Showing Gratitude for our Blessings
Luke 17: 15-16 says “And one of them, when he saw that he
was healed, turned back, and with a loud
voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet,
giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”
When thinking about this story I thought, is there any
reason why the other 9 did not go Back to show gratitude? I like to give people the benefit of the
doubt and believe that there are always 2 sides to the story. There may be parts we are missing perhaps. I thought maybe they were skeptics? Maybe they did not know or believe they had
been healed? Or maybe they did give
thanks, but in private? I’m not
sure. Then I read earlier on in the
story Luke 17: 12-14; “And as he entered into a certain village, there met him
ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off; And they lifted up their
voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! And when he saw them,
he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass,
that, as they went, they were cleansed.”
This passage suggests that they were believers addressing
him as Master and asking mercy, or asking to be healed. So, these lepers were struggling, in pain,
rejected from society and they also knew Jesus, who he was and that he could
heal them. If they had little faith,
then why would they ask Jesus. So, they
all must have been believers! I would
imagine that if you had a horrible disease such as leprosy you would know
pretty, quickly if you were healed. This
analysis brought me to the conclusion that there was no reason for the 9 to not
give thanks and praise God. Jesus asked,
“weren’t there 10? For where are the 9?”
He knew they were cleansed.
Gratitude is an emotion, an action and a
characteristic. I like how Psychology
Today put it:
“Gratitude is the expression of appreciation for what one
has. It is a recognition of value
independent of monetary worth.
Spontaneously generated from within, it is an affirmation of goodness
and warmth. This social emotion
strengthens relationships, and its roots run deep in evolutionary
history-emanating from the survival value of helping others and being helped in
return.” This suggests gratitude is
necessary for survival……..interesting……….
Research has proven that gratitude is essential for
happiness, but modern times have regressed gratitude into a mere feeling
instead of retaining its historic value, a virtue that leads to action. Gratitude is an action of returning a favor
and is not just a sentiment, concluded the writings of Cicero, and Seneca. So, ingratitude is the failure to acknowledge
receiving a favor and refusing to return or repay the favor. Gratitude is called the queen of virtues and
ingratitude the King of vices. An
attitude of entitlement strips us of gratitude.
So when saying “NO THANKS!” to gratitude, we lose sight of protection,
favors, benefits, and blessings which renders us spiritually and morally
bankrupt. This is according to Greater
Good Magazine at Berkley.
Some biblical scholars have commented that in the story of
the lepers, Jesus saying “thy faith hath made thee whole” which is what we are used to hearing, or
reading, really meant “thy gratitude hath made thee whole”. I’ve never thought of it like that before,
but now that I have, I wonder just how big of a role gratitude plays in our
faith, healing, and making us whole. I
do believe that without gratitude we cannot be whole or made whole.
“God knows how we are made, and He designed us to thrive when
we are humble, moral, and thankful. When
we are arrogant, immoral, and ungrateful, we cannot have fellowship with Him,
nor can we experience all it means to be created in the image of God.” This
statement came from Gotquestions.org which is a sight that supplies biblical
answers. This is quite a statement to
think about, but provides one answer of how to be whole. James 4:6 states that “God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble”. 1 Peter
5:5 says “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility
toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
1Thessolonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances, for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”.
Colossians 3:15 “And let the Peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful”.
What would you do if you woke up and all you had was what
you thanked God for yesterday? Think
about that……….How do we have an attitude of gratitude on a daily basis? I recently heard a story on one of my
favorite talk radio shows. This comes
from Finding Happiness by Jonathan Robinson;
Many years ago, I’d heard about an Indian guru who had come up with a magical mantra that supposedly helped people develop an attitude of gratitude. I decided to visit him in India and see what this gratitude practice was. So after traveling 18 hours by plane, and then taking a taxi for another 2 hours, I finally reached his ashram. When at last I finally met the bearded guru, I told him I wanted to hear his amazing mantra for helping people practice daily gratitude. He said in his heavy Indian accent, “Ah yes, my technique is the most powerful mantra on earth.” He leaned in to whisper it into my ear. He said, “Whenever possible, repeat the following words in your head. The magical mantra I give you is the words, “Thank You.”
I was supremely disappointed. I
said, “That’s IT!?”
He said, “No, ‘that’s it’ is the mantra you have been
using, and that mantra makes you feel like you never have enough. My mantra is
the words ‘Thank You’—not ‘That’s It.’ ‘That’s it’ will take you nowhere, but
‘Thank You’ will quiet your mind and open your heart. So when you eat good
food, say thank you! When you see your child, or a sunset or your pet, repeat
the mantra ‘thank you’ and soon you will have an attitude of gratitude for each
blessing in your life.”
Well, I admit I was pretty
skeptical, but after all I had journeyed, I tried out what he said. I began
saying, “Thank you” for each person and each thing life brought to me. Rather
than just saying “thank you” from my head, I said it from my heart, with real
feeling. After awhile, I started to feel the full power of gratitude
overwhelming me! This ridiculously simple gratitude exercise actually lead to a
whole new level of me expressing gratitude—and feeling it on a daily basis.
In your head you might be thinking “That’s it?” You
practically wrote a research paper about gratitude and went through all of that
to get to this grand point about gratitude and all we get is “say thank
you”? Well “Thank you” is just the first
step to developing the action part of gratitude. First, we acknowledge and say the magic words
Thank you, then we will feel gratitude more often, leading to expressing it in more
than just words, which then leads to more action such as humbling ourselves,
seeing the needs of others and offering help, returning or repaying the favors
we receive, and then we can testify and teach as Psalms 105:1 says “ Oh give
thanks to the Lord: call upon his name; make known his deeds among the
peoples!” So, perhaps, gratitude is to
be shared? Maybe even the key to sharing
the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
A few years ago, Elder Uchdorf encouraged us in Conference to share the gospel, always testify and make it a part of regular conversation. This scared me, but I decided to take that advice seriously and began writing down many of my experiences and how God’s hand was in them, as well as expressing my gratitude and sharing the gospel. This has brought me joy, made me more aware of my blessings and given me opportunity to express and share my gratitude and testimony with many people. Technology is so amazing! I love that I can express and teach and testify and that someone across the world can find it! I believe we can bring others to Christ through expressing our gratitude to God!
So, in summary, the more we acknowledge and use the magic
words “Thank You”, the more we feel it.
The more we feel it, the more our words turn to actions. The more our words turn to action, the more we
make known His deeds among the peoples!
I know this to be true……and leave it with you……in the name
of Jesus Christ, Amen!
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