If you’re reading through The ABCs of Praying for Students with us, this week starts with Thankfulness. If you’re not, just skip ahead to page 53 where you’ll read about a little girl with big burdens who imprinted her hopes on my heart. If you don’t have a copy of The ABCs, I still hope you’ll read today’s post and think with me about Thankfulness. I’m afraid our thankfulness may be growing thin. Today’s Back to School Bible Study Boost #5 (1 more to go!) looks at something we’re all exposed to–the like button.
The changing language of thankfulness
Some languages don’t have a word for “thank you,” and some do but don’t use it very often. An acknowledgment of gratitude may be implied, assumed, or unwanted. But then came “the like” button. Since 2009 on Facebook, it offered a quick way to say a whole range of things including, “Thank you!” But should “thank you” really be covered up in a long list including “awesome, yeah, me too” and other assorted first impressions? Is it that common? If we aren’t careful, thankfulness may be watered down in the deep pool of that little thumbs up.
I chose 1 Chronicles 16:34 as the anchor verse for Thankfulness in The ABCs. “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
The unchanging language of thankfulness
The Strong’s Concordance explains the word for “give thanks” (yadah) to mean, “to give praise, to give thanks, to celebrate, since thanksgiving and praise naturally follow the acknowledgment or confession of benefits received.” It’s like intentionally directing and throwing out praise in the direction that makes sense. A woman named Leah, unloved by her husband but bearing four sons, first used the word when she gave birth to her fourth son and gave “big praise” to God. Thankfulness goes to the source of the benefit because it only makes sense, not as a way to get more in return. It’s not self-focus veiled in thin thanks; it’s authentic gratefulness.
- What can you give authentic thanks to God for today?
- How would people around you know you direct your thanks to Him?
Unconditional thankfulness
Social media platforms have considered hiding the number of likes. When CBS news reported it, they noted some users say it would be better for mental health. That’s because “liking” isn’t all about throwing out gratitude, but waiting to see if we receive something else in return. CBS quoted researcher Grosser who found, “The like button transforms ‘the human need for personal worth … into an insatiable ‘desire for more.'” In other words, people aren’t just “liking” to “like.”
- Am I “giving thanks” to give thanks or to get thanks?
- How could social media be impacting my thinking about what I express?
Learning thankfulness
Here, thankfulness rises to the top of essential lessons in childhood. As students see people around them, “Comparison sets in. Some children come hungry, while others know only plenty. Giving thanks is a skill to cultivate intentionally, reinforcing contentment, while regulating comparison.” (The ABCs of Praying for Students)
Pure thankfulness reinforces the heart’s awareness that God is good and His steadfast love lasts forever. In fact, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17) If we practice a casual or dispassionate form of gratitude to the Lord who is good or to those around us, the result may be negative.
Exercising more thankfulness makes us more thankful.
In the ABCs I share, “Children are given to giving thanks,” and I believe it. But it can be snuffed out by neglect. Are children hearing us be thankful? Do they watch our facial expressions as we give gratitude? What’s lost in letting thanks move under “the like” button? What if we’re saying “yeah, thanks, me too, awesome!” more but meaning it less? Could all of our clicking by changing what’s the thankfulness norm for us and the norm we’re passing on?
A child’s brain relies on the stimulus of receiving a prompt over and over until it’s the norm. As children repeatedly hear adults express authentic sounding and looking thankfulness to them, other grown ups, and even to God, children get a sense gratitude is good.
Let’s make sure we keep throwing up thanks to the One Who so clearly deserves it. Out loud and in real life, with volume and tones and body language. Not just in a private click. May children hear us express thanks to people made in God’s image and doing good like He is good. This norming of appreciation prepares children to be thankful on their own.
“… true thankfulness grows when we take teaching to the next level and direct gratitude to God Himself, the Giver of all good things.” (The ABCs of Praying for Students)
For more encouragement in your faith and in praying for our students, order your own copy of The ABCs of Praying for Students here. You might share one with a schooling parent, teacher, or staff member to encourage them in the eternal work they do with the next generation.
