Living in the United States, the greatest country in the world, it is so easy to become engulfed in a culture of greed. From the newest version of the iPhone to the latest fashion trends, it is hard to keep up with passing fads. It causes a lot of people to be unsatisfied with their lives. Sometimes selfishness can prevent us from reaching our full potential of giving, and our desire for material objects can blind us from seeing the needs of others. With Thanksgiving season upon us, it's nice to have a reminder of how blessed we are and how grateful we should be.
It isn't difficult to be thankful for the good things and blessings in your life. When things are turning out the way you want and it feels like you have your life together, it is easy to be grateful for your success. But a fulfilling spirit comes to those who are also thankful in their failures, set-backs, and opportunities to learn and grow as a person. Being thankful can turn negative situations into positive ones and gives you a more satisfying outcome. We should not only be thankful for the material possessions in this world, those fade away and leave us unsatisfied. Instead, we should be thankful for the spiritual aspects in this life such as love, contentment, peace, comfort, and so many more intangible things we are lucky as humans to be able to feel and express. When you gain a beautiful soul full of love, kindness, wisdom, and gratitude, those things never really leave you. You're stuck with a blessing to carry through life and make it more enjoyable for you and your surroundings. 2nd Corinthians 9:11-12 says, "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God." Being thankful also ties in with being generous. Even the smallest acts of kindness done with genuine compassion can result in something largely impactful in someone else's life.
By adopting an attitude of gratitude, it provides you with more happiness and significance. Focusing on being thankful for what you already have causes you to have an abundance and feel complete. On the other hand, by focusing on the things you want, it causes you to always be lacking in something. Because the amount of stuff you have will not make you grateful; if anything, more material objects could make your life worse. How much money you have, what car you drive, or how many possessions you own don't make a grateful person, your heart does. Don't let the things you wish to have distract you from the things you're so lucky to have already.
