Title: Thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
When I leave the department store, the helper girls bow down and say "thank you" very politely. On the one hand, it feels good, but on the other hand, I feel bitter at the thought that it is too commercial. I thought that even gratitude might have become a prisoner of commercialism. I wonder if our gratitude has changed so much over time.
There is also a 'thanks not like thanks'. There are plenty of 'thanks only for patterns'. But aren't we going out like this while saying we thank God? This kind of gratitude does not work for our God. Only 'thankful thanks' is the only way to thank God.
The text says, “It is God’s will for us to give thanks in everything.” This also means that God has the thanksgiving he wants. That's what it means to say 'thankful thanks'. So, what kind of 'thankful thanks' is this God that we need to restore?
'Sincere thanks'. We must give our sincere thanks. A formal, hypocritical audit is no longer an audit. The people of America, the country of 'Thanksgiving', have 'Tank Q' cut in their mouths. The good side of this kind of gratitude is to be learned. However, a lot of gratitude should not be overused with formal, unheard-of thanks. We must restore the gratitude we give out of a voluntary heart, and the gratitude we give with joy and emotion, not by force.
Also, 'thankful thanks' is 'absolute thanks'. Those who give relative gratitude tend to resent it when it is relatively difficult. True gratitude is not a matter of 'yes or no', success or failure. It is absolute gratitude that goes beyond those things and looks to God.
The famous 'thanks of Daniel' in only 6 chapters is the epitome of that. Even before the dangers of the lions' den, he still knelt before God and said, "Thank you." I risked my life to thank you. His faith was "absolute faith", and his gratitude was "absolute thanks". Gratitude for everything is 'absolute gratitude' to be thankful even in the face of this difficult situation where we cannot be thankful. Gratitude becomes more valuable and valuable when it appears in a situation where we cannot be grateful for it.
Reinhold Niebuhr, a great preacher and theologian who moved America, in 1952, at the age of 60 when he still had to work, collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage and became paralyzed. But instead of blaming God, he continued to live a life of gratitude. Two years later, he miraculously recovered and was able to stand on the pulpit again. He said that if you add one thing to the three Christian virtues, faith, hope, and love, it would be "thank you."
'paradoxical gratitude' is 'thankful thanks'. This is to be grateful for what you are not grateful for. Even when you have nothing, even when you have lost everything, you are grateful for that. We have a reason to do this 'paradoxical appreciation'. Because even then our Lord is with us. Because when we lose everything in this world for the sake of the Lord, there will be a great pile up in heaven. Therefore, paradoxical gratitude is 'eschatological gratitude'. I hope that the Lord wants you to be overflowing with 'thankful thanks' and 'mature thanks'.