Tag: gratitude

In developing gratitude, we do well to remember how intertwined our lives are. None of us lives in isolation—none of us can. We may think we’re pretty self-sufficient, but we drive on roads that others built and paid for, and we do so in cars developed and built by others. We use electricity powered by coal that others mined, converted to power in power plants we neither built nor run, and delivered to us over wires that others set in place and maintain. Thousands of people stand behind that little light switch we so causally flip.

Think, too, of all the collective knowledge from which we benefit. It stretches back over the generations, one discovery building on another, one insight shared bringing about another, one discipline serving as a foundation for yet another.

It is overwhelming to consider the astonishing number of other human beings whose collective ingenuity and hard work contribute to our present blessings. And we, too, contribute to the blessings of countless others.

For all this we can praise God, from whom all blessings first come. But the vast majority of the blessings He gives us come through others. Bless God, the first giver, but also be grateful to those who are the means of His blessings.

As a small exercise in gratitude, consider the simple blessing of standing in a supermarket and holding a can of peas. How many thousands are behind that can and your ability to stand in that market and buy it for just a dollar or so.

As you look at the can itself, consider the following:

Miners went into the earth to bring out the aluminum and tin you hold in your hand. Not only is it difficult work, it also depends on countless others going back in time who “discovered” the raw materials of the earth and learned how to separate and use them. Numerous technologies, much machinery, many inventors, and millennia of experience support the miners who drew the raw materials forth for that can. Thank you!

Those materials were then transported by rail. Consider those who labored to build the rails and those who still maintain them. Think about the inventors of the locomotive, those who built the railroad cars, and the those who extracted and refined the diesel fuel for the locomotive, and all those helped to get the ore to the metal producing plants. Thank you!

Consider the inventors of the process, those who built and maintain the plants that refine and produce the aluminum and tin that then go to the canneries by truck or rail. Thank you!

At the cannery, people and machines labored to produce the can you hold. Technologies and processes stretching back generations contribute to the swift production of the cans, including the one you hold. Thank you!

The canning plant is supplied with electricity that required thousands of men to erect poles and towers, run wires, and maintain them. Those wires trace back to a power plant with all of its technologies. Think of all who labored to build and maintain that plant. Coal miners went deep in the earth to mine the coal that sits in rail cars outside the power plant that supplies the power to the cannery that produced the can you hold. Thank you!

Yes, thousands contributed intellectual effort, physical labor, and money to make possible and to bring to you the can you now hold. Thank you!

Now consider the peas in that can:

The peas in the can are surely a gift of God’s nature, but are also the result of God’s gift of human genius. The bountiful crops of the modern era, a small portion of which you now hold in your hand, showcase human ingenuity in horticulture and agriculture. Careful genetic selection has made peas larger, tastier, and more disease- and insect-resistant. Agricultural developments have also led to crop yields that were unimaginable just decades ago. Fertilizers, insecticides, irrigation, crop rotation, farm equipment, and all the subspecialties and industries that developed and support them, have assisted in bringing to harvest the peas in that can you hold in your hand. Thank you!

What about the thousands who did research and development in the fields of horticulture and agriculture? We must also thank the farmers and agricultural workers, most of whom rise early every day and work in all sorts of inclement weather. They assume risks for failed crops and bad weather. They often find that their is a very fine line between success and failure, and their livelihood depends on staying on the right side of that line. Sadly, many farm hands and harvesters earn poor wages for their hard work. Yes, farmers and farm hands work hard. Thank you!

The peas also needed transportation, to the canneries and other processing areas. Once again, thank the builders of the roads and those who design, build, and maintain the trucks. Thank the truck drivers who often spend long, lonely hours on the road. Yes, thousands upon thousands, going back generations, have had a hand in the product you hold in your hand. Thank you!

Finally, consider the supply chain that brought this product to your local store:

Every store has a staff who order, stock, and monitor supplies so that necessary products are not out of stock. Scanners network with computers and point-of-sale terminals to monitor and order products. Be thankful for the developers of such technology. Thank you!

The store you are in was built by the construction industry and paid for by the owners of the food stores, who assume risk and overhead costs to run the stores. All sorts of technologies are involved from refrigeration to lighting, from shelving systems to product selection and quality control. Even the parking lot needs maintenance. Dozens of employees at the local store have had hand in that can of peas. Thank you!

Beyond the store are the local truckers, the warehouse employees, and every aspect of the warehouse from its buildings to its maintenance and operation. Hundreds more people have thus had a hand in this miraculous little can of peas. Thank you!

