Because I write the devotions for Thursdays, I always write the devotion for Thanksgiving. That reminds me of when I had to preach on the story of the ten lepers every Thanksgiving. Ten lepers approach Jesus begging for mercy. Jesus sends them to the priest, and on the way they are made clean. One returns to thank Jesus who says “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”

The danger for every preacher is using this text to lay a guilt trip on the congregation. “So are you like the one who gave thanks, or are you like the nine who received God’s blessings and didn’t give thanks.” The idea is that if you can make people feel bad enough, maybe they’ll be thankful. Sure. That’s something like a dark-humor sign I once saw. “Notice: Beatings will continue until morale improves.”

Inflicting negative feelings sometimes produces a desired behavior, but it doesn’t change internal attitudes. Do we really express thanks if we only do it because we feel guilty? I don’t think so.

A Sunday School teacher asked her class to name things that they could see for which they were thankful. The result was this song:

A great grey elephant
A little yellow bee
A tiny purple violet
A tall green tree
A red and white sailboat on a blue sea
All these things you gave me
When you made my eyes to see
Thank you God.

That’s the approach to giving thanks. See what you see and thank God for it all. Simple.

Read Psalm 136:1-9 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne