{"id":5143,"date":"2017-10-23T01:03:34","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T06:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2017-10-23T01:03:34","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T06:03:34","slug":"5-little-big-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/10\/23\/5-little-big-words\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Little Big Words"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jim Palmer
\n\u201cThank you\u201d and \u201cI love you\u201d are words which, when strung together, form powerful, emotive, life enriching phrases that strike a chord with any to whom they are said. The need to feel appreciated and useful and loved is ingrained into our psyche. Each one of us enjoys a compliment. We feel better when we hear pleasant words. Proverbs 16:24 declares the powerful therapeutic value of kind words like this: \u201cPleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul<\/strong> and health to the bones<\/strong>.\u201d The phrase \u201cthank you\u201d is even one of the two \u2018magic words\u2019 we teach our children (coupled, of course, with \u2018please\u2019). When we are told \u201cI love you\u201d from someone who we know means it, the joyful feeling of the encouraging words can linger for hours \u2013 and even days.
\n 
\nSo, if knowing how good it feels to hear those words expressed \u2013 why do we not voice our gratitude and love for others more often (Matthew 7:12)? Why is it that we wait until someone dies before we shower them with accolades? Why is it that all too often we have trouble getting the words \u201cthank you\u201d and \u201cI love you\u201d to cross our lips? Is it possible that we are too caught up with self<\/strong> to recognize those who give so much to us? Have we as a society become too focused on what we don\u2019t have<\/strong> rather than how abundantly blessed we truly are? And, as such, is it even likely that we have developed a sense of entitlement<\/strong> and expectation <\/strong>that, when not met, darkens our hearts to the point of being ungrateful and unloving? Friends, this ought not to be.
\n 
\nWhy not take the time, right now, to share your feelings with someone by saying three little words: \u201cI love you\u201d? Why not begin by giving thanks to God? Some thirty-six times the Psalmist declares a need or motivation for giving thanks to God, including:
\nPsalm 92:1<\/strong>
\nIt is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High\u2026
\nPsalm 107:1<\/strong>
\nOh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
\nPsalm 107:31<\/strong>
\nOh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness…
\nPsalm 140:13<\/strong>
\nSurely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name…Indeed, surely<\/strong> the righteous will give thanks to God. Are you constantly and consistently thankful to God? Will who do not know God give thanks to Him? Of course they will not. If as Christians we will not be thankful (and how can we call ourselves truly thankful if we will not express our gratitude) how are we different? The Christian must be different<\/strong> lest his influence be nil. Christians, of all people, should be ready and able to follow the admonition of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which reads, \u201cRejoice<\/strong> always, pray<\/strong> without ceasing, in everything give thanks<\/strong>; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.\u201d If we will be a positive influence on our associates, our friends, our families, yes, even this world in which we live, we must be ever rejoicing (always being mindful of all that God has both done and provided for us), we will be constant in prayer (acknowledging and thanking God for his bountiful blessings) and we will always, always, always thank our Father in Heaven. Will you not bow your head in prayer, right now, and thank the One who provides for your every need?
\n 
\n 
\nLet us follow up by seeking out those who we love and appreciate to express that love and gratitude to them. If you need to, make a list of those who need to hear how much you love them. Call them today. Write them a note right now. Send the email you\u2019ve been meaning to send. Let the sweet fragrance of your love and gratitude permeate the lives of those who you would have be encouraged to face another day, those who might be struggling with problems in life, those who work tirelessly \u2013 yet, thanklessly to make your life better, and those who simply can never hear those beautiful words enough (Ephesians 4:29, Isaiah 35:3-4). May we never be accused of being like the husband who never tells his wife he loves her, and when asked about it, replied, \u201cI told you I loved you on the day were married, and if something changes I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d Carve out a new habit, if you have not done so already, to give a voice to the love and gratitude you have in your heart. Your children need to hear about it. They need to know that their existence and well-being is based on the love that you have deep inside. Express it. Let them know how much you love them. Do it today.