Beyond the warehouse is a complete distribution system for every product imaginable. Some products are transported over land by truck and/or train. Others are brought on cargo planes from every part of the world. All of these products need containers, shipping boxes, and all sorts of handling. Consider all the infrastructure necessary to maintain and supply those industries. Yes, thousands of people have had a hand in that can of peas. Thank You!

I have only scratched the surface here of the astonishing number of people who stand behind a small blessing: a can of peas in a supermarket. It is beyond amazing how interconnected our lives are. Thank the Lord; thank the laborers. Do your part and never forget your dependency on God and on your need for others. Ten thousand thanks could never be enough.

For all you do for me, thank you!

True gratitude is a grace, or gift, from God. It proceeds from a humble and transformed heart. In such a case we do not render thanks merely because it is polite or expected, or because God commands it, but because it naturally flows from a profound experience of gratitude. The “command” of Scripture to give thanks is not a moralism, but a truth and a description of what flows from a transformed heart.

Thus, an anointing to seek from God is the powerful transformation of our intellect and our heart so that we become deeply aware of the remarkable gift that is everything we have. As this awareness deepens so does our gratitude and joy at the “magnificent munificence” of our God. Everything—literally everything—is a gift from God.

Permit me a few thoughts on the basis for a deepening awareness of gratitude. Ultimately, gratitude is a grace, but having a deeper awareness of its intellectual basis can help to open us more fully to this gift.

1. We are contingent beings who depend on God for our very existence. He holds together every fiber of our being: every cell and every part of every cell, every molecule and every part of every molecule, every atom and every part of every atom. God facilitates every function of our body: every beat of our heart, the functioning of every organ, and the movement of our body. God sustains every intricate detail of the world in which we live: the perfectly designed orbit of our planet so that we neither boil nor freeze; the magnetic shield that protects Earth from harmful aspects of solar radiation; and every intricate process of our planet, solar system, galaxy, and universe. All of this, including us, is sustained by God and provided for by Him. The depth, height, length, and width of what God does is simply astonishing. And He does it all free of charge. As we ponder such goodness and providence we are helped to be more grateful. All is gift.
2. Every good thing you or I do is a gift from God. St. Paul says, What have you that you have not received? And if you have received, why do you glory as though you had achieved? (1 Cor 4:7). Elsewhere he writes, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:8-10). Hence even our good works are not our gift to God; they are His gift to us. On Judgment Day we cannot say to God, “Look what I’ve done, you owe me Heaven.” All we can say is “Thank you! All is gift!”
3. Gifts sometimes come in strange packages. There are some gifts of God that don’t seem like gifts at all. There are sudden losses, tragedies, and natural disasters. In such moments it is easy to feel forsaken by God, and gratitude is probably the last thing on our mind. But here, too, Scripture bids us to look more closely: And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). We don’t always know how, but even in difficult moments God is making a way unto something good. He is paving a path unto glory, perhaps through the cross, but unto glory. Jesus has said to us, But I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. On that day you will have no more questions to ask me (Jn 16:22-23). Yes, even in our difficulties we are more than conquerors (Rm 8:37) because the Lord can write straight with crooked lines and make a way out of no way. All is gift!
4. Yes, all is gift. Absolutely everything is a gift. If we are in Christ, then even our failures are a gift, for we can learn from them and they can teach us humility. For what shall we give thanks? For everything! All is gift!
5. There is an old saying, Justice is when you get what you deserve. Mercy is when you don’t get what you deserve. Grace is when you get what you don’t deserve. Like you, I get asked a dozen times a day, “How are you?” I have trained myself to answer, “More blessed than I deserve.” Yes, all is gift.
6. Finally, the word “thanks” in English is unfortunately abstract. In Latin and the romance languages, the word for “thanks” is far more closely tied to the notions of grace and gifts. In Latin one says, “Thank you” by saying, “Gratias ago tibi,” or simply, “Gratias.” Although gratias is translated as “thanks,” it is really the same word that is translated as “grace” or “gift” (gratia). Hence when one receives a gift one exclaims, “Grace!” or “Gift!” It is the similar with the Spanish Gracias and Italian Grazie. Thank you in French is Merci, which comes from the Latin merces, meaning something that has been paid for or given freely. All these languages display the giftedness underlying everything for which we are grateful. The English word “thanks” does not quite make the connection. About the closest we get are the related words gratitude and grateful. All of these words (gratias, gracias, grazie, merci, and gratitude) teach us that everything is a gift!

Ultimately, gratitude is a gift to be received from God. We ought to ask for it humbly. We can dispose ourselves to it by reflecting on things such as those discussed above, but ultimately gratitude comes from a humble, contrite, and transformed heart. Saying “thank you” is not a moralism. True gratitude is a grace, a gift that comes from a heart deeply moved, astonished, and aware of the fact that all is gift.