The Duty of Thanks Giving

A less-than-usual take on Thanksgiving

It is a tradition for many families to gather around the table on Thanksgiving, and just before offering the blessing, to share something for which each member can sincerely give thanks.

The Bitterfields were no exception. It comes to me from a credible source which I'll not name here, that the following was overheard at their Thanksgiving dinner table last year:

Grandma Bitterfield: I'm thankful for automatic dishwashers—they make it possible to get out of the kitchen before you all come back in for your after-dinner snacks.

Ma Bitterfield: I'm thankful for husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house because they usually make them big enough to call in a professional.

Grandpa Bitterfield: I'm thankful for children who put away their things and clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy, you hate to see them go home to their own parents.

Pa Bitterfield: I'm thankful for gardening—it’s a relief to deal with dirt outside the house for a change.

The Bitterfield Children (in unison): We're thankful for smoke alarms—they let you know when the turkey’s done and it's finally time to eat.

The moral of this tall tale? Don't be the Bitterfields!

The humorous little anecdote reminds us just how easy it is to become cynical or bitter about the routine disappointments and inconveniences we experience in life. We’ve undoubtedly all been there, frustrated by our finances, jaded by our job, offended by a friend or family member. What is there to be thankful for, we ask?

In one of his Unspoken Sermons titled, “Self Denial,” C. S. Lewis’s favorite fantasy writer, George MacDonald, noted the inconsistent way we tend to have someone to blame when things go wrong but no one to thank for all the Father’s blessings. He writes,

"The careless soul receives the Father’s gifts as if it were a way things had of dropping into his hand…yet is he ever complaining, as if someone were accountable for the checks [disappointments and roadblocks] which meet him at every turn. For the good that comes to him, he gives no thanks—who is there to thank? At the disappointments that befall him he grumbles—there must be someone to blame!"

What a fickle, thankless, and undiscerning people we tend to be. We are unsighted and low-minded about the reality of our blessings. In A Short History of England, G.K. Chesterton maintained "that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

If he's right, then it would seem that gratitude, or thanksgiving, should be one of the cardinal virtues—prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—but it's not. It's not even found among the triune virtues the Apostle Paul added to these—faith, hope, and love.

Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul commanded the Thessalonians to give thanks in every circumstance because that is the will of God in Christ Jesus for all of us (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Furthermore, he testifies that those who knew God, but did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, had their foolish hearts darkened so that they became futile in their thinking (Romans 1:21).

Since giving thanks appears to be not only an essential part of doing God's will but also the proper disposition for avoiding the futility of our minds (the opposite of the highest form of thinking) and the destruction of our bodies, then it seems that Chesterton is right to say that thanks are the highest form of thought—even though it doesn’t appear to be one of the virtues—or is it?

The reason gratitude, or giving thanks, is not listed among the virtues, despite its preeminent place in our lives as human beings, is because it is a derivative of the virtue of justice, says St. Thomas Aquinas. That makes it, essentially, a duty.

Justice is giving another what is owed them. This is why the Apostle Paul can tell the Christians at Rome to owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).

It is the same with gratitude, or thanks giving. We owe thanks to God; it is just to be grateful for all he has blessed us with—beginning with our very existence. To understand and delight in this most natural obligation is the highest form of thought, Chesterton reminds us.

To neglect or refuse to be thankful for such profound happiness and wonder is not only a dereliction of our duty in the most weighty sense of the word, but it is moreover unnatural to our being as humans, who are created in the image of God. It's also the first step in any person's or culture's spiral into futility and irredeemable debauchery (Roman 1:18-32).

We don't typically think about giving thanks in terms of duty, or commands, or obligations. Talking about it this way can feel sterile and may even appear to deprive the act of giving thanks of its organic authenticity.

But, in fact, that is not the case at all. Remember, it's the highest form of thought. In this usage, form is the particular way in which a thing exists or appears.

In other words, while our thanks and praise to God is commanded, the particular way gratitude manifests when we are faithful to our duty includes authentic gladness and joy and blessedness. They are inherent in the obedient act of giving thanks.

So as we approach our Thanksgiving tables today, may I encourage you, no matter the difficulties you are facing or the inconveniences or hardships you are experiencing, to be intentional about thanks giving; and, and let us follow the prompting of the Psalmist who poetically commands us to:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:1-5)