“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” — G. K. Chesterton
Gratitude is humble happiness. It knows what it has and where it come from.
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
“The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them.” — G. K. Chesterton
The old mistake is assuming that if something doesn't satisfy, you simply need more of it. But some things satisfy in small amounts that leave you desiring more, while other things in any amount only create a dissatisfaction with however much of it you already have.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-12
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
What you have is a gift from God. But the ability to enjoy whatever you have is also a gift from God. And everyone who obtains the one does not necessarily possess the other. There are ways to artificially obtain God's gifts through sinful shortcuts, but you cannot obtain the ability to enjoy them that way. There are no shortcuts to satisfaction, sanctification, or salvation.
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
Working hard for what you want and being content with what you have is the secret sauce of temporal satisfaction.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.
Men crave power in order to obtain what the want, but the power to want what they have can only come by God's power. Man does not possess the competency to create contentedness.
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” — G. K. Chesterton
Do you take what you have for granted or do you take them with gratitude? Ingratitude can still grab things, but one of the things it cannot get its hands on is satisfaction. It is insulated from gratitude by its entitlement.
“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” — G. K. Chesterton
We were made to live a life of "Thank You," not merely "Thanks." Gratitude is toward and for a particular Person, not merely in or during certain circumstances. One may have vague feelings of thanksgiving, but those were made for a specific Giver. We were not created to be merely grateful, but to glorify God in our gratitude and enjoy Him and His grace forever.
1 Timothy 4:4-5
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
As Christians, we can never run out of reasons for saying, "Thank You!" Everything we have: life, breath, and everything else were given to us by Him.
Acts 17:24-25
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
So, whatever you have, you have plenty of reason to be gladdened by gratitude.
1 Corinthians 4:7
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
You should boast about what you have, but not in your getting it. What we have is an occasion to praise the Giver of all things good and perfect.
“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?” — G. K. Chesterton
When we consider what we have actually been given, it is astonishing how our lips find the time to say anything other than, "Thank You!" We are grateful for our gifts, but often forget that we open them with the gift of our bare hands.
Genesis 25:8 (NASB)
Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people.
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