by Mike Randall, Editors of the Baptist Bible Tribune (1995-2002)
The words thanks and thanksgiving appear 98 times in the Bible. Related words such as bless, praise, or glorify multiply the number into the hundreds. Over and over again, the believer is commanded to be thankful and to give thanks to God.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Ephesians 5:20 says, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
These commandments, as all of God’s instruction to us, are for our benefit. Thanksgiving is a tremendous virtue that influences other actions with its greatest effect on the attitude. Cicero, the Roman orator, once said, “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.”1
Thankfulness was so important that Christ modeled it in His earthly ministry as an example to his disciples. He gave thanks before the feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 8:6). He thanked the Heavenly Father for answering His prayers (John 11:41). He gave thanks when He instituted the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19). His practice of thanksgiving must have been distinctive because it was the means by which the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Him after His resurrection (Luke 24:30-31).
Thoughtful, heartfelt thanksgiving as a regular practice influences a right attitude in at least five areas.
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD GOD
First of all, when we are thankful, we recognize God at work in our lives. Our thoughts are projected toward the Lord, the object of our gratitude. Psalm 107:1 says, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
The words of the popular gospel song by Johnson Oatman Jr., suggest this: “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”2 Thanksgiving makes us aware that God is at work in our midst.
Second, thoughtful and heartfelt thanksgiving promotes faith toward God, because it recounts all the good that God has done for us. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Psalm 103:2 suggests that thanksgiving helps the believer to “forget not all his benefits.” This remembrance of what God has done builds confidence in the believer to continue to trust God. It encourages his faith.
Third, as we express our thanksgiving, we also generate genuine feelings of affection and love toward our Heavenly Benefactor. First John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” We learn to love God through receiving His love. His love is expressed in Christ’s dying on the cross for us and our sins. It is also partly revealed through His goodness and blessing on our lives. As we recount these things, our love for Him is established and strengthened.
Fourth, heartfelt thanksgiving prepares our attitude for worship. Jonathan Edwards said, “Among the many acts of gratitude we owe to God, it may be accounted one to study and contemplate the perfections and beauties of His work of creation. Every new discovery must necessarily raise in us a fresh sense of the greatness, wisdom and power of God.”3 Thus, through thanksgiving we obtain a right attitude toward God, one of awareness, faith, love, and worship.
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD SELF
The practice of heartfelt thanksgiving also affects our attitude toward self. To recite all the blessings God has given us and to express our thanks to Him, creates a dual attitude of humility and dependence. First Corinthians 4:7 says, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” Recognizing that we didn’t gain what we have on our own puts down our pride. Henry Ward Beecher once said, “Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soul out of which thanks naturally grows. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.”4
Thanksgiving helps us have a humble attitude. It also helps us see how dependent we are. Because He is the vine and we are the branches, we are dependent on God. John 15:5 says, “… without me ye can do nothing.” Thanksgiving reinforces these helpful attitudes.
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD OTHERS
Thanksgiving not only focuses on God as our benefactor, it also recognizes the good others have done for us. In nearly every epistle of Paul, he expresses thanksgiving for people and the things they have done for him and the Lord (Philippians 1:3). To express our thanks to those who have contributed to our lives is to have an attitude of respect, appreciation, and love for them.
A child had been in a New York hospital under the care of one nurse for a long time. When he found out he was soon to go home cured, he put his arm around the neck of his nurse and said softly, “My mamma will never hear the last of you.”5 Gratitude helps build relationships because it produces a positive attitude between people. It is difficult to hurt, criticize, or argue with people after we thank them for some kindness or good deed done for us. Thanksgiving certainly helps us have a right attitude toward others.
Another way thanksgiving sets right our attitude toward others is to help us remember God is in control and works even the evil of others to our good. Once Matthew Henry, the famous scholar and commentary writer, was confronted by thieves and robbed. In his diary he wrote, “Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before; second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because, although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”6
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD LIFE
It is easy to be discouraged and defeated as negative things occur in our lives. Frustrations, pressures, and stress can sour one’s attitude and outlook. Thankfulness changes all that. When we express thanks to God and to those who have contributed to our lives, we have to examine positive things. That practice itself lifts our attitude and makes us positive. It helps us look away from the negative and refocus on the positive, upon God and His work in our lives. Thus, thanksgiving produces a right attitude toward life.
Years ago, a wagon train of emigrants made its way along the Oregon Trail. Water and grass had been scarce for several days. Wagon breakdowns caused many delays. It was stifling hot, and a general feeling of fretfulness had overcome the optimism and cheer with which the group began. At the next night’s stop, a meeting was held to air complaints and grievances. When they all gathered around the campfire, one arose and said, “Before we do anything else, I think we should first thank God that we have come this far with no loss of life, with no serious trouble with the Indians, and that we have enough strength left to finish our journey.” This was done and then there was silence. No one voiced a single complaint. Looked at in the light of their blessings, every problem faded into insignificance.7
A RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARD THE FUTURE
The future is an unknown, fraught with potentials for danger, harm, and defeat. Thanksgiving changes all that by directing our attention to the positive things that have happened and to God, our Savior, our Protector, and Provider.
This effect of thanksgiving is illustrated by Paul’s experience as a prisoner on his way to Rome. After surviving shipwreck, Paul arrived in Italy and traveled toward his destination. Acts 28:15 says, “And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.” He was able to face the future because in thanking God, he recounted how he was delivered from danger and death. Now God had provided new companions and it all resulted in renewed faith and courage to face the future.
Thanksgiving helps us have a right attitude toward God, self, others, life, and the future. It is the virtue that works on our attitude and makes it right.
HOW TO DEVELOP THANKFULNESS
The word “thankfulness” is “thinkfulness” in the old Anglo-Saxon language.8 According to one of the African languages, to be thankful means to sit down before God. Both of these ideas suggest how we might develop thanksgiving as a practice. We must be quiet before God and think. Think of all He has done for us in saving our souls and providing for all our needs. Think of all our privileges, opportunities, and responsibilities. In the words of Psalm 46:10, we need to “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” We must pause daily, perhaps at the start of the day and surely at its close, and sit before God and thank Him. When we deliberately take time to think about God, His redemption in Jesus Christ, all His benefits, and all our blessings, there can be only one result … thanksgiving.
Notes:
1 Mead, Frank S., editor, The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations, (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1965), p. 439.
2 Peterson, John W., editor, Great Hymns of the Faith, (Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 1973), p. 370.
3 DeMoss, Arthur and Nancy, editors, The Family Album, (Valley Forge, PA: The Family Album, 1975), p. 103.
4 The Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations, p. 439.
5 Benedict’s Scrapbook, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 228.
6 Knight, Walter B., Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1956), p. 682.
7 Ibid., pp. 681-682.
8 Oxford English Dictionary, (Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1961), Volume XI, p. 246.
This article first appeared in the Baptist Bible Tribune, November 15, 1998, as part of “The Christian Virtues” series.