“And let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you
were called in one body. And be thankful.” Col. 3:15 (ESV)
I doubt if there is
anything more helpful in raising spirits than praising or thanking
others. And, it’s helpful to both parties, you and them. You may
never realize how a simple thought of “thank you” effects a person, but trust
me, it does have an effect, and as I mentioned, upon you also.
Someone once said that
our world isn’t dying from things like the threat of war, the cost of living,
the changes in government, etc, but rather it’s dying from the lack of
appreciation. I think that I agree with that thought.
Sometimes it seems that
we get so caught up in our daily routines and affairs that we have no time in
our hearts for thinking of others. For being “appreciative” of things
we’ve been blessed with, especially by God and our fellow travelers through our
earthly lives.
That reminds me of a
little truism I once read. It said: “We are not human beings having a
spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
Think about that as we continue on with our lesson about setting
our hearts to a “thankful” mode. Let me tell you a little story about a
college professor, we’ll call him Bill, and his efforts at doing this.
He said that he got to
reflecting on the “un-thanked” people in his life. Those who had helped,
nurtured and inspired him along the way. One of them was an early school
teacher who had gone out of her way to instill in him a love of poetry so he
wrote her a letter thanking her for having done so.
He received this reply
to that letter: “My
dear Willie, (no one had since called him that) I cannot tell you how much your
note meant to me. I’m in my 80's, living alone in a small room, cooking
my own meals, lonely and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind.
You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is
the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue-cold
morning and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.”
Bill said that he cried
over her reply and was so thankful that he had taken the time and effort to say
“thank you” to those “un-thanked” people in his life because he knew that there
were many of them. I would guess that we too have them in our
lives. If they are still with us, it’s never too late to “thank” them.
And, it doesn’t have to
be done in “letter form,” but I personally think that’s a better way of doing
it as a letter shows that we actually took the time and put forth an effort to
tender our “thanks.”
Back to our beginning
thoughts. Do we get so caught up with everyday affairs that we forget to
be “appreciative?” That we forget to be “thankful?” I can only
speak for myself, but I think that we do. How long has it been since you
“thanked” someone for maybe just “being there” when you needed them? Or,
just took the time to tell someone that they were/are special in your
life?
I honestly feel that we
all need to work on the capacity of our heart so that it includes a sense of
“thankfulness” and isn’t all taken up with just the “grindstone” things of
life.
Which brings me to the
idea of how to develop a “thankful” attitude in our minds. I think that
our first need is to be “thankful” to God. We don’t have the time nor the
space here to list all the things we should thank God for so I’ll just refer
you to Eph. 5:20, “Giving
thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.” And also 1Thess. 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I think those two passages
pretty much sums it up as to being “thankful” to God. Basically, at all
times and for everything and doing so through Jesus Christ.
Now my point here is,
how can we be “thankful” and “appreciative” to our fellow travelers if we
aren’t “thankful” and “appreciative” to the One who makes it all
possible? The One in whom we “live
and move and have our being?” (Acts 17:28)
In my mind I equate a
“thankful” heart to a “loving” heart. I just don’t think that we can be
“appreciative” of others without being “appreciative” to God first.
Anymore than we can love man and not God, or vice-versa. A reading of the
4th chapter of 1 John, especially verses 9-11, will substantiate my equation.
In another 11 days we’ll
be celebrating our annual Thanksgiving Day holiday. Perhaps we can let
the spirit of that occasion inspire us to be more than just “thankful” for the
turkey, the candied yams and pumpkin pie. That we can be
inspired to be “thankful” to God for “everything” and then allow that to move
us to making an effort to “thank” those “un-thanked” people in our lives.
Try it. I think
that you’ll find it good for both you and them.
--Ron Covey
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