How many times as kids did we receive a gift, only to be prompted by our parents’ with, “What do you say?”, which was our cue to say, “Thank you!” My parents coaching became more sophisticated when I was a teenager, especially at Christmas. We were not allowed to open gifts until a notepad and pen were in insight, and we were prepared to write down who gave us the gifts. In the days following Christmas I often heard, “Have you written your thank you notes yet?” I thought I was being badgered, but with 20/20 hindsight, I see my parents were training me on the importance of saying “thank you”.
As an adult I appreciate this training. I understand that no gift should be taken for granted, and saying “thank you” supports this basic truth. From the vantage point of the one giving the gifts, I now understand why my parents pushed me to write “thank you” notes. Givers desire acknowledgement. They want to know their gift brought joy and gladness! The joy of giving is intense for me. I have no words in my vocabulary to describe that feeling. But I have discovered a weakness in my flesh. When I don’t get a thank you, my heart feels discouragement that robs me of the joy of giving. How do I get over this discouragement?
Recently, I was doing my daily reading in Scripture, which happened to be 2 Cor 9, Paul’s message on the Macedonians’ giving. While reading the following passage, the Spirit showed me the answer to my question:
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”[a]
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (Hmmm…it doesn’t say “thanksgiving to Lee Ann”) 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (Hmmm…is this a typo? It doesn’t say “thanks to Lee Ann”) 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God (It doesn’t say “praise Lee Ann”) for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
This reading brought instant clarity as to why I feel discouragement. I desire a thank you. I want people whom God has led me to bless to acknowledge what He’s doing in their life. I want to hear their joy about these blessings! I am not opposed to God being thanked, but I at least want some of it to go to me – which is SO WRONG according to the Scripture above. The fact is my discouragement was unwittingly self-induced by looking for the wrong outcome. Now that my perspective is correct, I not only lost the feeling of discouragement, but I lost my desire to hear a “thank you”.
The lesson is obvious: it is not about me and never will be, and everything that I say and do should only be for His glory and honor. If my investment of time, energy, and resources given through a variety of ministries causes others to give “overflowing expressions of thanks to God” and leads others to “praise God” because of sharing His gifting and resources with others, then everything has happened according to God’s plan. Thus, to even desire a “thank you” from anyone is to rob God of the “thank you” He deserves since He is the real Giver. He is the only reason I have anything to give in the first place! I am just His conduit to be a blessing to others, so the thank you should ALWAYS go to Him. I’m a slow learner as it has taken me 50 years to figure this out, but I think I am finally getting it.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Kathryn Penick Powell commented on your note “Robbing God His Due”.
Kathryn wrote:
“Does God keep on giving and giving even though one never says, “Thank you”?”
Absolutely! He loves us unconditionally. God is doing an amazing thing in me around giving, and I believe there may be a series on giving that’s cooking in my blog crockpot!! Love, Lee Ann
Thank you, God, for filling all of us with gifts that need to be shared. And….thank YOU, Lee Ann, for sharing your knowledge of the Word with us through your blog. You are a blessing to all of us.
p.s. We look forward to sampling the crockpot meals God is preparing in your kitchen!
Thank you, Joan! My blog crockpot is getting full, but you hit the nail on the head – the words need to be from God before it ever becomes a blog! If it is not Spirit-led, then it won’t be impactful. Blessings, Lee Ann
David Kellogg says:
Lee Ann,
Your latest posting about “thanking” each other is a striking parallel to the “Hallowed be Thy Name” phrase in our Lord’s Prayer. At some points in their lives, both John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth must have realized their own names had to be “hallowed.” That particular word is problemmatic for us modern Christians. It means to be “sanctified” or to be set aside from our society’s frame of reference. Each of us already prays, “Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” While His name is “hallowed,” so must ours be in an unspoken sense. Without that innner feeling and assurance that comes with us also being “hallowed,” we are far less capable than we should be. Through God’s sanctification to us and our sanctification to Him, we establish His Kingdom on Earth as it it is in Heaven. That was precisely what the sanctified John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth brought to us. My prayer for this day is that you and I be sanctified (or “hallowed”) in the activities we undertake. While we attempt to do the best we can, that someone who tries to work through us would appreciate us heeding his advice. When we do, he can accomplish far greater things than we can envision.
Keep the faith,
David Kellogg
Marilyn Smith says:
Excellent as always! Miss talking to you! Keep the blogs coming!
Carla Childers says:
Hi Lee Ann!
I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your thoughts. You really gave me an opportunity to re-think my giving and expectations — keep on blogging!
Love,
Carla