The Joy of a Thankful Heart

Do you remember Ed, my 92-year-old buddy I wrote about last week? Ed still does taxes professionally, carries a beeper and cell phone and puts 3,000 miles a month on his Ford Escort. He takes his developmentally disabled daughter, Barbie, on long drives every evening.

Ed shared how he and his deceased wife, Mary, taught their children the importance of saying “thank you”. If Ed’s told me once, he’s told me a thousand times, “Being nice doesn’t cost you a cent”. Ed also expressed his frustration over how seldom people express their gratitude nowadays. He’s observed; “People pass each other up like a freight train does a hobo…People don’t know how to say thank you anymore. They just grab it out of your hand and go on. I can’t stand that. I’ll say thank you a hundred times a day for the same thing if it’s something I’m thankful for.”

I’m reminded of a story about someone else who expressed his disappointment over the lack of gratitude. In route to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through a small village and encountered a group of ten men plagued with leprosy. When they saw Jesus they cried out for mercy and Jesus directed them, “Go show your self to the priests”. In route, all ten men were miraculously healed.

But how many men do you think returned to thank Jesus? One; one out of ten; “ Now one of them, when he saw he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.” Imagine Jesus’ disappointment as he asked the one man, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:11-19)

I’ve observed that joyful people are usually thankful people and thereby experience the joy of a thankful heart. They are touched by the smallest act of love and kindness. They realize that all of life is a gift. They have no sense of entitlement and they take nothing for granted.

I’ve also observed that there’s no such thing as a self-made man. Of course this is no new insight. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church in A.D. 56; “For who separates you from the others [as a faction leader]? [Who makes you superior and sets you apart from another, giving you the preeminence?] What have you that was not given to you? If then you received it [from someone], why do you boast as if you had not received it [but had gained it by your own efforts]? (Amplified Bible, I Corinthians 4:7)

In the light of these truths, the only legitimate response to success, to personal accomplishment, to life in general is gratitude. Do you see how pride and a demanding attitude of entitlement, are always illegitimate responses? I don’t know about you, but when I meet Jesus face-to-face I’m not going to demand what I deserve because I’m afraid I might get it. I’m begging for mercy.

Getting back to Jesus’ question, “…where are the other nine?” I don’t know where they went, but I do know that when they’re found, I hope, by the grace of God, that I’m not found with them.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)