Gratitude, a Thanksgiving Reflection

Irony for today? An ad for gratitude.

Presumption permeates our current culture. We all feel like we are entitled to iPhones, cable TV, anything else that black Friday marketers highlight. Just below the surface of this is the feeling that we deserve it. The inverse, then, is that if we don’t get these things, then we feel wronged or betrayed. We didn't get what belonged to us. I’ve actually felt sorry for people that pull out their early 2000’s flip phone; this probably propels this sentiment in a negative way. Life begins to look like it isn’t fair.

The Christian story cuts against this idea. Paul tells the Philippians that he considers all that he has as something to thrown away. Paul is warning the Philippians against relying on anything other than Christ for salvation. You'll never hear a theological argument for the soteriological value of consumerism on Sunday morning. But it seems that more than not we place our lives in the hands of these things. And when they don’t come through we are either disappointed or angry. We definitely don’t feel Christian joy.

The opposite of this is gratitude.

Twelve steppers say that if you want to be successful in recovery, then you have to have an “attitude of gratitude.” This might sound like some type of platitude, but it summarizes the heart  any twelve step recovery program. It indicates that all that we have comes from someone or something bigger than ourselves, and that all we have is in spite of our best efforts. Gratitude is that emotion that results from the realization that despite ourselves we have received something wonderful. Whenever I begin to feel an entitlement-induced-depression, I make a list of the top five things for which I’m thankful.

It is one thing to realize that there is something bigger than ourselves, it's another to actually insert ourselves in the wider world. Giving back to those in need, true need, provides some significant insight. It puts our own life in perspective. When you help someone who doesn't know from where they will receive their next meal, it puts the delayed release date of iPhone 5 in perspective. It reminds us that God’s concern isn’t for my own accumulation of stuff, but for those who are in need.

When we begin to develop this attitude within our lives we’ll see that all good gifts come from the Father above. Similarly, the things in which we once boasted really get in the way of the gifts that God wants to give to us. Life really isn’t that fair; neither is grace.

How do you show gratitude? Even though it might not change your life circumstances, how does it alter your perspective?