There can be a difference between giving thanks and being thankful …

A tidbit that’s a favorite of mine is a tale I stumbled across years ago by that renowned storyteller, Source Unknown, and takes us to a palace in England long ago …

When Queen Victoria was a child, she didn’t know she was in line for the throne of England. Her instructors, trying to prepare her for the future, were frustrated because they couldn’t motivate her. She just didn’t take her studies seriously. Finally, her teachers decided to tell her that one day she would become the queen of England. Upon hearing this, Victoria quietly said, “Then I will be good.” The realization that she had inherited this high calling gave her a sense of responsibility that profoundly affected her conduct from then on.

That tidbit is a reminder that all of us often do things we may not want to do, but we do them anyway because they’re the right thing to do.

They might be simple things … you may not want to do the laundry, but if you want clean clothes it’s the right thing to do. You may not want to exercise, but it’s the right thing to do. You may not feel like going to church Sunday morning, but it’s the right thing to do.

Sometimes, doing things because it’s your duty, or simply the right thing to do, can be okay, it can be sufficient motivation to get something done.

Then there are times when duty isn’t enough.

Those are times when when our hearts need to be as engaged as our sense of duty, or reacting out of responsibility. There are times when what we do needs to reflect our mind and heart so that it actually means something more than a hollow act.

Take, for example, giving thanks.

It can be simple to sit down at the dinner table and recite a prayer by rote …

“God is good, God is great, let us thank Him for this food. Amen.”

That’s easy to do, and can be done without thinking.

Or feeling.

And it so often is.

That’s a problem.

Scripture teaches us that it is a good thing, it is the right thing to do, to “give thanks” to God …

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done,” Philippians 4:6.

Although scripture teaches us we should give thanks to God, doing it just as a sense of duty isn’t enough. The Bibles doesn’t just tell us to “give thanks” to God, it also teaches us that we should be thankful people; and because we’re thankful, we give thanks!

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful,” Colossians 3:15.

In fact, the emphasis in scripture on being thankful is pretty intense:

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus,” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

During this season of thanksgiving, do more than just “give thanks,” but take time to assess whether you’re a thankful person. If not, just building into your life a practice of reflecting on what you have to be thankful for from God can help you become an increasingly thankful person.

This thanksgiving, when you gather around the table and time comes to “give thanks,” put your heart into it.

Scotty