The Weekly Encourager - November 22, 2011 - A Serving of Gratitude

Psychology is catching up with the Bible. So reports John Tierney of The New York Times. Here's an excerpt from his article, "A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day."

"Thanksgiving may be the holiday from hell for nutritionists, and it produces plenty of war stories for psychiatrists dealing with drunken family meltdowns. But it has recently become the favorite feast of psychiatrists studying the consequences of giving thanks. Cultivating an 'attitude of gratitude' has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others....

“But what if you’re not the grateful sort? I sought guidance from the psychologists who have made gratitude a hot research topic. Here’s their advice for getting into the holiday spirit — or at least getting through dinner Thursday:

“Start with 'gratitude lite.' That’s the term used by Robert A. Emmons, of the University of California, Davis, for the technique used in his pioneering experiments he conducted along with Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami. They instructed people to keep a journal listing five things for which they felt grateful, like a friend’s generosity, something they’d learned, a sunset they’d enjoyed.

“The gratitude journal was brief — just one sentence for each of the five things — and done only once a week, but after two months there were significant effects. Compared with a control group, the people keeping the gratitude journal were more optimistic and felt happier. They reported fewer physical problems and spent more time working out.

“Further benefits were observed in a study of polio survivors and other people with neuromuscular problems. The ones who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling happier and more optimistic than those in a control group, and these reports were corroborated by observations from their spouses. These grateful people also fell asleep more quickly at night, slept longer and woke up feeling more refreshed.

“'If you want to sleep more soundly, count blessings, not sheep,' Dr. Emmons advises in “Thanks!” his book on gratitude research.”

Tierney's timely article goes on to list other researchers' suggestions for gaining gratitude, including the old saw “it could always be worse,” but the overall tone of the article seems a bit on the curmudgeon side to me. For example, he advises, 'When your aunt expounds on politics, rejoice inwardly that she does not hold elected office. Instead of focusing on the dry, tasteless turkey on your plate, be grateful the six-hour roasting process killed any toxic bacteria.'” Meant to be funny, but really sad, isn't it?

How much more we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving than bacteria-free turkey! We have a loving God who made us, preserves us and cares for us. We have so many rich blessings in this life and countless more in the life to come. As our pastor Dave Coffin said on Sunday, there is one God, our Savior Jesus Christ, and His salvation is deliverance from sin and every evil consequence of sin, even death. Salvation can be summed up in one word: LIFE! Along with deliverance from sin, this salvation that Christ purchased for us involves new physical bodies (yes, toxin-free fitness forever), a caring community of believers, and the redemption of the whole creation, salvation on a cosmic scale.

Our “serving of gratitude” is the natural expression of the Christian's joy. Paul wrote to the Romans of this “Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him....Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!...For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” - Romans 10:12; 11:33-36; 12:1 We dedicate not just occasional words of thanks, but our whole lives to honor God and worship Him.

It's good for us, too, as psychologists are discovering. "A joyful heart is good medicine." - Proverbs 17:22 "A cheerful heart has a continual feast." - Proverbs 15:15 May we all dish up a healthy serving of gratitude this Thanksgiving.

Thanks be to God! Christ has saved the day! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

A version of this article appeared in print on November 22, 2011, on page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Serving of Gratitude May Save the Day.