THANKSGIVING 

AND 

TYPES OF PEOPLE 

INTRODUCTION

Robert Rodenmayer wrote a book called, “Thanks Be To God.”

In it  he says that there are 3 kinds of giving:

·       grudge giving,

·       duty giving,

·       thanks giving.

1) GRUDGE GIVING

A grudge giver says “I hate to give.”

This person gives little, for “the gift without the giver is bare.”

2) A DUTY GIVER

A duty giver says “I ought to give.”

This person givers more, but there is no song in it.

3) A THANKS GIVER

A thanks giver says, “I want to give.”

This person givers everything. They show forth the image of God to the world.

QUESTION

What kind of a giver do we tend to be most of the time?

WILLIAM BARCLAY

“The rabbis had a saying that the best kind of giving was when the giver did not know to whom he was giving and when the receiver did not know from whom he was receiving.”

TODAY’S GOSPEL

in today’s gospel, we have the 10 people with leprosy and only one came back to give thanks.

One out of ten is pretty bad.

ME -- YOU

Me? You?

What kind of a person am I?

Am I a person filled with gratitude or am I person filled with grudges?

Did the 9 other people get healed of their leprosy and not get healed of their grudges?

We don’t know.

Picture how easy it would have been to hang onto grudges -- after years and years of being shunned, pointed out, rejected, called, “Unclean!”

Leprosy was a double whammy.

Why / how did this one get freed?

Jesus says it was “faith”.

DR. HANS SELYE

In his book, Stress of Life, Dr. Hans Selye, said that “one of the simplest ways to reduce stress is to develop a sense of gratitude.”

The person who focuses on life’s blessings invariably experience contentment and peace while those who focus on crosses complain about them.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion is obvious.

Keep your eye on the good stuff and give thanks.