SAY THANK YOU
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Philippians 4:4-9
Howard W. Roberts
November 18, 2007
When we just touch the surface of life, we easily conclude that we somehow deserve all the wonderful things that happen in our lives and certainly do not deserve the trouble and tragedy that may come. At times we even conclude that we nearly single-handedly are responsible for how well life is going for us.
I’m reminded of the story of the farmer working away in his field. It really was a beautiful field. A passer-by stopped and commented, “My, my what a beautiful field you and God have made together. To which the farmer quipped, “You should have seen it when God had it all to himself.”
Oprah Winfrey tells about a conversation she had with Maya Angelou several years ago. Here is Oprah’s story.
I was sitting in my bathroom with the door closed and the toilet lid down, boohooing on the phone so uncontrollably that I was incoherent.
“Stop it! Stop it right now and say thank you!” Maya chided.
“But you don’t understand,” I sobbed. To this day, I can’t remember what it was that had me so far gone, which only proves the point, Maya was trying to make.
“I do understand,” she told me. “I want to hear you say it now. Out loud.
“Thank you.” Tentatively, I repeated it: “Thank you—but what was I saying thank you for?”
“You’re saying thank you,” Maya said, “because your faith is so strong that you don’t doubt that whatever the problem you’ll get through it. You’re saying thank you because you know that even in the eye of the storm, God has put a rainbow in the clouds. You’re saying thank because you know there’s no problem created that can compare to the Creator of all things. Say thank you.”
Oprah said that these words from her friend and mentor, Maya Angelou, turned her life around. She also commented that she has kept a gratitude journal since she was fifteen and notes that 99 percent of what brought me real joy had nothing to do with money. It’s not easy to be grateful all of the time. But it’s when you feel least thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. . . . When you learn to say thank you, you see the world anew. And as Meister Eckhart stated: ‘If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” (Oprah Winfrey, What I Know For Sure, p.18-19.)
On the lighter side, when things don’t go well we may even be able to find some things for which to be thankful. Craig Boldman and Pete Matthews have written a book, Every Excuse in the Book: 714 Ways to Say “It’s Not My Fault. They say that if you burn the Thanksgiving turkey, there are several reasons to be thankful:
- Salmonella won’t be a concern.
- No one will overeat.
- Your cheese-broccoli-lima-bean casserole will gain newly found appreciation.
- The smoke alarm was due for a test.
- You’ll get to the desserts quicker.
- You won’t have to face days of turkey sandwiches.
Starting now I urge each of us to follow Mayou Angelou’s advice and say, “Thank you.” This is also the theme and message of much of the Bible. There are passages in the Bible, especially in the book of Deuteronomy that recount a pattern of giving gifts and thanks that developed early in the faith community of Israel and became a vital part of their ongoing life. After they had entered the Promised Land, settled and begun to raise crops they were to take the very first things they harvested to worship with them. There they were to give these first fruits as a gift and to say thank you to God for all that God had provided for them. Remember that before they got to this point, they had been slaves in Egypt, had spent an entire generation wandering in the wilderness as nomads before they settled down. And the instruction was to say thank you to God because even in the eye of the storm, God put a rainbow in the clouds. They were to say thank you because there was no problem they faced that could compare to the God they worshiped who has guided them from bondage to freedom.
We continue the approach of the Israelites centuries later. Our labor is different from the labor of the Israelites. The products of our labor are different than the crops and animals that the Israelites raised and harvested. Their currency was produce. Our currency is cash. They brought their first harvested items to worship and gave them as offerings. It was their way of saying thank you. It was their way of claiming to be part of the large story of God’s deliverance and gracious purposes with people. It was a way for members of the community to confess their faith before God and each other. We continue that approach by bringing our offerings every Sunday as we gather to worship. Life and all of its benefits come from God as a gift. Our bringing an offering is an act of response and gratitude. It is a way for us to say thank you.
Jim Carey’s acting career really got underway when he starred as Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. He followed that by being The Riddler, a lying lawyer, Andy Kaufman and then he was The Grinch. After that he was known as Bruce Almighty.
The film Bruce Almighty shows what happens when an ambitious TV reporter is temporarily given God’s powers.
