Professing our Blessings
Psalm 1
November 18, 19, 2006

What do you think is the most frequently asked question that parents pose to their children? I suppose a number of options come to mind. "What are you doing?" "Where are you going?" "Where have you been?" "Have you finished your homework?" "Have you brushed your teeth?" Do any of those questions sound familiar?

Now, I don't have any statistical evidence. But I would venture to say that there is another question that would rank high on the list. "What do you say?" When our children were young, they began to realize that this was a multiple choice question. Certain behaviors, certain circumstances, certain situations prompted the question. They started to understand that there were several basic responses to the question: "What do you say?" "Thank you." "Please." "I'm sorry." "Excuse me."

I still remember a couple of instances when our son, Brandon, tried to cover all of the bases when the question was asked. Some strange sound emanated from his body. Then there was that moment of silence and anticipation as we waited. No response. Then the question: "What do you say?" Well, he just reeled off all of the possibilities-"Thank you, please, I'm sorry, excuse me." When he finally hit on the correct answer, we affirmed his response and said in unison, "You're excused." And that just happened last week.

No, seriously, it happened over a decade ago-which is hard to believe. Perhaps many of you can relate to this ongoing quest to pass along good manners and proper etiquette to your children and grandchildren? And I don't know if this is true for you and your family member and friends? But there is one "What do you say?" response that we continue to work on-not only with our children-but with ourselves. It seems that there can never be enough expressions of "thank you."

WE LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE IT IS SO EASY TO BECOME BLIND TO OUR BLESSINGS. I appreciated Craig Wilson's article in USA TODAY last week. He wrote, "It was a beautiful day and Maggie and I were returning from our walk through the woods. The dog and I find amazing things on the street. She looks upon it as a movable feast-a chicken wing here, a barbecue rib there. But I'm a bit more picky. We were only a couple of blocks from home when I spotted a cell phone and credit card sitting on the curb. I took them home. I was pouring myself coffee when the cell phone started to vibrate and dance across the kitchen counter. 'Who's this?' someone asked when I picked up. 'Who's this?' I countered. 'Sarah?' She was taken aback until she realized her name was on the credit card I also had recovered. 'Could you send them to me?' she asked, raising moxie to an art form. She lived about two miles from my home. I replied, 'Hmm, no. But you can come by and pick them up.' 'If I'm not home, I'll leave them in my mailbox.' A day later, when I was out for a run, someone retrieved them. And that was that. No verbal thank-you, no written thank you, no 'you saved my life and I'm going to get you a gift certificate' thank you. There wasn't even a scrap of paper stuffed in the mailbox with 'THANKS' scrawled on it." Wilson notes that there have been hundreds of stories written about how manners are a thing of the past-even though the rules have been rewritten to make it easier.

There is a new book out called To the Manner Born: A Most Proper Guide to Modern Civility. Emily Post would have a heart attack, but the book suggests that even email "thank yous" and cell phone text messages or voicemail messages are acceptable. Wilson wonders, "Does anyone say thank you anymore?" What do you say?

MANY FOLKS FEEL THAT FROM A FAITH AND SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE, GRATITUDE IS THE KEY FOR THE QUALITY OF OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD AND EACH OTHER. A person of faith was being interviewed by Larry King about what makes people happy. He responded: "The most important component of happiness by far-there isn't a close second- is gratitude." "Nothing instills gratitude as much as religion and prayer." "Prayer is a major vehicle to gratitude-and not request prayer-but grateful prayer: Thank you, God." He went on to say: "My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, the day of gratitude to God." And it probably won't surprise you that research does support these kinds of ideas and perspectives. A recent Barna Research poll revealed that those with an active faith-who attend church, read the Bible and pray-are more likely than other adults to say that they are very happy with their lives. Respondents in the "non-faith" group were least likely to feel very happy, and were most likely to feel that their lives were increasingly stressful and complex. Gratitude, thoughtfulness, thankfulness become the foundation, the pattern for professing our blessings from God.

