Thankfulness and dependence

I’ve been listening to James Jordan’s lectures on Ephesians, available at Wordmp3.

In one of the lectures he makes an interesting point about thankfulness.

He notes that giving thanks expresses dependence, and the reason why people are so little inclined to give thanks is that they don’t want to reveal dependence on anyone but themselves.

The people of God, on the other hand, are to be a thankful people.  Being thankful is to be part of who they are because it helps train them toward dependence on the Lord, and keep them there.

Thinking about this further, the value of teaching children to be thankful becomes apparent.  It’s more than good manners.  It prepares them for a life of unashamed dependence on the Lord.