There is a line in the movie that is significant — when Bruce tells God “I just gave everyone what they wanted.” And God says, “Since when does anyone have a clue about what they want?” We think we want the house, the car, this certain relationship. We have no idea what we really want. What we really need is freedom, to be loved, and to love. It is often quite a journey getting us to that point. (David Bruce, interview with Tom Shadyac, the director of Bruce Almighty, May 2003, Hollywood Jesus Web Site, Hollywoodjesus.com. Reprinted with permission of David Bruce.)
Hilarity permeates the film, but in the end the movie delivers a serious message. It’s all about “not seeing your blessings,” Jim Carrey said when interviewed for USA Today. It’s a problem that is “a common thing for a lot of people.”
Although Jim Carrey is no longer almighty, he still knows the power of counting his blessings. In fact, he reports that he is in the habit of making lists of things that he’s grateful for. In words you don’t expect from an A-list Hollywood actor, he says, “I would challenge anybody in their darkest moment to write what they’re grateful for, even stupid little things like the green grass that made them feel good, the friendly conversation they had with somebody on an elevator. You start to realize how rich you are.”
Count your blessings. Remember to say thank you. Realize how rich you are. Take the time, especially at Thanksgiving, to say thank you for everything you have been given. Jim Carrey does it. We too can benefit from saying, “Thank you.”
In an interview with Larry King Dennis Prager said, “The most important component of happiness, by far — there isn’t a close second — is gratitude.” Prager added, “Nothing instills gratitude as much as religion and prayer is a major vehicle to gratitude. Not request prayer, but grateful prayer: Thank you, God.” Prager concludes, “My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, the day of gratitude to God.”
Gratitude and thanksgiving move us beyond the standard, the acceptable, the ordinary. A gracious attitude and lifestyle make one extraordinary, unusual, and blessed.
New research is showing that people who count their blessings may find themselves sleeping better, exercising more and caring more about others. People who remind themselves of the things they are grateful for — people who count their blessings one by one, consciously, every day — show significant improvements in mental health, and even in some aspects of physical health. And these results appear to be true whether you are a healthy college student or an older person with an incurable disease, according to research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Here’s how the study was performed: College students were asked to fill out a weekly report of five things for which they were grateful. They listed such things as “the generosity of friends” and “their favorit rock band.” Another group, made up of adults with incurable diseases such as polio, were asked to write down a list of things that made them thankful.
Comparable groups were asked to count their hassles, instead of their blessings. They listed aggravations such as “hard to find parking” and “finances depleting quickly.” Instead of focusing on how rich they were, members of these groups focused on their poverty.
The results were predictable. In the end, the grateful groups felt better about their lives and more optimistic about their prospects. The thankful college students exercised more, and the chronically ill adults who focused on blessings reported sleeping longer and waking up refreshed. The members of the grateful groups were also nicer to neighbors and more willing to help people with personal problems, leading the researchers to conclude that gratitude can serve as a “moral motivator.”
Being thankful is good for your physical, mental and moral health. It doesn’t seem to matter what you are grateful for, as long as you count your blessings. You can be appreciative of green grass, or generous friends, or loving family members, or pleasant elevator conversations. You can even thank God for your favorite band.
In this time of Thanksgiving, our challenge is to count our blessings — large and small, significant and stupid — and to be grateful to the One who is the source of every good and gracious gift. We don’t deserve a thing, whether it’s green grass or mischievous kids or caring co-workers or healthy hearts, so our attitude toward each day should be absolutely thick with thanksgiving.
If we can remember to be grateful, we’ll find ourselves even healthier in body, mind and spirit. We’ll feel better about our lives, more optimistic about our prospects and more helpful toward people around us. Paul said seek what you need from God, always with a thankful heart. The instructions from Deuteronomy have the same philosophy. Come to worship bringing gifts as a tangible reminder of all that we have received and as a tangible way to say thank you.
Notes
David Brown, “Counting blessings is healthful.” The Washington Post, March 10, 2003, A11.
Claudia Puig, “Spiritual Carrey still mighty funny.” USA Today, May 21, 2003, 1D.