Thanks 5 - Thankfulness and Appreciation ...

Thursday, July 8, 2010. What role has thankfulness in our work environment? What role does it have in our public arena? Are we thankful if someone did a good job, in our company, in our institution, in a political party? We need to talk about thankfulness and appreciation - and also ask how God handles things like appreciation and thankfulness on the day by day questions of work and life.

Thanks around our Job

There are several key directions of thanks around our job. First, we can be very thankful to have a job which brings in money which provides for our basic needs. There are so many people on this planet who struggle to meet their basic needs. Unemployment is one of the big challenges of our world.

Second, we need to be thankful for the physical and mental health which enables us to work. Illnesses can come any time. So every day on which we can do our work should really fill us with thankfulness!

Third, we should be thankful for everyone who does his job. Often, people think that they do not need to be thankful since someone is paid for his job. But payment is never fully adequate for a job. Payment is just a tool to guide our activities in a human society. Our work always is more worth than the payment we get, its value can hardly be measured by money.

When thankfulness starts to surround and fill our professional activities, it will give strong motivation to everyone to carry out the work in a highly motivated and careful way, serving the others who provide thanks and appreciation in reply.

Full of Appreciation

God is full of appreciation for our activities. Even if we fail with many things, we can experience his appreciation, his help, his presence and company, his guidance and love. Love can see the value of work, the value of the other being. God is full of appreciation, thankfulness and love.

Sometimes our image of the role of service and work for God is distorted. God wants us to work for him, since that is part of a life full of love and appreciation. He wants us to work for him since work will fill us with pleasure and satisfaction. He made us able to do things, that is “to work”. Creativity is carried out by work, dreams and plans are broken down into steps and then carried out. Patience and power will realize itself via short-term and long-term activities. He will answer our activities with love and appreciation, with his special type of thankfulness. He will serve us in reply, as he always serves.

I had to learn: you can never give more than God. When ever you give, he will also give you more, in his special way. When ever you enter a competition with him to give and serve, you will realize that he serves you better, that he gives better, that his miraculous ways are truly wonderful. He has a special way of thankfulness, full of appreciation, service and love. ... more texts