\n 
\nAnd finally, make it a point to suppress the urge to feel entitled<\/strong>. Manage your expectations <\/strong>to a suitable level. When we begin to expect to be treated in a certain way, honored in a certain fashion, or entitled to a particular position in life bestowed by God or our fellow man, we can be quickly filled with ingratitude when life does not quite live up to our \u2018expectations\u2019. For example, in 2 Kings 5, we read about Naaman, a mighty man of valor, most honorable in the eyes of the king of Syria. Naaman, however, had a problem. Naaman was a leper. Fortunately for Naaman, one of his wife\u2019s maidens was a young Israelite girl who had been captured by the raiding Syrian army. She knew that the God of Israel could cleanse Naaman\u2019s leprosy and told his wife about it. Naaman had his king send a letter to the king of Israel, who in turn spoke with Elisha the prophet about this Syrian army commander with leprosy. In order that the God of Israel would be glorified even by the Syrians, Elisha agreed to heal the man of his leprosy. Once told of Elisha\u2019s willingness to heal him, Naaman summoned his chariot, took ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing (think pomp and circumstance \u2013 this is a big deal!) and proceeded toward Elisha\u2019s house. Naaman had it in mind how this would all play out:
\n\u201cThe prophet will come out, pay me the proper respect and honor, make a magnificent show by waving his hand and shouting to the Lord so that all will know how important I am, and I will be cleansed of my leprosy \u2013 I\u2019m certain it will be very dramatic!\u201d
\nOnly, it didn\u2019t happen that way. Oh yes, Elisha offered the way for Naaman to be saved from his leprosy, but the procedure was not up to Naaman\u2019s expectations.
\n\u201cElisha sent a messenger to greet me? Does he not even want to see me, \u00a0a mighty man of valor that is right here in his midst, even at his door? Where is the honor, the respect I\u2019m due! And he wants me to do what? Wash in the Jordan River? Does Elisha not know that there are far better waters than those that flow in Jordan? And you mean that\u2019s it, anyway? Dip seven times in the Jordan? That\u2019s preposterous!\u201d
\nNaaman was struggling with expectations. He felt entitled to more pomp, more sizzle, and more style. And while the prescription was one that would save him (dipping in the Jordan River seven times) he couldn\u2019t help but exhibit a bit of ingratitude for Elisha\u2019s not living up to what he had envisioned. Fortunately, once his fury subsided, he listened to one of his servants who convinced him to obey Elisha\u2019s command \u2013 despite the fact that he thought it maybe just a bit foolish to have to do it that way \u2013 and he was cleansed. Only then did he return to Elisha to express his thankfulness. May we guard our hearts against developing a sense of entitlement and expectation either with our God or our fellow man.
\n 
\nAs we close, let us consider the ways that we may live lives that draw ourselves and others closer to God. The Christian has every reason to be thankful. \u201cDo not be deceived … Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father …\u201d (James 1:17). Follow the pattern of Christ and give Him thanks. We know how to love because He first loved us (1 John 4:10).\u00a0 Let us love one another and let the world know we are Christians by that love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jim Palmer \u201cThank you\u201d and \u201cI love you\u201d are words which, when strung together, form powerful, emotive, life enriching phrases that strike a chord with any to whom they are said. The need to feel appreciated and useful and loved is ingrained into our psyche. Each one of us enjoys a compliment. We feel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1092,1126,806,907,68,995,1127,275],"class_list":["post-5143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-think-excerpts","tag-april-2006","tag-entitlement","tag-gratitude","tag-jim-palmer","tag-love","tag-man-to-man","tag-psalm","tag-words","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Little Big Words - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/10\/23\/5-little-big-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Little Big Words - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jim Palmer \u201cThank you\u201d and \u201cI love you\u201d are words which, when strung together, form powerful, emotive, life enriching phrases that strike a chord with any to whom they are said. 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