Grateful People Are Refreshing

Now this was refreshing!

The other day I was in Wal-Mart. I had my three or four items and found a checkout counter with no line. The checker was a Hispanic woman in her late 30s. I asked her about her day;

“I’ve had a fantastic day!” she replied.

Then I asked her, “What happened today that would cause you to say that the day was fantastic?”

She said, “I have two jobs and the Lord does provide.”

Gratitude is refreshing.

Some of the most grateful people who I have ever met were just getting by financially. On the other hand, I have known some people who had a lot of possessions including the latest technology gadgets and yet expressed little gratitude to God or anyone else. Such people can unfortunately be stingy, self-centered, and miserly with what they have. Some of these people even seem to resent being asked to give to the needy. Ingratitude has a way of shrinking the heart.

Some examples:

• The man whose idea of tipping at a restaurant is to leave as little as possible.
• The woman whose good friends treated her to a birthday party. She complained afterward that no one gave her the present that she really wanted.
• The man who is aware of needed work in his home and then manipulates his wife into doing it.
• The couple who took expensive vacations and yet could be stingy when it came to giving to the poor.

There is something refreshing about gratitude. I really think that grateful people are often gracious people. They are not tight, stingy, and self-centerd. No, gracious people have a way at looking out for the best interest of others.

Some years ago, I became very intentional about paying attention to gracious people. I have tried to learn from such people.   There is a stark difference between someone who is gracious and someone who is not. I suspect that some of this graciousness is rooted in that person’s sense of gratitude.

Conclusion:

Think about the people who you know who are gracious and those who are not gracious. What characterizes these people?