Posts Tagged: Psalm 119:7
“From Thanksgiving to Thanks-Living”
“As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!” (Psalm 119:7, New Living Translation)
A friend gave me a wonderful phrase the other day. He spoke of “. . . moving from thanksgiving to thanks-living.”
I immediately thought of Psalm 119:7. (It took me a while to find the exact reference and the translation, but I’m nothing if not dogged about certain things.)
Unfortunately, the New Living Translation is more of a loose paraphrase than a strict translation at times. The English Standard Version translates more strictly,
“I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.”
Still, considering the context of Psalm 119 and the sweep of the rest of the Bible, it is true enough to say that praise is—or ought to be—connected with how we live our lives. As for learning God’s righteous rules, the Bible indicates that learning is never for the sake of learning. Rather, we learn in order to do.
In other words, it is not enough to give thanks. We need to learn to live thanks. How do we, how do I, learn to do that? I am still learning, but here is the current state of my pilgrimage.
First, I try to remember (and increasingly, I do remember) that I have received, am receiving, and will continue to receive so many wonderful things. I am grateful for them, but I also realize that part of being thankful is being generous with others. This generosity is part of doing a better job of thanks-living. God didn’t give me so many blessings, materially, relationally, spiritually, for me to be a hoarder of them.
Second, I remember that, while even God appreciates the words “Thank you,” God also appreciates and deserves my down-and-dirty daily obedience. God not only makes the rules; God is the ruler! And a good one, God is! His rules are infinitely good as the Ruler is.
I’ve used a lot of words in this post in order to simply echo what Jesus said, when he said that the most important command is to love God and to love others. That’s how to consistently move from thanksgiving to thanksliving.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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