And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. | Colossians 3:15-17
On Sunday, we looked at the issue of gratitude in the petition: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. Specifically, how gratitude shapes us to be joyful and generous. This is not merely a Christian idea, but one psychologists have identified as contributing to a fulfilled life. Gratitude is an important part of being human. We borrowed a definition of gratitude from GK Chesterton:
Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.
The issue is: how do we get this? How do we develop gratitude? In one sense, the answer if God (it usually is). He gives to us in such a way that we always have something to be thankful for and never have an assurance for tomorrow. We experience His good (happiness), and we rely on Him for future good (wonder). The fact that we all have the pieces required for gratitude does not mean we all take hold of it. Some people seem to have an easier time seeing the good and connecting it to God. How can we grow in this?
The first part is PRAYER. In prayer (especially when we pray: give us this day our daily bread), we are drawn into the grace of God as we see His daily provision. We come into the presence of the Almighty to see what he has already been doing: lavishing blessings on His creation.
The second part is COMMUNITY, specifically those who are grateful. Every person is going to have times when it is hard to see the good; when the negative is overwhelming the blessing. This is why Paul encourages us to gather and celebrate:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Encouraging and modeling thankfulness builds a culture of gratitude. The more we share the evidences of God’s grace, worship Him together, and interact with His Word in community, the more we are going to be shaped into people who have peace: a completeness in spite of circumstances. The gratitude that psychologists recognize as essential to the fulfilled life is a natural byproduct of being Christian in community. If this is the true, it has some implications for how we live:
GRATITUDE IS CONTAGIOUS; SO IS DISCONTENTMENT
In the same way that we can get together to stir one another up to good works, we can develop a culture of displeasure. We can deny God’s good and poison happiness and wonder. We can spend so much time in the presence of those who criticize, complain, and focus on the negative that it becomes very hard for us to be joyful. Those we choose to surround ourselves with becoming part of who we become; we must be discerning.
YOU CAN’T GROW IN GRATITUDE BY YOURSELF
This doesn’t mean we can lock ourselves away from everyone. Gratitude left to itself withers away. To grow in gratitude requires continued wonder, which only happens as we see God’s goodness through the eyes of others. Community is one of the many blessings we have to be thankful for!
YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO INFLUENCE OTHERS THROUGH GRATITUDE
Gratitude is not a self-help strategy. The reason why God gifts us is to make Him known to others. You are not just to surround yourself with grateful people, but you should be one of the grateful people that surround someone else. In thanks multiplied by wonder, God allows us to shine His light into a world that is filled with darkness. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.