Give thanks

Have you noticed how many of Paul’s letters begin with giving thanks? It’s not all of them, but many start this way; often it is Paul giving thanks to God for whoever he is writing to. It made me think: how often do we do this? I know we pray for people, we ask God to help those we know who are suffering, or to intervene in certain situations. But do we stop and say: God, I thank you for X? I wonder how it would affect our relationship with God, and with our neighbour, if we paused to give thanks regularly? How often do we give thanks for our churches, for those involved, for our neighbours and friends and all they give us? could we? Moreover, do we ever stop and say thank you for what God has given us? Is it a regular part of our prayer?  Do we ever pause with gratitude to God for what we have in this moment? It might be worth thinking about how much we say thank you to God.

Have you ever thought of going on a gratitude walk? It doesn’t need to be anywhere special, but just around your local neighbourhood, walking with an awareness of gratitude, thanking God for what you see or experience. Or even what you can see from your windows: the green of the grass, refreshed from the dryness of the summer; bushes, or flowers; a bird; homes and places for people to live; transport systems; you could give thanks for other people passing, even if you do not know them. Give thanks for the ingenuity of humanity, for the kindness of those who use their cars to drive others who cannot get around easily, for the alive-ness of creation.

Of course, I know that none of this is the whole story. The ingenuity of humanity can cause major problems, people are not always nice, and cars are also noisy and can pollute the air. It might be that giving thanks will also drive us to intercession. Doesn’t Paul do this, too? See, for instance, Colossians 1:3-13, where he begins by telling them that he thanks God when he prays for them, and then moves on to what he asks God for. It can be so easy to focus on the needs of our world and those around us; the problems our church faces and the mistakes it makes, and get lost in that. To take time to give thanks can make us aware that this is not the whole truth. It is right to give thanks to God, and important to give time to that. If we are able, it might be valuable to take some time out at the end of a day, to spend a few minutes giving thanks to God, and then maybe a bit of time saying sorry for where we have gone wrong. For we cannot ignore the fact that we – us, as individuals, and us, as humanity – have messed up and got it wrong. We cannot separate thanksgiving from the rest of our prayer or into a separate part of our relationship with God. Saying sorry may lead us to giving thanks, as well; after all, it is God who will sort this mess out.

Do we say thank you just for circumstances or people we are grateful for, or do we give thanks to God for things we might find uncomfortable? I am reminded of the story of Corrie and Betsie Ten Boom giving thanks for the fleas in their prison camp; it was those fleas that stopped the guards entering the barracks, and thus gave them the opportunity to share the gospel message. (The story can be found on the internet if you have never heard it before). Do we thank God for everything (see 1 Thessalonians 5:18) or just for nice things? Should we extend what we thank God for? And how we thank God?

The other fact about Paul’s letters is that Paul is telling those he writes to that he is giving thanks to God for them, and why. I am not necessarily suggesting that we start to go around telling people ‘oh, I gave thanks to God for you today’, because it can probably only be done well within the context of the right relationship, and could just be embarrassing. But spending time thanking God may lead us onto thanking other people more; it might highlight some of those who do hidden tasks, who are seldom acknowledged, and enable us to thank them, letting them know that their work is appreciated. How often do you say thank you to those around you? Could you do so more?

Giving thanks is perfectly natural in certain contexts: receiving presents, being invited out for a meal, after a talk or a sermon. But do we limit it too much? Do we therefore neglect to say thank you outside of those contexts when it is expected? Do we depend too much on the social expectations of when to say thank you, or are we able to reach further, and say thank you when it is appropriate beyond that? Could we spend some time thinking about how and when we say thank you, and whether we need to change that?