I confess! I’m a sucker for those stories that show that people can be grateful, and show that by their actions. It’s easy for an old softy like me to get all teary-eyed watching them. You know – that e-mail that has gone around so many times about the arrival of a group of soldiers in an airport. It starts spontaneously, and the rest of the crowd waiting for another flight join in, and a tremendous round of applause is raised for those soldiers coming home from Iraq or Afghanistan is the result. That’s contagious, and it ought to be!
Or, it could be one of those stories of someone initiating a nice gesture – like buying a soldier’s lunch or in some way expressing gratitude for the sacrifices they have made on our behalf. The thanks given by one can motivate others to join in on something that is good – very good! It often takes just one person’s actions to get it going. Yes, gratitude can be contagious.
Thank You!
Let us think about this “gratitude,” this ability to recognize and give thanks for actions taken by others that have an effect on us. It is almost second nature to say “thank you” upon receiving a compliment of some kind. Children must be taught the gift of gratitude, and when we do not, we do them a disfavor. Any person who is not capable of gratitude will be crippled as a part of the human race. Note these passages of scripture from the psalmist: [all emphases mine, CBG]
“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name,” Psalm 100:4.
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful,” Colossians 3:15.
Does it seem strange that God must make gratitude a command? Does it take a great effort for us to be thankful to God for His wonderful deeds on our behalf? If it does, would it not be good for us to consider how we would feel, having spent time and effort on a favor for another person without receiving any thanks from that person. Do we think others are just supposed to do good deeds for us, so we do not need to be grateful? We know better than that. Even a child knows better than that.
When I see gratitude in others it motivates me to be more thankful for others. I can see the flag of our nation and be reminded that others paid a high price for our freedom. It is not necessary for me to be told – “be thankful for what others have done” – it is almost automatic for me to feel and to reveal my gratitude. A tear shed upon the playing of our national anthem considering all that it stands for is not a sign of weakness, but of gratitude – and a good memory.
In Romans 1:21, some Christians in Rome were rebuked for their failure to give thanks:
“… when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” Romans 1:21. They were vain.
Paul wrote Christians in Thessalonica that he was thankful for them, “because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God,” 1 Thessalonians 2:13. Here Paul is grateful for their reception of a favor he had done for them. They were interested and had open minds, and Paul was thankful for that. This demand for gratitude is not limited, and is a very important quality for every person to have. Note the following scriptures on this subject:
“O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever,” 1 Chronicles 16:34.
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men,” 1 Timothy 2:1.
Luke records an event in which Jesus healed ten men afflicted with leprosy. One came back giving thanks, but the rest did not. The words of Christ rest in our hearts, saying
“..where are the nine,” Luke 17:17. Remember,
“Thanks” can be contagious.