WE SEE A SIMILAR PATTERN IN OUR TEXT FOR TODAY. Psalm 1 is not only the first psalm of the 150 Psalms in the Bible. It is also a psalm that provides a pattern or preface for all of the psalms that follow. Psalm 1 introduces the theme of blessedness and invites us to "delight in the law of the Lord." When we meditate upon God's words we become "like trees planted by streams of water," trees that bear fruit and thrive. Psalm 1 becomes the prelude for the songs of blessedness that surround those who are righteous and just. The author acknowledges the existence and influence of the wicked in this world, but chooses to begin by focusing on positive pronouncements. "Blessedness" or "happiness" is the ongoing state of the just. The translation that we have in our pew Bibles suggests that this joy is internalized as the faithful "meditate" on God's words "day and night."

But other translations offer other verb possibilities-"speakings" or "utterings"-which suggests that this is an outward exercise. From my point of view, both are important-delighting in God's words and blessings needs to be internalized and verbalized. I appreciated the story someone shared about their efforts to say a blessing before every meal in an effort to teach their children gratitude. Their three-year-old doesn't always know or understand all the words to their family table grace. But he knows how to end it. No matter what is prayed around the table, he is always the first and the loudest to offer a resounding "A-men!" Whatever is being said to God, he affirms it wholeheartedly.

Psalm 1 reminds us that we have a good and gracious God! But we also have choices-about the paths we pursue and the patterns by which we live. And we have decisions to make about our perspectives-whether we will recognize God's gifts and goodness. Teacher and author David McLennon tells a story of his very first job in the local general store. Some of you remember the days before there were massive malls and grocery stores the size of small towns. When he was 13, he was hired to sweep the floor, bag items for customers, put up stock. On one particular Saturday, he heard the owner say to one of the clerks "It's that time of the year again, it's time to take inventory." The word "inventory" was not one that had entered his vocabulary. When an opportune moment arrived, he went up to the kindly older man and asked, "Sir, what is an inventory?" Patiently the owner explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had-from groceries on the shelves to wrapping paper and string. Still somewhat puzzled, the young McLennon asked, "Why?" The owner said: "Well, it is easy to forget exactly how much you have each year." "Every now and then you have to take an inventory just to see what all you have."

I don't know about you, but that story captures the heart and soul of the psalm, the season of Thanksgiving, and the graciousness of God. Thanksgiving is a time to ask ourselves some serious questions. Have I taken inventory of my life lately? Have I made an effort to count all the things that I do have in life, instead of complaining about the things that I don't have? Have I spent more time pouting and complaining or more time professing my blessings?

Have you taken inventory of your life lately? Now, please understand that what I am suggesting here is not some shallow, syrupy "count your blessings" cliché or platitude. But from time to time, in a genuine kind of a way, we need to sit down and have a little talk with ourselves. From time to time we need to sit down and have a little talk with God about all of the gifts and graces that God has given each one of us. And here is the really tough part-to maintain our gratitude even in the face of difficulties and disasters. Psalm 1 may set the pattern for the 149 Psalms that follow it-but if you have read through them, you know that they are not all sweetness and light. Many of them are written from the depths of despair, from the midst of chaos and confusion, from the agony of isolation and loneliness. I love the Psalms because they are so honest about the human condition. But I also love them because even in their honesty, even in their painful confessions-the bottom line is praise and gratitude to God. The Christian faith affirms that in the midst of everything-in life, in death, in times of blessedness and loss-we are to turn to God in praise.

Another poet expresses all of this so eloquently: "Gracious God, even if our mouths were filled with songs like the sea, our tongues with joy like its mighty waves, our lips with praise like the breadth of the sky; Even if our eyes shone like the sun and the moon, and our hands were spread out like the eagles of heaven; Even if our feet were as swift as the wind… We would still be incapable of thanking you adequately for one thousandth part of all the love you have shown us."

Friends, every day, every hour, every moment, every breath we take-let us find a way to praise the God from whom all of our blessings flow. Let us be grateful and let others hear us professing our blessings! What do you say?