Gratitude

Gratitude is a feeling in the heart. It is an expression in works. And it is giving in return. Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like buying the perfect present, wrapping it up, and not giving it away.

Ziz Ziglar, a noted motivational speaker and author, said “The more you are thankful for what you have, the more you will have to be thankful for.”

Doug Hooper stated: “There is one thing for which all can be thankful, and it is generally overlooked.  We can all be thankful for the present moment, because it is what we do and the way we think in the present moment that changes our past and determines our future.”

Eric Butterworth, esteemed Unity minister and author, says in his book Spiritual Economics: “You do not need something to be grateful for. You need only the desire to feel grateful.” Life is a tapestry; a mosaic. Every day we determine how good our life will be. Every moment we determine our lives by being in gratitude and thankfulness or criticizing everything around us and not liking what’s going on. If there is enough criticism and enough ingratitude, we can create our own hell on earth. If we have the eyes to see, we open up our inner perception of a good that is from God, a bounty that is always flowing onto our lives.

We look with worldly eyes and hear with worldly ears, and sometimes we forget the blessings of God. Could it be so simple that feeling grateful brings us enlightenment and a closer relationship with God? We need to remind ourselves about God’s love. We can do that by being grateful, by looking for what is good, for what is God.

It was true for Jesus too. Don’t you think he would have considered his life as awesome when he was turning water into wine, feeding 5000, walking on water, healing people and raising them from the dead? But I suspect that he felt it was going downhill pretty quick when he was betrayed by his beloved friend, when his disciples deserted him. And being crucified surely ranks as horrible.

And the Apostle Paul, if you look at his life, he’s merrily persecuting Christians, then he’s struck blind, then he awakens to the Christ, and he can see again, then he starts converting people to Christianity, and now he’s the one being mistreated. Then he’s starting churches, then they fail, then they do good, then they fail, then he’s jailed, then he’s released, then he’s jailed again. I suspect we would think his life was awesome at times and horrible at times.

What did Jesus do? What did Paul do? No matter what was going on in their lives, they turned to God. They continually said thank you, God. They prayed. They worshipped God. They acknowledged God as the power in their lives. They acknowledged God as their source. They praised God.

In Unity, we don’t use the words praise or worship very often – maybe because praise and worship remind us of our old ways of religion, where God was imaged as a man in the sky who needed and wanted our praise and worship. Maybe it reminds us of old ways of religion where man was considered to be worms of the dust and where God wanted us to bow down or sing praises of thanksgiving.

In Unity, we teach that God is not a man in the sky and that God doesn’t need or demand our praise and worship. But with that, sometimes we forget that WE NEED to praise, worship and thank God. We need to remind ourselves that God is enough. We need to remind ourselves that in the midst of whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, that God is the answer.  We need to give thanks to God – no matter what is going on in our life. Praise and worship are just ways to express our thankfulness for the blessings in our life.

When our life is at the upper end of the scale, we sometimes forget about prayer, praise, worship and thanksgiving. Then when our life feels like it’s in the pits – we are out of practice – when we need it the most. At the very time when things are at their worst, we don’t have anything to fall back on.  It feels like we are bankrupt – emotionally, spiritually and physically, mentally and financially. 

Right now, today, you and I can begin to stockpile emotional and spiritual health.  We do that as we remember God and we say ‘Thank You, God.’ We make deposits to our spiritual and emotional bank account every time we pray, every time we say, “God is my source, Thank You, God.” We make deposits every time we say, “this situation has no power over me, God has the power, thank you, God,” or “I live in paradise – I live in heaven, thank you, God.” That is what Jesus did.  That is what Paul did.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison. This surely would have rated as horrible. What did they do? What they didn’t do, is to complain about their terrible circumstances. They didn’t complain, do you hear that? They didn’t say, “Hey, what’s going on, God? We’re out here serving You, and, frankly, You’re the reason we’re in jail. How come you didn’t protect us? Why did You let this happen? Why me? And how soon are You getting us out of here?” In fact they did the opposite. They prayed. They worshiped God. They sang praises to Him. And the Bible says, “while they were singing, a powerful earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors of all the cells.”

Do you feel locked up emotionally and spiritually? When it is the hardest to do – that is when we need to worship, praise, and thank God the most. Paul and Silas worshiped, praised and thanked God because they loved Him more than anything. They knew that no matter what was happening to them, that God was with them every step of the way. And by their own actions they were set free from emotional and spiritual bondage BEFORE (let me repeat, before) the earthquake.

And here at Unity, we say that our outer life mirrors our consciousness. So, what happened to Paul and Silas – as they sang, and praised and thanked God, they were free in consciousness – so they had to be set free physically. That is the outworking of spiritual law. That is the same spiritual law that our lives are governed by.

I don’t know if the bible story is factual – and I don’t care, because I know it speaks a great truth, that you and I can latch on to.  If you and I will honor, celebrate, praise, give thanks, worship God – whatever term you want to use – we will be making deposits to our spiritual and emotional bank account. 

When do we start?  The time to start is today. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I invite you today to hunt for things to thank God for in your life. It will help you to build spiritual and emotional habits that will help you when it seems like life circumstances are moving you away from your good. It is something that every one of us can do. And for those of you who are worried about the state of the world – remember when Paul and Silas were freed, what happened.    

The doors to all of the cells were opened and all the prisoners were freed. There is a saying, think globally and act locally. The everlasting truth is that being grateful and thanking God is not only good for you – it’s good for the world.