“The Best Word”There is a well-traveled (and many-versioned) story that involves the interaction between British author Rudyard Kipling and an autograph-seeker. At the height of his success, in 1907, a newspaper calculated that Rudyard Kipling was earning approximately the American equivalent of a dollar per word for his writing (this equates to about $22 dollars today, adjusted for inflation), reportedly making him the highest paid author of his day. Shortly thereafter an autograph-seeker, having long tried to acquire Kipling’s signature without success, wrote to the Nobel Prize-winning author: "I see you get $1 a word for your writing. I enclose a dollar. Please send me your best word" Kipling complied, returning an unsigned postcard with a single word: "Thanks." This month, we are focusing on the concepts of thanks-giving and gift-giving in our Sunday lessons; and I think that this story (whether completely accurate or not) illustrates the importance of the word “thanks”. The words "thank, thanks, thankful, and thanksgiving" are used at least 133 times in the New King James Version of the Bible. So what does that tell us when God instructs us concerning a certain subject that many times? It tells us three things for sure: First of all, we can be sure that He takes the subject very seriously. He commands the giving of thanks with such frequency in His Word, we must all come to the same inescapable conclusion: thanksgiving is very important to Him. He doesn’t want us all to forget who truly blesses us, and where all those blessings come from. James 1:17 tells us: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.“ Secondly, we can see that God wants it to be important to US! We read God’s feelings on the matter well-summarized for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Thirdly, we are to be thankful for one another, as we see the Apostle Paul’s example in his letter to the Ephesians: “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” [Ephesians 1:15-16] So we can see clearly that we are to be thankful for all things, in all circumstances. We can also see that we are to give thanks both to God and, in addition, be thankful to and for one another. Sometimes we forget that we, ourselves, are also God’s gifts to each other. It’s easy to be thankful when things swing our way, when people please us; but we must not get into the habit of waiting for things to be perfect before we are thankful. Those who choose to wait for perfect people, places, and circumstances will never be happy or content. Norman Vincent Peale was quoted as saying, "Problems are a part of life. All of us are going to have problems right up to the moment we die. And some of you are going to have problems after you die." Problems and tough circumstances will always arise. Being ever-thankful is a lifestyle that allows us to alter our attitude whether God ever alters our circumstances or not. Gratitude is not a matter of being lucky, but a matter of being mindful. Being ever-thankful is not dependent upon what’s in the hand, but rather what’s in the heart. So let’s all practice being ever-thankful; let’s all say “thanks” more often, both to God and each other; let’s all make “thanks” OUR “best word”, too. — Paul Seely, December 11, 2011 |