Pastor's Letter | Goodie Bell

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Thanksgiving is around the corner. Has someone asked you yet, "What are you thankful for?” These days it's conventional wisdom to cultivate gratitude. All kinds of people, from social media influencers to health professionals, tout the benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. I agree. In this fast-paced world, it's a good practice to stop and take stock of our lives. This morning, I am thankful for beautiful leaves on the trees, an easy commute, and time in the car with my daughter.

It is good to be grateful for these and other things, but “gratitude in general” can be dangerous. “Gratitude in general” can be thinly veiled relief that my life is not like that other person’s. “Gratitude in general” can become a big “thank you” to me.

It's good to ponder, "What are you thankful for?" The more difficult question, for me, is "To whom should you say 'thank you'?" I am really good at sitting by myself and feeling grateful. I'm less good at saying "Thank you." But sitting around feeling grateful, without expressing that gratitude to someone, quickly turns into self-satisfaction.

This is nothing new. We have seen it in our study of 1 Corinthians. The Christians in Corinth know that they had a lot—not so much material wealth and health, but knowledge of God, salvation, and spiritual gifts.  However, the mere acknowledgement of these good things did not lead the Corinthians to gratitude; it led to arrogance and boasting.  

Consider Paul’s pastoral corrective. He writes to the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Cor. 4:7). The Corinthians should regard the good things in their lives as things that they have received. They have received them from God in Christ. All that they have is a gift. The alternative to boasting is to say “thank you” to the giver—starting with God.

For Christians, our gratitude has a recipient. Our gratitude journal is written to someone.  The traditional language for this is prayers of praise and thanksgiving. For many of us, most of the time, these prayers don’t come easy: We are prompted to pray in our moment of need, when there’s no time for niceties. We are more comfortable thinking critically and speaking ironically. It is strange to hear ourselves just say “thank you” ­— without all the qualifications of our anxieties and doubts.    

This month, let’s practice. Let’s find our voice for thanks and praise.  You might use the first verses of Psalm 103 to prompt you: Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits…Maybe you will come to find that feeling grateful begins to move you to say “ thanks” to the Lord—and to others. The connection is not always as obvious as it seems.  

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Perhaps this is because we know that with gifts and gratitude comes accountability. Being #blessed means becoming like Jesus, who offered every gift—even life and death itself—back to his heavenly Father. Thanks be to God!  

In Him,
Goodie