At least five blessings result from this:
The first is that thankfulness forces us to focus on what we have had rather than what we want.
In our materialistic culture, we can succumb to a consumerism of the soul that reduces our prayers to shopping lists. Thankfulness looks outwards, not inwards. It realigns our lives so that they revolve around God instead of trying to make God revolve around us.
The second is that thankfulness highlights grace.
To give thanks is to admit that you are dependent, to say, ‘I couldn’t have done this on my own, but you helped me.’ Thanksgiving removes the temptation to boast and strengthens the only basis on which we can relate to God: that of accepting our own unworthiness and God’s free grace in Jesus Christ.
The third is that thankfulness encourages a positive attitude.
It forces us to think about what is right with our lives rather than what is wrong. This is important in an age when many feel depressed. Thanking God is a proven way of piercing the gloomiest of clouds.
A fourth is that thankfulness develops hope for the future.
Looking backwards to the past with thanksgiving actually helps us to look towards the future with anticipation.
A fifth is that to practice thankfulness regularly ensures that gratitude will spill over into every area of our lives.
We cannot thank God for difficult colleagues, relatives, or neighbors for long before finding that we express a positive attitude towards them. Grumpiness and irritability do not grow well in a climate of gratitude. Those who regularly give thanks to God find they are ready to give to others. Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand.
Whether or not we celebrate Thanksgiving, we all need to be reminded to practice thanksgiving on a daily basis.
That ‘attitude of gratitude’ is not just a duty to be fulfilled but something that will bless us and others. It’s typical of God’s graciousness that the best gift we can give ourselves and others is to say thanks for what we have already received.
