What the Bible says about Thankfulness as a State of Mind
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Romans 1:20-21 The apostle Paul is telling us that, when we neglect to be thankful, we begin to change: Our hearts becomes hard and selfish. We forget those to whom we are not thankful. When we fail to appreciate another, we are neglecting to see their worth or value. When we are not thankful for what we have been given, we soon take our blessings for granted. An unwillingness to thank God for His great love, mercy, and all the other things He provides and does for us will eventually alienate our affections and harden our heart toward Him, causing us to be blinded to all that He is doing in our lives. We can be working to obey God, be receiving His blessings, and approve of God's laws and actions, but if we are not praising and thanking Him, an important aspect of our spiritual development is missing. In a sense, gratitude is the glue that cements our relationship with Him! This end-time environment can pull us down if we do not take time to consider all that has been done for us. The Passover season annually reminds us of who we are and the price paid for us in great love, so that we can be forgiven and come before the great God of the universe. But we should not relegate this lesson just to the springtime; it is a good idea to remember this fact frequently throughout the year. The late fall and winter is an excellent time to remember why we should have a thankful heart at all times, despite what is happening in the world. II Corinthians 3:16 tells us that the veil of blindness has been lifted from our minds to give us understanding of spiritual matters that this world cannot comprehend. What God has given us is considered a treasure placed in human vessels (II Corinthians 4:7). Do we value that as highly as we should? Do we thank God for it? Even if it brings us persecution, we are to give thanks for it. Jesus says in Luke 6:23 that we should "rejoice in that day and leap for joy!" As we see our country founder in confusion, it can be difficult to offer thanks, and yet the giving of thanks to God is of the utmost importance. When we are in a thankful relationship with God, our whole attitude changes toward repentance and obedience, and overcoming takes on new meaning. When we truly thank God, we reflect our love toward Him, and we seek to honor Him. God, who is capable of far greater feelings than what we can express, highly appreciates our thankfulness toward Him, and it results in blessings toward us, especially those of the Spirit. Perhaps best of all, He draws us closer to Him, and our relationship with Him grows. We live in an unthankful world, and we in this nation take many of God's wonderful blessings for granted, never considering all the sacrifices that have been made to produce them. Because we live in this greatly blessed country, though we are not truly part of it (see John 17:14-16), we must train ourselves to consider our blessings and give thanks. When we do, it is a win-win situation. We win because we focus on God and His work, and God wins, because in our response to Him in giving thanks, He draws us closer to Him. John O. Reid What Is There to Be Thankful for Today? Related Topics: Blindness Depicting Sin's Effect | God Calls Us to Rejoice | Gratitude | Gratitude, Sense of | Hardness of Hearts | Selfishness | Thankfulness | Thankfulness as a State of Mind

1 Timothy 6:6-8 When we are thankful, it means that we have been impressed with a sense of kindness that has been expressed toward us, and we desire to acknowledge it. Essentially, it indicates that we are grateful. Thankfulness is the actual expression of our gratitude and acknowledgement of the kindness done to us. Thankfulness is also a state of mind, an attitude. It is a content and positive perspective, which does not focus on what one does not have, but rather values what one does have, no matter how basic. Paul continues this thought in the following verses, explaining that greediness creates a great many problems, ultimately bringing upon us discontent and unhappiness. This is just the opposite of the thankfulness that real contentment generates. Reading these verses on greed and considering the greedy state of man's mind, a popular bumper sticker from several years ago comes to mind: "He who dies with the most things . . . wins." Of course, it did not take long for those whose thinking ran counter to this to reply with their own that read, "He who dies with the most things . . . is dead." This is true; the pursuit of material gain to the exclusion of all else ends in death. Being thankful is part of being content. Unfortunately, many people feel that being content means that they have to give up on their dreams and goals. It does not. Like thankfulness, contentment is a state of mind. God wants us to be content with and thankful for what we have been given. That does not mean that we cannot want better and work to make our situations better, but it does mean that we should not approach our proper desire for more with a greedy, covetous attitude. Nor can we compare what others have and what we may not have from an attitude that we deserve the same or even better. Maybe we do deserve it, but right now God has chosen not to give it to us, and we must be content with that and thankful for what we have been given. How thankful and content we are can be seen in the illustration of water in a glass. Is the glass half-full or half-empty? Our answer depends on and reveals our state of mind. Staff Daily Thanksgiving Related Topics: Contentment | Covetous Attitude | Discontent | Gratefulness | Greed | Optimism | Pessimism | Thankfulness | Thankfulness as a State of Mind | Thankfulness as an Attitude | Thanksgiving

 

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