"… so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may
5. GRATITUDE IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST US
"… so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 4:15). Once we begin to apply the truth that gratitude can be developed and increased in our lives, we can move on to a deeper understanding of thanksgiving from a biblical perspective.
Humanly, it is easy to think of gratitude as being our response to what we have personally received (or been spared!), but full and mature gratitude doesn't stop at the boundaries of our own lives.
It is certainly right and good to focus on appreciating and expressing gratitude for the blessings that we have received, but biblical thankfulness goes well beyond that. Perhaps the best place to see this fact is in the writings of the apostle Paul. The Apostle of Thanksgiving There is no doubt that when the writings of the New Testament apostles are compared, it is Paul who might be called "the apostle of thanksgiving." Paul uses the word for "thanks" in its various forms more than all other New Testament writers combined, and all except two of Paul's epistles (Galatians and Titus) speak of giving thanks or the quality of thankfulness.
Even in his epistles that don't mention thankfulness specifically, we can see Paul's underlying attitude of gratitude implicit in what he says, for example, regarding the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2), and God's grace, salvation (Titus 2:11), kindness, love, and mercy (Titus 3:4-6).
But in the majority of Paul's writings, the expression of gratitude is an explicit part of his message. Typically, after greeting his
readers, or very soon after, Paul gives thanks. This was common in the world of his day, where individuals writing to others would often give thanks to their gods for benefits and blessings they had received. But in Paul's writing the thanksgiving is different. Instead of just thanking God for blessings he has received, Paul frequently gives thanks for those to whom he is writing.
Look at some examples of this in the apostle's writings. Paul tells the believers in Rome: "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world" (Romans 1:8). Similarly, he tells the Colossians:
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven… (Colossians 1:3-5 ESV). The apostle likewise told the Philippians: "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" (Philippians 1:3-5). In his letter to the Ephesians Paul says: "…because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers" (Ephesians 1:15-16 ESV).
If we read his epistles carefully, we see that Paul's thankfulness is frequently expressed not for things he had received, but far more often for the gifts God had bestowed in the lives of others.
Gratitude for What Others Have Received That's an interesting thought to consider. The apostle Paul was not just the "apostle of thanksgiving," he was also the apostle who primarily gave thanks for others. Paul certainly was thankful for the encouragement and help of others – as we see, for example, in the book of Acts: "The brothers and sisters there had heard that we
were coming, and they traveled … to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged" (Acts 28:15).
But Paul was also thankful on behalf of others – grateful for what they had received. This is exactly what he is doing in the many scriptures where he offers thanks. In the book of Romans, for example, we read: "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance" (Romans 6:17).
In fact, when we understand this principle, we realize it is typical of Paul that he writes: "I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people" (1 Timothy 2:1, emphasis added). This does not mean that Paul was somehow thankful for the existence of everyone, but that he is telling us we can pray and give thanks on behalf of others – not only praying for their needs, but also giving thanks for what they have received.
Thanksgiving on behalf of others was truly an integral part of Paul's life, and he also clearly expected other Christians to be doing the same: "…as you help us by your prayers … many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us …" (2 Corinthians 1:11). Here we see that Paul fully expected Christians would be offering thanks for the help he and his co-workers received. We may have often read Paul's words regarding both praying for and giving thanks on behalf of others (1 Timothy 2:1), but do we consistently do both?
There are many ways in which we too can apply the principle of giving thanks for others. Although we may already feel and express gratitude for blessings received by our spouses, children or friends, what about others further from the center of our lives? How about the fact that someone we don't even know recovered from an illness, or came to the knowledge of the truth? We know that we should even pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), but if we should pray and give thanks for everyone, how often do we give thanks on behalf of even our enemies for the gifts God has given them (Matthew 5:45)?
The apostle Paul's attitude of thankfulness for the benefits received by others provides a lesson we can all keep in mind. How much of our gratitude is focused on what we personally have to be thankful for, and how much is focused on thankfulness for God's gifts to his people – and to all people – everywhere? Paul shows us that full thankfulness always includes gratitude for others and what they have received physically and spiritually, just as much as it is gratitude for what we ourselves have received. It is one of the ways in which we can come to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:39, etc.), and it is one of the deepest expressions of true gratitude that we can learn.