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An attitude of gratitude is an invaluable character trait. The discipline of gratefulness (and it is something for which we must train ourselves to be) is that uncommon trait by which one radiates a joy that is both admirable and intoxicating. There is nothing exceptional about a complaining spirit. For most, it is all too natural to bemoan one’s unfavorable circumstances or lot in life. The dissatisfied among us typically spend most hours comparing how their condition is so much less than another. They describe the glass as half empty. In their own estimation, the complainer deserves much more than what he has. However, one with an attitude of appreciation considers every circumstance a gift. The grateful heart knows that the only good he deserves is much less than what he has received.
The following humorous story provides an example of the vast difference between the attitudes exhibited by thankfulness as to that of ingratitude.
A young couple had a set of twin boys that could not have been any different from one another. One of the boys was a depressed pessimist; the other was an incessant optimist. The parents were getting worried because each child’s personality was becoming increasingly extreme. So just before Christmas, the father said, “We need to do something to break them out of their molds.”
The parents decided to put dozens and dozens of shiny new toys in the pessimist’s room, and to fill the optimist’s room with piles of horse manure, hoping this would change their attitudes.
The children went to their rooms for a couple of hours, and then the pessimist came out. “Did you play with your new toys?” the father asked eagerly.
“Nah,” moaned the pessimist. “I never even opened the packages. I was afraid that if I touched them, they’d just break, and then I’d be disappointed.”
That’s when the optimist came bounding out of his room that had been filled with horse manure. He was all smiles. “How come you’re so happy?” asked the dad.
The little boy beamed and said, “I just know that if I keep digging long enough, I’m going to find that pony!”
There are certainly benefits to being a grateful person. The medical field confirms that an attitude of gratitude is beneficial to health, as it greatly reduces stress. Thankful people enjoy fruitful relationships, as others gravitate toward those who are in the habit of giving thanks. Think about it. Would you gladly invite another into your life who exhibits the joy and optimism of gratefulness, or would you rather have one more voice of complaint and bitterness? But unquestionably, the most outstanding advantage of gratefulness is that it is a byproduct of a new heart. A thankful spirit serves as indisputable evidence that one has encountered the mercy of the living God and is deep fellowship with His daily, lavish grace.
A story in Luke’s gospel documents just how gratefulness is a tell-tale indicator of a life changed by God. You may have read or heard before about the ten lepers (literal outcasts of society) who cried out to Jesus for healing. Demonstrating again His mercy and power, Jesus immediately took away their illness and restored their lives. However, greater than just a physical healing, one of the lepers came to Jesus to thank Him for this miracle. To this Jesus replied, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:17-19). This man’s response to Christ proves that thankfulness is not just healthy for one’s body and relationship, but also for one’s eternal soul!
Just how much should the follower of Jesus be marked by an attitude of gratitude. Author Donald Whitney penned it quite remarkably in his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.
[God] has never done anything greater for anyone, nor could He do anything greater for you, than bring you to Himself. Suppose He put ten million dollars into your bank account every morning for the rest of your life, but He didn’t save you? Suppose He gave you the most beautiful body and face of anyone who ever lived, a body that never aged for a thousand years, but then at death He shut you out of Heaven and into hell for eternity? What has God ever given anyone that could compare with the salvation He has given to you as a believer? Do you see that there is nothing God could ever do for you or give to you greater than the gift of Himself? If we cannot be grateful servants of Him who is everything and in whom we have everything, what will make us grateful?
Giving Thanks,
Jason