"THE SPIRIT OF GRATEFULNESS"
_ Do you remember a
book titled No Man is an Island? It was written by Thomas Merton in 1955.
It’s a compilation of sixteen essays he wrote on a variety of topics that
pertain to a spiritual life and what he believed needs to be done if you are to
discover happiness. Included in his
book are these words on the topic of gratefulness.
“Gratitude is more than a mental exercise, more than a formula of words. We cannot be satisfied to make a mental note of things which God has done for us and then perfunctorily thank Him for favors received. [Found on www.myhearttoyours.net]. To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” [Found on www.goodreads.com]
On the other hand Thomas Merton also said this in No Man is an Island. “The ungrateful unwittingly let others know that they don’t know God.” The great German Christian Dietrich Bonheoffer said it like this, “Life becomes rich through gratitude.” [Found on www.sfswedenborgian.org]. And William Shakespeare put it this way. "O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete (abundantly supplied) with thankfulness." [Found on www.creativeyouthideas.com]. And the Roman Philosopher Seneca once wrote “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” [By Lucius Annaeus Seneca - Found on www.raisingfigureskaters.com].
As you can see from these quotes and in light of the Thanksgiving holiday which we will celebrate this Thursday, I’d like to say something about a wonderful yet difficult subject.
My goal today is to encourage you to make gratitude more than a mere mental exercise. I hope I can inspire you to cultivate a true spirit of gratefulness in your heart and to go one step further in expressing your gratitude. Please open your Bible with me to Psalm 92.
Now in order say what I need to say about this subject I’ve got to clear up two important matters. First, a definition or two. Here’s how here’s Webster’s Dictionary defines gratefulness.
(1) “A feeling or expressing gratitude, being thankful or appreciative…”
(2) “Gratitude is a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors or benefits received.”
(3) “A warm appreciative response to kindness.”
And I found this definition in my dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary or the English Language. “Thanksgiving” = “An expression of gratitude, especially to God.”
The second thing I’d like to say at the outset is this. “The more self-centered we are, the more ungrateful we tend to be.” “Self-indulgence is the enemy of gratitude … The early desert fathers believed that a person’s appetites are linked: full stomachs and jaded palates take the edge from our hunger and thirst for righteousness. They spoil the appetite for God. And they may therefore crowd out gratitude” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., in The Reformed Journal (Nov. 1988), quoted in Christianity Today vol. 33, no 2). This comes from one the great spiritual men of the twentieth century. His name is Auden W. Tozer. Go on To Page two
“Gratitude is more than a mental exercise, more than a formula of words. We cannot be satisfied to make a mental note of things which God has done for us and then perfunctorily thank Him for favors received. [Found on www.myhearttoyours.net]. To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” [Found on www.goodreads.com]
On the other hand Thomas Merton also said this in No Man is an Island. “The ungrateful unwittingly let others know that they don’t know God.” The great German Christian Dietrich Bonheoffer said it like this, “Life becomes rich through gratitude.” [Found on www.sfswedenborgian.org]. And William Shakespeare put it this way. "O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete (abundantly supplied) with thankfulness." [Found on www.creativeyouthideas.com]. And the Roman Philosopher Seneca once wrote “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” [By Lucius Annaeus Seneca - Found on www.raisingfigureskaters.com].
As you can see from these quotes and in light of the Thanksgiving holiday which we will celebrate this Thursday, I’d like to say something about a wonderful yet difficult subject.
My goal today is to encourage you to make gratitude more than a mere mental exercise. I hope I can inspire you to cultivate a true spirit of gratefulness in your heart and to go one step further in expressing your gratitude. Please open your Bible with me to Psalm 92.
Now in order say what I need to say about this subject I’ve got to clear up two important matters. First, a definition or two. Here’s how here’s Webster’s Dictionary defines gratefulness.
(1) “A feeling or expressing gratitude, being thankful or appreciative…”
(2) “Gratitude is a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors or benefits received.”
(3) “A warm appreciative response to kindness.”
And I found this definition in my dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary or the English Language. “Thanksgiving” = “An expression of gratitude, especially to God.”
The second thing I’d like to say at the outset is this. “The more self-centered we are, the more ungrateful we tend to be.” “Self-indulgence is the enemy of gratitude … The early desert fathers believed that a person’s appetites are linked: full stomachs and jaded palates take the edge from our hunger and thirst for righteousness. They spoil the appetite for God. And they may therefore crowd out gratitude” (Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., in The Reformed Journal (Nov. 1988), quoted in Christianity Today vol. 33, no 2). This comes from one the great spiritual men of the twentieth century. His name is Auden W. Tozer. Go on To Page two