Thankology! A New Blue Word!

As we begin our trek towards the “official” start to the holiday season that most Americans call thanksgiving, we decided it would be best to study the importance of being thankful so we created the word: Thankology. Thankology comes from merging the words: thankful and ology.
Thankful is defined as: being glad that something has happened or not happened, that something or someone exists, etc. or : of, relating to, or expressing thanks. Ology is defined as a suffix which means it changes the root word slightly. In this case, the suffix ‘-ology’ means the scientific study of a particular topic. (http://www.ask.com/question/the-definition-of-the-suffix-ology)

So Thankology is actually the study of being thankful. The question I would like to attempt to answer this morning is, why be thankful? I mean really. Why can’t we all just be curmudgeons who are grumpy all the time? Being a curmudgeon is my default setting.

I don’t know why that is. I find it easier to look around and come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of things that are just not right in “the” world. What I really mean is not right in “my” world. If I were to take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle, my list would begin…
For example:
 I am fed up with people turning on Christmas lights before Thanksgiving.
 I am fed up with gas being over 3 dollars a gallon and no, I don’t want a Volt. I want a personal flying machine.
 I am tired of not having enough money to do everything I want.
 I don’t understand why I have to be taxed for library card when everything is on Google.
 I am tired of being average. I want to be exceptional. Have you ever wondered why it’s thought of as bad when the average is the majority?
 I am unhappy that the best clothes, shoes, cars all cost more when they all use the same amount of materials.

One of the only positives about this world might be the internet, because we can find others with a similar default setting. In fact, we ran across this excellent website the other day called first world problems. It made fun of all the crazy things we complain about. My favorite is: What do you mean you ran out of pumpkin spice! My day is ruined.

Let’s see if you’re a curmudgeon too. On the back of a piece of paper draw a line down the center. On the left side, write the three things that are not “right” in your world. It’s easy to pick out what is not right in the world isn’t it?

Now try and think back to what wasn’t right a year ago? 5 years ago? 10 Years ago? As Dr. Phil would ask, how’d that work out for you? If it turned out okay, how did you to let the world know? Did you go back to all those who you asked for help or who prayed for you?

When I think about sharing with the world, I think of this great movie scene from the movie the “Cinderella Man”. The lead character returns to the welfare window to give back the money he was blessed with. The teller’s shock, the money and his smile/smirk tells everyone he wanted the world to know that He knew how blessed he was.

I think that’s why customer service phrases like the one at chick-filet, “It’s my pleasure” get so much press. It expresses a sentiment of gratitude that takes us off guard. A minimum wage worker telling us that it’s his or her pleasure to serve me chicken sandwich makes us think: Am I thankful? Who among us would say, “It’s our pleasure to serve.”

After all as a Christian, our Thankology comes with and understanding that gratitude is the response to God’s grace. Gratitude is an attitude of heart whereby we become aware of our blessings and then we become thankful. Thankfulness flows from the knowledge of how loved, valued and precious we are to God - the entire story of Jesus from womb to tomb to beyond details God’s love for each one of us. God’s love even extends past our knowledge of Him. Even if a person doesn’t know God, He does not change how loved we are by Him, nor how much he blesses you.(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_thankfulness)

We are commanded to give God thanks and praise. However, Gratitude is more than a command. It is a response for receiving something we do not deserve and is a vital part of honoring God. Truly thankful people have no time for complaining because they’re overwhelmed by the grace God has extended to us. Being thankful is God’s idea. It can transform us from being selfish to those who are inspired to do good things for God and for others.

If you have the same default setting as me, I would like to challenge you to try a little exercise with me that just might change your life. I would like to challenge you to write a gratitude list. Each and every day, take a few minutes to write out a whole list or review the list and add to daily. Then on Thanksgiving eve, come and celebrate thanksgiving at Wheatland Salem – Oswego’s Blues service and read your top three or better yet, share your top ten as a prayer of thanks during dinner. The change in your heart may just surprise you.