A Note of Thanks — Warrior+Priest

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton

In starting this blog, I would like to begin with a point of gratitude.

It is probably enough that I have the opportunity to share my thoughts with any and all who might read them via this website. But, as is usually the case, when I stop for a moment to consider my place in this world, I realize that I have been given much more than enough.

So, I would first offer a prayer of thanks to my Lord and the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. His glory and a greater and more meaningful knowledge of Him are the point of everything I’m attempting to do here, and it will easily take more than an eternity to even comprehend what He has already done for me, and an adequate response to it will forever remain beyond my power. I have fallen short of His holiness even today, and yet, here I remain, penning this post. There is mercy in every breath and every keystroke, it seems. I pray that this blog would be an ever-present statement of gratitude and thankfulness for Him and what He has done.

I would also like to thank my beloved wife, Beth, for the constant encouragement to make something like this blog a reality. She is always ready to remind me that the joy I get from writing should be taken as a clue as to what kind of place it ought to have in my life. So, the effort and intention I hope to pour out here is for her, as well, and will always have the glow of her inspiration emanating off of it.

And lastly, to any and all who end up reading what gets posted here, I am thankful for you. For your attention, for your consideration, and for the time you find yourself willing to spend on what I write. There are a bazillion other blogs out there all vying for your affection and loyalty. The idea that you might read what I have to say and think it interesting, uplifting, encouraging, or challenging enough to return is something I do not take lightly.

Paul wrote in his epistle to the Romans that, “although they,” – that is, the unrepentant world – “knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” What follows this verse is the apostle’s inspired description of the downfall of sinful humanity, from thanklessness to pride, impurity, madness, and evil. In short, idolatry, self-centeredness, and all the wickedness of hell flow from the heart that refuses to tell God, “Thank you.”

So, may it never be here. I am just as capable as anyone else to complain, feel entitled, and march through life with a chip on my shoulder because of all the things I want that I feel I have been unjustly denied. Please don’t read any of this as some kind of statement of superiority or condescension. I merely mean to acknowledge right from the beginning my absolute lack of deserving of any and all of the things that have made this blog possible. I seek to practice gratitude more in my own life and can only think of good things that would happen for each and every individual, as well as society at large, that would do the same.

Let us be thankful, my friends. The world will always do its level best to convince us of all that we supposedly need that we do not have, of all that we have been unfairly denied, and of all the things that others possess that we ought to possess, too. Discontentment is the goal of much of this world’s marketing and sales programs. People are paid handsome sums to try and figure out how to make you and I feel as though we need and do not have.

In order to counter the ever-present onslaught, let’s remember all that we have that we do not deserve. And, as my wife reminded me recently via another writer, perhaps we ought to think about what we don’t have that we do deserve, as well.

So, for my very first blog post here on my new blog, let me encourage all of us to pursue more thankful mindsets throughout our lives. If anything else at all, it is at least a sober understanding of the actual reality of the world as it is. We are all here, living better than we deserve.

Thanks be to God.