The Dangers of Gratitude

I will praise the Lord all my life, sing hymns to my God while I exist. Psalm 146 (from the Jewish Publication Society translation of the TANAKH)

November is Gratitude Month. We cap it off near the end with Thanksgiving, but each day we’re invited to take a moment and consider who or what we are thankful for. Who are the people who helped us become the people we are? What are the events that helped shape our lives? What are the challenges that compelled us to grow up and/or do what we thought was impossible?

While the psalmists in the Bible can often be found weeping, wailing, and crying in their beer, bemoaning one catastrophe or another, or lamenting some revolting development du jour, we find they’re also capable of rising out of the ashes in joyful praise. We don’t know what’s happening around the psalmist, precisely, but we can imagine it’s something wonderful. Perhaps he is among those who have found out they’re leaving captivity and going home. Perhaps the chains of a debilitating illness have been smashed asunder and he or she is finding health and strength returning to body and limb.

Only those who have known great hardship or deepest darkness know what it’s like to see the dawn break or the pressures ease up. Just writing those lines, I hear the voice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King rising above the crowds before him: Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!

Having received vaccines for both the seasonal flu and Covid-19, I must confess I rejoice in doing what I can to keep myself, my neighbors, and my community safe. I received some new and improved masks to replace those a fellow parishioner had made “back in the beginning.” They were wonderfully and lovingly made, and proudly worn, but wear and tear were taking their toll. My new masks come with lanyards that allow me to wear the mask like an amulet over my heart, and when entering public space, pull it up and over my face and nose (without wondering where it is or if I have it). I praise the Lord with my whole being!

I say that because, if you continue reading the psalm, it becomes clear that praise and hymn singing aren’t simply a quick turn of phrase. Anyone can say “Thank you, God.” We do it all the time. In fact, every time I pass a police car and see it isn’t turning around in my side-view mirror, I offer up a quick prayer of thanks to the Almighty – our celestial Peace Officer!

No, for the psalmist, praise, thanksgiving, and hymns of joy are translated into acts of mercy. Those who are thankful provide justice for the oppressed and food to those who hunger. They set prisoners free. They lift up those who are bowed down. They care for the stranger. They make sure widows and orphans are supported in their distress. They act as a shield against those who would do harm. That’s what the psalmist is talking about: a God who transforms the world through people whose backbone is Thanksgiving. Gratitude is the backbone, not the wishbone, of faith.

It is easier said than done, of course. It is easy to say, “I’m all in favor of justice, taking care of people, and being kind to strangers.” Saying it is one thing; doing it is quite another. What is your attitude toward America’s 2.3 million prisoners? Do you want them released? What is your attitude toward people whose first language isn’t English? Do you welcome them with open arms and joy, or do you assume they don’t belong?

I should note here that Gratitude does not mean we turn a blind eye to danger or behave with foolish, empty-headed naivete. It does mean, however, that were called to see the world and every person in it through God’s eyes, and work with God to transform the world the way Jesus said it must be done, or we can close our hearts, minds, and eyes with fear, and let life to continue its slide towards perdition.

I detest fear. I choose to live in Gratitude and Grace here in this, our valley. I hope you’ll join me (and the psalmist).

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. Author of newly released: Who the Blazes is Jesus? Good News for a Vulgar World (available through Amazon in Print and e-book)