"Give thanks with a grateful
heart," the words of a song. "In everything give thanks,"
the words of Paul the first century missionary.
Why do we need to be told or reminded
to "give thanks"? Shouldn't that go without saying? We are
usually grateful, right?
Experience shows gratitude is the
exception, not the rule for human behavior. Ingratitude is normal for
humans. We are not born thanksgivers. We are born whiners. Isn't that
something? For 9 months the typical baby was "trapped" in
mama's womb, with little wiggle room to turn and do flips, though
s/he managed to pull off some stunts anyway. At last comes the moment
of birth, and you would think the little gal or guy would come out
showing expressions of relief, joining in the celebration that fills
the hearts of Mom and Dad, gynecologist, and delivery room workers on
this side of the womb. But nooo! That child comes out of that womb
crying, whining, with a fist and fits of anger, not smiling and
showing fingers of peace, love and high five.
We were born whining. Gratitude is
learned behavior. People are not wired to respond with thanksgiving
when good things happen, and even less likely to give thanks when
things go bad. That's why words like "In everything give thanks"
sound foreign to our ears, and why we need to hear and remember
those words.
I'd Rather Whine: We are more likely
to complain and criticize than to compliment and give thanks. Not
long after Moses liberated the Israelites from centuries of slavery
in Egypt, they immediately started to complain against Moses as soon
as they faced the first obstacle after slavery. They told Moses
things like, "You should have left us alone to serve the
Egyptians. At least we had cucumbers to eat. We don't like this
wilderness, this dry place. If this is what freedom looks like,
slavery was surely better. Chains, whips, bruises, blows, with a meal
-- that's better than freedom with little to eat. Take us back to
Egypt!"
Strangely, there is nowhere in the Holy
Scriptures where the Israelites told Moses "Thank you". Not
one time. Not once did they ever celebrate a Pastor's Anniversary or
a Pastor's Appreciation for Pastor Moses. They gave the man no
plaque, no award, no thank-you card. Yet they never passed up an
opportunity to get on him for every little thing that went wrong.
We look at that and pity the ungrateful
Israelites, but how often do we treat our leaders in the exact same
way? Whether as family members, students, workers, citizens or church
members, we tend to verbally attack our leaders -- parents, teachers,
employers, supervisors, mayors, city commissioners, governors,
legislators, and president -- rather than appreciate and thank them
for the many things they do right most of the time.
The Crave for More: We are more
likely to ask for more than to be grateful for what we already have,
even if it's not much. Many of us would do anything to have been
alive when Jesus Christ walked the earth. We'll give even more to
have been one of the few who actually talked with Jesus, heard him
teach, traveled with him, ate with him. Yet James and John, two
brothers, had that rare privilege of being 2 of the 12 close
disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. Despite all they saw of and heard
from Jesus, the two brothers were not thankful. Instead, they
connived with their mother, who was a relative of Jesus, to talk to
the Master to give James and John the two top positions in his
organization.
Nothing strange there, James and John.
Just being human, you guys. Like us. The more we have, the more we
want, the less we say thanks for what's already ours.
Ten Percent Thankful: A story
in the life of Jesus Christ reveals that as many as 90 percent of
people are ungrateful. And the 10 percent who are grateful may give
thanks only 1 time out of 10. As the story goes, Jesus met 10 men
with leprosy, and he healed all 10 of them, instructing them to go
show themselves to the priest for a religious ceremony in which the
priest would give the men a clean bill of health. That meant the
disease-free men could now live anywhere among normal, healthy people
again. In those days, people with leprosy had to live outside of
town, keep their distance from regular people, and shout "unclean,
unclean" every time they saw someone approaching. Worse than
having cancer or AIDS. Living with leprosy was a life of daily shame
as an outcast.
It was from such a dismal life that
Jesus healed and delivered the 10 lepers. So how did the men respond
to such a massive loving act by Jesus? Only one of them, a non-Jew, a
Samaritan, a foreigner returned to tell Jesus, "Thank you for
healing me." Jesus sounded shocked by the gross ingratitude of
the other 9 formerly leprous men.
Fast forward to the 21st century...
Each year, America sets one day of one month aside for citizens to
focus on thanksgiving. Sadly, some Americans will continue to
complain. Others will simply demand that they be given more. Some
will be sad because they couldn't afford a thanksgiving turkey,
or because no one gave them a thanksgiving basket. Still, others will
receive their blessing and walk away, and not say "Thank you"
in any heart-felt way.
Don't let that be you. Be among the
grateful 1 in 10. And give thanks not just 10 percent of the time,
but at least 90 percent of the time to try to make up for all the 90
percent of ungrateful people that live off this planet.
