Why Would I Do That?

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. ~ Psalm 50:14 (NLT)

Manners are in short supply these days. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who works in a service industry: fast food, restaurant, retail shop, gas station, etc. People are in too much of a hurry to be civil to those that are trying to help them out. “Thank yous” and “pleases” aren’t given out too often. Having managed retail settings before, I can tell you firsthand of the many instances when one of my employees, or me, went above and beyond for a person only to have them complain rather than offering thanks.

One such incident happened over the telephone with my tech support supervisor for a local dial-up internet service we offered. (This was many moons ago) My employee was on the phone with the person for well over an hour. (My employee was very long suffering) It was very clear that the person on the other end of the call had very limited knowledge of computers, or technology in general. They were rude, brash, and demanding. After an hour of trouble shooting, my employee was able to figure out the issue. “Sir,” she said, “are you calling me on a cell phone or a land line?” The reply came back, “On a cell phone.” My employee followed with, “Is your computer plugged into a landline telephone jack?” The reply from the customer was priceless: “Now, why would I do that?” After a few more minutes she got him connected and he abruptly hung up on her. There was no appreciation, no “thank you.” Just a click and nothing.

How often are we like this with God? He gives, and gives, and gives of His time – He invests in us every day. Yet, how many times per day do we stop to give thanks, other than when it’s chow time? If you’re like me, the answer is an embarrassing, not nearly enough.

Yet, the Psalmist declares in our verse today, “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God.” In other words, state your thankfulness to God for all that He has done, and act upon your thankfulness for what He will do. You see, thankfulness isn’t just words we say – it’s a lifestyle. Do we live like we are thankful, or do we act like He still owes us something?

This season of life, enjoy time with family and friends. But, truly be thankful to the One that has every reason to be thanked.