Happy Thanksgiving by Harvey Bluedorn

Can you imagine a thankful person who is not happy, or an unthankful person who is happy?

Unthankful or ungrateful people feel they are somehow entitled. The more one feels entitled, the less grateful one becomes. A spoiled child is an ungrateful child who feels entitled. Ungrateful self-entitled persons become angry persons. They feel entitled to lash out and hurt other people who don’t give them what they feel entitled to.

So ungratefulness spawns unhappiness, and unhappiness makes people selfish, resentful, and mean.

By contrast, gratefulness makes people happy, and happy people are generous, respectful, and kind.

Whenever you have felt grateful, have you not also felt happy? And the more grateful you felt, the greater was your happiness! And the more you felt like passing it on – you were more generous, respectful, and kind.

Grateful persons are not unhappy, and selfish, and resentful, and mean. They do not see themselves as victims who are entitled.

So gratitude spawns happiness, and happiness spawns goodness.

The expression “happy thanksgiving” is almost redundant. If you are truly thankful, then you are also happy.

Those who know the Lord are forever grateful and happy. They rejoice to give Him the praise and the glory.

Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.