I was Right

I Was Right!!

I have been noticing something lately that I chalked up to me becoming a grumpy old man.  I was motivated to do some extensive research (I asked a few people) and they agreed with what I had noticed.  It all began when I read a devotional about giving thanks.  There were tons of verses shared about our giving thanks to God.  That triggered my mind to think about my own habits of expressing thanks to God on a regular basis.  Do I truly say thanks or do I simply assume that God knows my heart is grateful?  Are my prayers marked by the actual giving of thanks?  Those thoughts stuck with me throughout the next several days.  Since they were on my mind, I began to notice how many people really do not express any form of gratitude to others.  It used to be, before email or texting, that a thank you card needed to be mailed out.  Then emails and texts became more and more accepted. Now, it seems, to this grumpy old man, that no expression is acceptable.  That is why I began to ask a few others and I found out that they agreed with me.  I then found the piece de resistance (no accents added).  I came across an internet article that expressed how we as a culture have stopped expressing thanks.  At least that is what the title said, I didn’t have time to read the article yet! But, like many of you, I will use it as proof of my position (please note sarcasm).  
You let a person cut in front of you in traffic – no wave.  You hold the door for someone – barely a nod.  So many small gestures that do not get recognized.  But I have noticed that even larger gifts of service or generosity, if not done in person, go without an expression of gratitude.  Please understand, love causes me to think the best of each situation.  People are busy or distracted by the very pressures that you sought to help relieve.  People are grateful but the hassle of retrieving the information to say thank you causes things to be put off and then the idea of expressing gratitude gets pushed to the background.  I do not believe that people are less grateful, at least I would like to think they are not, I just believe that the social pressures of not saying thank you are less today than they were in my day.  You can be the judge if that is a good thing or not.
So, I have specifically chosen not to use scriptures today.  My goal was not to pound everyone over the head and make this observation a test of true spirituality.  This is a blog.  Not a sermon meant to exegete the Word of God.  It is one grumpy old man, trying not to be too grumpy, making an observation of a habit that I hope we do not continue to perpetuate.  Say thank you to the person who pumps your gas.  Say thank you to the drive through server of your food.  Say thank you to that person who goes out of their way to say hi to you. Fight through the hassle of finding information and write that little note while you are thinking about it.  Say thank you to your teacher, pastor, or boss who shares with you something that is designed to help you.  If you want to be funny, leave a comment about this blog and say “Thanks for the friendly reminder”.  If you are old, yell, “Preach it brother” and forward this email to all those who really need to hear it.