It’s Not a Game!

It’s not just a holiday, either!  Gratitude should be a way of life.

Tim Gunnells recently reflected on the character trait of gratitude:

The most prominent literary example of this trait is evidenced in the character Pollyanna, from the book by the same name, by Eleanor Porter.  Pollyanna is a young orphaned girl who is sent to live with her wealthy, stern Aunt Polly.  Aunt Polly stresses about everything, even though she is abundantly blessed with material possessions, prestige, and power.  Pollyanna, who has been raised in poverty and now, finds herself void of her parents, stresses about nothing.  You see, she has learned to play “the glad game.”  She can find the silver lining in any dark cloud.  Her attitude spreads slowly, but then picks up speed in a town full of discouraged and downcast adults.  In time, her grateful outlook even turns the sour Aunt Polly into a more thankful and optimistic person.

I would think that Pollyanna’s personality was only a myth, were it not for my experiences and my understanding of the spiritual principle of giving “thanks”.  You see, the one who wrote the phrase “in everything give thanks” was the Apostle Paul.  A man who both the Bible and other historical documents tell us was beaten, imprisoned, shipwrecked, stoned with stones, and ultimately martyred for his faith.  He wrote these very words while in a prison cell.  Still, he found plenty of reasons to be thankful.

I have known many people who have suffered the loss of jobs, houses, limbs, eyesight, hearing, family members, relationships, and even their reputation who have found something for which to be thankful.  I have known scores of people who have faced their own impending death from terminal diseases with a humbling attitude of gratitude for the blessings they had received.  In everything (every circumstance) they gave thanks.

I suggest that you try this brief exercise. Take out a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil.  Sit down and list your blessings equal to the years you have been alive.  You can do it!  When you finish, share the list with someone else.  Then, bow your head and thank God for the gifts you have been given.

May I help you get started on your list of blessings?

Number 1 on our list should be the greatest Gift ever given: the Gift of God’s Son.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

The blessing for which we should be MOST thankful is the GIFT of God’s Son, who died on the cross that we may have salvation from sin and receive the gift of eternal life.  Jesus saves us from the greatest peril and promises to give us the greatest reward!

God will save those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  We should be especially thankful for Jesus.  “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Won’t YOU accept the greatest Gift on His terms and live out the rest of your days in trusting obedience motivated by loving gratitude?

-- David A. Sargent

* Timothy Gunnells, “In Everything Give Thanks,” from his blog: Desert Spiritual in StarttoFinish.org, 11/23/15

David A. Sargent, Minister