THANKFUL
PEOPLE DON'T...

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you.
This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
-Mark Twain

Just a few more thoughts on being filled with thanks...

Thankful people are easy to spot. Oh, there are the obvious proofs, like receiving cards from them or seeing them respond with a word or a gift that expresses gratitude. But you might be surprised to hear that you can most easily identify a thankful person by things that they DON'T do! Over the next three days, I want to offer three characteristics of thankful people...

First, Thankful people don't FORGET

When gratitude marks a person's life, they rarely forget what someone else has done for them. This is far more than just having a good memory. A person who is filled with thanks makes a conscious effort to recognize others' kindness or generosity. Gratitude demostrated reveals something about the character of a person. Thankful people are humble, caring, thoughtful, and aware of others.

Humility is a virtue that is integral to gratitude! We can't recognize the need for gratitude without humility.

People who are puffed up with their own accomplishments and who do not see how dependent they are on the Lord or on other people who have favored them are rarely grateful. They are blind to the ways in which they have been favored, perhaps beyond what they deserve. So this virtue of humily helps them REMEMER what has been done on their behalf!

Our society has a "what have you done for me lately" attitude, an attitude of entitlement. Thankful people DO NOT FORGET that they didn't arrive where they are on their own!

Today, continue to make a list of the blessings of God in your life. Thank Him for those blessings one by one.

They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. Psalm 78:35

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. Psalm 77:11

Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—Psalm 103:2