Go Ahead. Give Thanks. It Won’t Hurt.

“Thank you” may not be the most profound thing you will hear or speak today. The person you direct those words to–let’s be honest–will not find them the most rewarding of utterances they receive throughout the day. In our society, they’re rather routine.

However, and this is what keeps us coming back to reminding ourselves to give thanks, the absence of those two words creates a deafening silence that may wound good people who have served well.

Thanksgiving can be trite or it can be a treasure. How we give it, the way we speak it, the smile on our countenance, and the sincerity in our voice, these infuse it with authenticity or diminish its worth.

Though I have the gift of eloquence and can move great audiences with the force of my words and have not thanks, I am become a self-righteous prig and an insufferable elitist.

Though I give the gift of great sacrifice and cause institutions to erect buildings in my honor and have not thanks for what others gave to me, I am become a royal pain and a Pharisee of the first order.

Thanks becometh the wearer, charms the receiver, softens the character, and eases the burdens of life. A grateful spirit is better adornment than jewels, a finer treasure than gold, and a greater attainment than all honors.

Thanks is not just words, but is imperfect until put into words. Thanks is more than an attitude, yet it is the best attitude.

Thanks is not godlike, for the God of the universe is beholden to no one and owes gratitude to none. And yet, we become most like our Heavenly Father when we acknowledge our debt to others and confess their contributions to our lives.

Thanks frees others up to do more, encourages them to do better, liberates our spirits to give more, and inspires everyone to his highest ideals.

Thanksgiving builds bridges between the estranged, maintains highways between friends, and erects barriers against pride.

So, go ahead. Give thanks today. It can’t hurt, and it might make a lasting difference in someone’s day.


.

6 thoughts on “Go Ahead. Give Thanks. It Won’t Hurt.

  1. Thanks Joe for being a friend.

    May all of your family be blessed with a wonderful day.

    Donald Cole

  2. There is no way to put into words what your ministry has meant to us. So we will be brief and tell you thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

    Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

    Marian and Jack Smith

  3. Joe, this is very cool, very well written. Thank you that even tho you’re no longer in CLT, you’re not really gone from me.

    Rach.

  4. THANKSGIVING CALLS FOR THANKSLIVING.

    May you and your family have a blessed holiday.

  5. Dear Joe,

    Thank you for your faithful ministry to the churches and pastors of New Orleans. In addition to your service locally, you are known and loved far and wide because the Lord continues to use your blog, cartoons and ministry of encouragement around the world.

    I wish you a joyous and safe holiday season.

    James Chitwood

Comments are closed.