An old song says to give thanks with a grateful heart.
Growing up, Thanksgiving meant lots of food on the table with the family gathered around saying what they were thankful for.
That tradition still takes place at our house on Thanksgiving; I hope it does at your house too!
It appears that thankfulness has lost its place in the human heart. The “see it my way or die” mentality, the escalation of crime on almost every level, and the increasingly hostile attitude of people seem to rule the day.
The Old Testament book of Genesis records God’s observation of humanity thousands of years ago.
The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. Gen. 6:5 New Living Translation
It sounds like he is observing humanity today.
Jesus tells us in the New Testament book of Matthew that, A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. Mat. 12:35 NLT Jesus
You can certainly build a case where many evil things are stored in many of humanity’s hearts.
But I also see that good hearts can store up good things; so, what does a thankful heart look like?
Heart is used figuratively in many places in the Bible. It stands for the feelings, will, and intellect of humanity.
According to Jesus, a thankful heart is a storehouse of good things, such as:
1—happy memories
2—positive emotions
3—kind words
Does this mean that a thankful heart is a surreal pretend life? Absolutely not! Life is hard, and the life of Jesus and the early New Testament saints bear that out.
It means that a thankful heart chooses to find happy memories, positive emotions, and kind words—especially when life is sucky!
The Old Testament Psalmist tells us that a thankful heart looks like this:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Ps. 19:14 New Living Translation
I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Ps. 9:1 New International Version
A thankful heart:
1—puts good things before its eyes to build up a good storehouse
2—acknowledges God as the creator of all things and chooses to thank him for them
3—chooses words wisely
The wisdom of Israel’s Old Testament king Solomon tells us to:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding. Prov. 3:5 New Living Translation
In other words, a thankful heart has learned to take God at his word.
Be thankful!