I am not going to thank anybody – because I did it all myself.
Spike Milligan, British comic actor and author.
On receiving the British Comedy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1994[1]

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day, it is a tradition to relax with family, turn on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (if you are with my mom) or football (if you are with my wife), and go around the table and answer the question, “What are you thankful for?”

Since the 16th century, Christians have traditionally sung “We Gather Together” as an expression of gratitude to God.[2] Originally written by Valerius in Dutch (1626), Theodore Baker translated it into English (1894), and Paul Sjolund added a fourth verse (1984). This added verse reads:

With voices United, our praises we offer,
To thee in thanksgiving, glad anthems we raise.
Thy strong arm will guide us,
For thou art beside us,
to Father, Son, and Spirit, forever be praised!

Thanksgiving has codified expressions of gratitude, but Christian thanksgiving in the West has extended farther back. William Bradford, former Governor of Plymouth Colony (1621-1633), wrote:

Though historians recognize that the urge to give thanks to God was common throughout the history of Christianity and that prior to 1620 there were many such occasions in colonial America—Spanish colonists along the Rio Grande offering their thanks to God for their deliverances, and the Jamestown settlers who survived thanking the Lord, are examples—the thanksgiving observance and feast held by the Pilgrims in November 1621 have become hallowed parts of the American tradition.[3]

From early childhood, we are taught to say, “Thank you,” and in all the major religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism) have emphasized gratitude in their teachings.[4] Cross-culturally, it is a highly valued social trait as we tend to like and associate with people who are grateful and, conversely, feel disdain and disassociate from those who are ungrateful. So what is gratitude?

Gratitude in Ethics & Psychology

Gratitude can be defined as a recognized sense of wonder and thankfulness for a positive outcome from an external source.[5] It is distinct from indebtedness (the feeling of obligation to repay), though both often have personal (human) sources.

Gratitude is decreased when ulterior motives or expectations of reciprocity are present and increased when the gift is valued more highly and is given unexpectedly.[6] When it is not from a human source—a lack of interpersonal context and exchange—it is sometimes referred to as “general gratitude” or “appreciation,” such as an appreciation for the first signs of spring after a cold winter.

In ethics, there has been debate as to whether it should be connected with justice (Aquinas), beneficence (Kant), or reciprocating love (Spinoza).[7] In any case, paradigm cases of gratitude involve a beneficiary (receiver) and benefactor (giver).

In social psychology, gratitude is considered a moral emotion. This is for several reasons.

It is a moral barometer—alerting us when we have been benefited.
It is a moral motivator—moving us to benefit others.
It is a moral reinforcer—encouraging us to continue benefitting those who have been grateful.[8]

It can either be studied as an emotional state (how a person is feeling in the moment) or as a personality trait (the stable disposition or sensitivity to grateful emotions)—sharing similarities to agreeableness on the Big Five model. As an emotion, it involves affective states, physiological disturbance, and expressive behavior. But unlike some emotions (such as depressive states and loneliness), it involves intention and presupposes judgments of good and bad.[9]

Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude is associated with more positive thinking, positive feelings, and positive behavior. Philip C. Watkins writes

Grateful people tend to be more agreeable, prosocial, hopeful, and emotionally intelligent; have higher self-esteem; and are more religious and spiritual. Grateful people also tend to be less depressed, less hostile, less self-centered, and less neurotic.[10]

Grateful thoughts foster a reframing of situations (appreciating having a supportive family when losing a job) and an increase in perceived communal connectedness strength (feeling responsible for friends’ wellbeing). Grateful feelings are linked with more positive emotion than negative, with those who “count their blessings” and writing letters of gratitude more likely to be satisfied with their lives. Grateful behavior improves prosocial activities—comfort in voicing concern for friends, relationship maintenance, helping strangers, and reciprocating actions—and self-improvement—coping with challenges, believing in capabilities, progressing toward goals. Gratitude moves one toward the good life in areas of mental health, happiness, and action-taking.

Gratitude & The Moral Argument

But is it ever rational to look beyond merely the bright side of things? Given all the death, dysfunction, and evil in the world, is it not appropriate to despair? We should always appreciate the little good that we have, but there is a point when a series of unfortunate events outweighs the fortunate ones. If we are relying on a placebo effect to carry us through the tough times, it will be problematic to recognize that placebo. Should we live in denial or blissful ignorance?

As stated above, religious and spiritual people are more grateful. This seems natural for Christians, giving what we believe. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”[11] The gratitude Christians have persists through demoralizing, and even immoral, events. Paul the Apostle (and the early church) faced numerous trials.[12] Yet, he commanded the Thessalonians to “Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”[13] Below are reasons why Christians are rational in affirming all aspects of gratitude, even in areas where naturalistic ethicists and psychologists might have problems.

God Best Explains Gratitude

A personal God makes sense of the capacity to be willfully grateful—being made in the image of God.
An omnipotent God makes sense of the constant longing to thank a (hitherto unknown) benefactor for every good thing—the grand Giver.
An omnibenevolent God makes sense of the universal opportunity for people to appreciate the world.
An interpersonal God (such as the Trinity) makes sense of the wide variety of things we can appreciate—unity amidst diversity.
A God of grace makes sense of the universal prompting to receive his gift of salvation through conviction by creation and conscience.
A God of incarnation makes sense of the ability to appreciate, even when things seem to go wrong, having suffered with and for us.
A God of justice makes sense of the hope in an afterlife and final judgment where all things are made right.

Verses to Meditate On

Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” (NASB)
Psalm 118:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.” (HCSB)
Acts 17:23 – “For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” (NIV)
Romans 1:20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
Romans 2:14-15 – “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (ESV)
2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (ESV)
Hebrews 4:15 – For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. (NASB)
Hebrews 13:14 – “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (NIV)
Hebrews 12:28 – “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” (ESV)
1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” (NIV)

[1] Alexander, Fran, Anne Stibbs, and John Daintith. "Gratitude." Bloomsbury Thematic Dictionary of Quotations. 3rd ed. Bloomsbury, 1997.

[2] Bronner, Simon J. "Thanksgiving," Encyclopedia of American Folklife. Routledge, 2013.

[3] Bremer, Francis J., and Tom Webster. "Pilgrim Thanksgiving." Puritans and Puritanism in Europe and America: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2005.

[4] Harpham, Edward J. “Gratitude in the history of ideas,” The Psychology of Gratitude, edited by R.A. Emmons and M.E. McCullough. Oxford University Press. New York NY. 2004.

[5] Katherine Nelson, S., & Lyubomirsky, S. “Gratitude,” Encyclopedia of Mental Health, edited by H. S. Friedman (2nd ed.). 2015.

[6] Watkins, Philip C. "Gratitude." Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, edited by Roy F. Baumeister, and Kathleen D. Vohs. Sage Publications, 2007.

[7] Mccloskey, Mary A. "Gratitude." Encyclopedia of Ethics, edited by Lawrence C. Becker, and Charlotte B. Becker. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001.

[8] Ibid., Watkins.

[9] Ibid., Mccloskey.

[10] Ibid., Watkins.

[11] James 1:17, NASB

[12] 1 Corinthians 11:26-33

[13] 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, ESV