“Be thankful for what is there on your plate and eat.”

 

“You are so ungrateful after all that we do for you.”

 

Do you find yourself saying this to your children?

 

Yes, many of us have grown up hearing this from our parents and elders, and we expect the same from our children. We cannot teach lesson after lesson to children to be grateful. We cannot force it upon them. We may have learned the hard way but we cannot do so with our children when we have a personal relationship with Christ.

 

This incident in the Bible is known to us and we know that from the ten lepers, only one came back and thanked Jesus. Jesus met the leper to the point of his need; He touched his life which changed forever. The healed man was not disappointed with what he received but he got beyond what he expected and that caused him to bow down in gratitude before Jesus.

 

When our children respond with disappointment it doesn’t mean they are ungrateful. In times like these, it is best to pay attention to recognize what brings them joy. Forcing children to be thankful for something that doesn’t trigger gratitude in them can be toxic positivity.

This doesn’t mean that we give in to all their demands. Helping our children to develop a grateful heart requires your time, time to guide them to understanding their needs over wants. If we take the time to explain things in love to our children, being careful not to be authoritative, our time invested will bring forth eternal fruit in our children.

 

If we desire to teach gratitude to our children we need to model it. Are we grateful for the little things in life or are we waiting for the future bigger things? We have to consciously learn to live in the present as possible, recognise the beautiful things around us and express joy to them vocally and authentically with our children. Don’t wait for special days but outwardly express gratitude whenever we get the opportunity, especially to our spouse, children are watching!

We have to be vocal in thanking children too for the little things that they do including even obeying instructions. Thanking children doesn’t make us less of a parent, children are assured that we have noticed their effort and appreciate it. This encourages them to further obey.

 

The healed leper bowed down before Jesus and in an audible voice thanked Jesus. His voice reached people around and they witnessed God’s glory. As parents, we too have to be audible when we thank God for His goodness. Every verse in the Bible that talks about gratitude is an encouragement to “Give”, which means a conscious effort to give thanks, give praise. It is not only through our loud prayers that they need to hear it, they have to witness our praise to God and thankfulness to Him in our daily life. When we recognize that every single breath is from God, we will never fail to thank God for the little joys that come our way. The joy that fills our hearts should overflow into our children so that they turn to God with a true grateful heart.