Why It's Good to Be Grateful

As a parent of four children who at this moment are still young and growing, I’m waging four separate wars that have involved many, many sorties, skirmishes, and outright battles to establish one simple habit: the habit of saying “please” and “thank you.” It’s not helped by the fact that even I struggle sometimes to say these words as I should! These words are often described with the adjective “magic,” and yet in spite of their almost universally acknowledged power, they do not come naturally to anyone.

Why are “please” and “thank you” so powerful? “Please” acknowledges that someone else has something desirable that belongs to them and not to you. That something might be a tangible or intangible thing (like time or effort), but, at the end of the day, the will of that someone must change to come into agreement with your will in order for you to receive that thing. “Please” honors that it is grace, not true necessity, that would effect this change. Once grace has been extended, on the other side of that transaction, “thank you” acknowledges that someone has acted, often with sacrifice, for your benefit rather than his or hers.

When it comes to our relationship with God, “please” comes pretty naturally to us as believers. Though sometimes we can be guilty of not asking for certain things like we should (e.g. James 4:2-3), we typically remember that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” and find ourselves almost habitually asking for something from God (James 1:17). If we’re not careful, it can be an entirely different story when it comes to saying those other words: “thank you.”

On one occasion, Jesus met “ten men who were lepers” (Luke 17:12). These men might not have been believers in the strictest sense (e.g., Acts 5:14), but they certainly believed in the power and authority of Jesus. They had no problem with the “please” part of the equation, as they said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Luke 17:13). Even if they did not say “please,” the term “Master” showed Jesus respect,” and “mercy” put the ball squarely in Jesus court. Jesus tested their faith even as He demonstrated His authority; his command to, “Go, show yourselves to the priests” is what they would of done had He already healed them of their leprosy. To their credit, they obeyed, “And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed” (Luke 17:14).

The right thing for the entire group to do at that moment would have been to return with those final two “magic” words, “Thank you,” acknowledging Jesus’ precious gift. However, it seems that nine of them were so excited to go to the priest and get back to their normal lives that they forgot about Jesus altogether. Only “one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan” (Luke 17:15-16). That only one of them returned is an indictment on the group; that this only one “was a Samaritan” is an indictment on all who are believers in the strictest sense everywhere. Jesus said of the Samaritans elsewhere, “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). This particular Samaritan may not have known what He was worshipping, but at least He knew how to be grateful.

Why was Jesus looking for gratitude, and why is it more than just a common courtesy? According to Paul, before the vast majority of the Gentile world rejected God in favor of sin, there was a time when they “knew God.” However, during this time, “they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” (Romans 1:21). Do you see how those two things – glorifying God and gratitude – are joined together by Paul? Did you see how they were also tied together in Luke’s account of the healing of the lepers? The Samaritan “glorified God” and then “fell down… giving Him thanks” (Luke 17:15-16). Jesus, commenting on this said, “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:18). Our view of God and His glory is tied to whether or not we have gratitude towards Him.

On top of this, there’s something else incredibly powerful revealed by Luke’s account. Of the ten men who were healed that day, only one heard Jesus say, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19). It stands to reason that though the other nine were indeed healed of their leprosy, their faith (or perhaps lack of it) did not make them well.

Leprosy is a powerful illustration of the corrupting, ruining influence of sin and in fact is frequently used by God for just that purpose. For those of us who have been healed of our sin by the blood of Jesus, we absolutely must live in gratitude. Train yourself to consistently and frequently give thanks to God. As Paul said elsewhere, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Ingratitude is often a big first step away from God and His glory. This means that gratitude is not just for God’s glory (though you cannot glorify God without it!); it is also for your good.

-Patrick Swayne  
patrick@tftw.org