Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving--2008
To Be Happy, Give Thanks—2008
The Bible tells us to be thankful:
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5, about 1000 BC
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. II Corinthians 9:15, about 50 AD
Why? Is this God’s ego trip? I don’t think so. I think it’s ultimately what’s best for me. Being thankful is the ultimate selfish act. I am happier and healthier when I’m grateful.
How about non-Biblical sources?
Buddhist Proverb: “Enough is a feast!”
Epictetus, Greek philosopher, 100 AD: “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
Cicero, Rome, 100 BC: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
Dale Carnegie, in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, 1948:
Rule 4 in Seven Ways to Peace and Happiness: Count your blessings, not your troubles.
“The habit of looking on the best side of every event is worth more than a thousand pounds a year” –Dr. Samuel Johnson
“If you have all the fresh water you want to drink and all the food you want to eat, you ought never to complain about anything.” Captain Eddie Rickenbacker
“I had the blues because I had no shoes,
Until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.”
Dennis Prager, in Happiness is a Serious Problem, 1990’s:
“Yes, there is a ‘secret to happiness’—and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads to people becoming unhappy. Become grateful and you will become a much happier person.”
“Thus, it is in our self-interest to feel grateful because it helps enrich our own experience of life. Thanksgiving, in this view, should be every day of the year.” --Gregg Easterbrook
David Steindl-Rast, 2001: “Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don’t make us happy. Gratefulness is the key to happiness.”
Thank you for our many blessings. Thank you for the gift of love, that at times we don’t deserve. Thank you for our family, that we did not choose. Thank you that we happened to be born in the United States with its freedoms, opportunities, and second chances. We know that we did nothing to earn that blessing. Thank you for the wisdom of George Washington, who established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. He recognized the vital importance of gratitude. Thank you for the gift of life that makes all other gifts possible. And thank you for creation, and for your love, and for your help and guidance in making us better and happier people. Amen.
The Bible tells us to be thankful:
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5, about 1000 BC
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. II Corinthians 9:15, about 50 AD
Why? Is this God’s ego trip? I don’t think so. I think it’s ultimately what’s best for me. Being thankful is the ultimate selfish act. I am happier and healthier when I’m grateful.
How about non-Biblical sources?
Buddhist Proverb: “Enough is a feast!”
Epictetus, Greek philosopher, 100 AD: “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
Cicero, Rome, 100 BC: “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”
Dale Carnegie, in How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, 1948:
Rule 4 in Seven Ways to Peace and Happiness: Count your blessings, not your troubles.
“The habit of looking on the best side of every event is worth more than a thousand pounds a year” –Dr. Samuel Johnson
“If you have all the fresh water you want to drink and all the food you want to eat, you ought never to complain about anything.” Captain Eddie Rickenbacker
“I had the blues because I had no shoes,
Until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.”
Dennis Prager, in Happiness is a Serious Problem, 1990’s:
“Yes, there is a ‘secret to happiness’—and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads to people becoming unhappy. Become grateful and you will become a much happier person.”
“Thus, it is in our self-interest to feel grateful because it helps enrich our own experience of life. Thanksgiving, in this view, should be every day of the year.” --Gregg Easterbrook
David Steindl-Rast, 2001: “Gratefulness makes us aware of the gift and makes us happy. As long as we take things for granted they don’t make us happy. Gratefulness is the key to happiness.”
Thank you for our many blessings. Thank you for the gift of love, that at times we don’t deserve. Thank you for our family, that we did not choose. Thank you that we happened to be born in the United States with its freedoms, opportunities, and second chances. We know that we did nothing to earn that blessing. Thank you for the wisdom of George Washington, who established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. He recognized the vital importance of gratitude. Thank you for the gift of life that makes all other gifts possible. And thank you for creation, and for your love, and for your help and guidance in making us better and happier people. Amen.
