How to say thanks
Gratitude is the feeling of appreciation for services received. It is a debt that is not legal, but moral, where all beneficiaries have no reason not to pay. Words of thanks do not cost much, but they always fill the listener with joy whenever they are expressed.
It is our duty to cultivate the virtue of gratitude so that we do not take people’s goodwill for granted, however little it may seem to us.
Ten desperate people came to Jesus asking for help. Jesus took pity on them and healed them. Much to the surprise of Jesus, only one came back to confess what God had done with his life, most surprising also that this one was the least likely to come; for he was a foreigner and a Samaritan.
On the other hand, Jesus was also happy for the one who came and left Jesus with more blessings. (Luke 17: 11-19). This shows that only about 10% of us genuinely show gratitude.
Gratitude requires humility – if you are not humble, it may be difficult for you to express heartfelt compliments. Gratitude shows a sincere state of mind. It is worth being grateful at all times, both for successes and failures.
Of all the vices known to man, ingratitude is the worst. A realistic saying goes that “gratitude is the least of all virtues, while ingratitude is the worst of all vices.” A mindful heart is a grateful heart. Gratitude says that Balu is “the most beautiful color that springs from the soul.” Saint Paul calls us to be always thankful.
Appreciative minds are always happy people. There are thousands of reasons to be thankful. Don’t let a day go by without paying a few compliments. A joyful life begins with a deeper appreciation of God’s love.
In the words of the famous American motivational writer and speaker John Mason, “be aggressively grateful” in almost the same affirmation of this, Nnamdi Azikiwe, a 20th century Nigerian journalist and politician, noted: “For my God, heart of fire, for my brethren, a heart of love and for yourself, a heart of steel’.
Gratitude as a helpful gesture comes from the heart and makes it happy. By being grateful, we create beautiful memories in people’s psyches and leave behind beautiful memories. Start being thankful right away, if you don’t, you won’t realize how blessed you have been to be thankful.
George Kaitoli warned: “gratitude can work wonders, it can encourage the discouraged, turn the lazy into active, make small achievements greater and help great achievements… the best way to make a good impression on others is to tell them they make a good impression on us’ we make a good impression by complimenting their efforts on us, thus motivating them to do more. So always be grateful because you have no reason not to.
There is nothing that hurts the human heart more than complete rejection, or when the giver finds that his gifts have not been appreciated. Sometimes we spend a lot of time begging, pleading, or recounting what we haven’t received from God instead of showing gratitude for what we have received.
That is why we hardly return to give thanks when we receive favors like the other nine lepers who did not bother to appreciate the good work of Jesus in their lives. Perhaps they felt it was their right to be healed.
Gratitude is a treasure of the heart. Never miss a chance to say thank you from the heart. The practice of gratitude has a very old and very strong biblical foundation. Cain and Abel, the 3rd and 4th human beings created by God, started it all (Genesis 4:3-4). After the great flood and the destruction of the original world created by God, Noah thanked God (Genesis 8: 20, 15-22, Luke 17: 11-19). Abraham made several offerings and sacrifices, but the greatest was that of Isaac – this was a clear display of his faith (Genesis 22: 1-3).
In the New Testament Jesus’ parents started it (Luke 2:22-24), Jesus also did it in Mark 14:22-23. Thus, when we express gratitude, we are not doing something new; instead, we continue the great tradition of the scriptures.
Now, in reflecting on the nature of gifts, it is good to be aware that whatever we give to God must be of the highest quality, for example, the number one reason why God accepted Abel’s gift was because of its quality.
When we give thanks to God, we add nothing to His greatness or perfection, but we injure Him when we fiercely refuse to do so. Our gifts and sacrifices to God must be dear (2 Samuel 24:24).
Man is always indebted to his creator – an existentialist philosopher; Martin Heidegger did not mince words when he said: “In calling man to think, being has endowed human nature with thinking that gives thanks, thinking that recalls and gives thanks.” In thoughtful, appreciative thinking, one perceives oneself as obligated as well as obligated.
The blessings that come from gratitude are numerous.
God is not happy when we show signs of ingratitude and total disobedience. Let us master the secret of remaining thankful so as not to offend Him. When you are grateful, you are at peace with yourself. It’s an emotional thing.
If you are always grateful, you will hardly get sick. I speak from experience, but this does not mean that if you get sick, then you are ungrateful. I have not been able to see a happy person who is ungrateful.
Being grateful provokes the heavens to shower you with more favors and abundant prosperity. The beautiful and wonderful things around us – the flowers, the trees, the clouds, the birds of the sky, and even reflecting on the ultimate happiness – God himself, are reason enough to be thankful to God.
Ungrateful hearts are always complaining and grumbling and this is not good for their health. When the Lord freed the Israelites from the bondage of slavery and even fed them with manna from heaven, they were still ungrateful and their ingratitude did not please the Lord (Numbers 11:1). God is not happy when we do not like His goodness to us.
The key word here is to develop an attitude of gratitude, for great blessings await those who are grateful – they will be more glorious and receive earthly gifts in abundance from the giver and controller of the universe. May our hearts overflow with gratitude at all times.