing from our creator. He out of His graciousness has offered us a way to reconcile back to Him recognizing that all blessing emanates from His hand.
With that I will give you a few items for which I am grateful this Thanksgiving season and encourage you to Do Well in considering the things for which you are grateful:
- I continue to be thankful for God’s mercy and His grace which has saved my soul, and continually washes me clean even when I fall through the mire.
- I am thankful for the loving wife He has given me in Angie, and the wonderful daughter in Olivia
- I am thankful to live in a magnificent home that many around the world would call a mansion, with the shelter it provides and the stability and security we find within it.
- I am thankful to be a part of a Bible believing, hard-working group of Christians at the Center Hill Church of Christ http://www.centerhillchurchofchrist.com/
- I am thankful for all my family and friends that enrich my life daily or have taught me great lessons throughout the course of my life.
- I am thankful for the job that God has provided where I can be a support to those who practice the healing arts (St Bernards Healthcare) with wisdom, compassion and concern on a daily basis.
- I am thankful for the abilities that God has given me, and the skills he has allowed me to develop from them that allow me to serve Him by serving others
- I am thankful to live and work in communities like Paragould and Jonesboro where the vast majority of the people still hold to Christian values and viewpoints even when there are a great number who choose not to participate actively in worship and service.
- I am thankful to have the level of health that I currently enjoy. Despite having health problems they are manageable with good choices and medical oversight
- I am thankful for the power of prayer and the results I have seen in others who have been surrounded in prayer during difficult times and come out the other side. Cancer survivors like Brandie Lieblong and Ellen Cable, and others who have dealt with tremendous difficulties come to mind.
- I am thankful to live in a nation where I have the freedom to worship the true and living God, and to present my thoughts in a forum such as this.
- I am thankful for those who serve in our military, law enforcement, and emergency medical arenas not knowing what each day will bring and putting themselves in difficult and dangerous situations each day.
This list just begins to scratch the surface of all that I have to be thankful for, and it can only come from God. Look at your world, and see what He has done for you. Show thanks to God and to those in your life that have been sent to you as part of His divine plan. Don’t allow gratitude to be a forgotten virtue in your life.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
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