The Million Dollar Word

Rudyard Kipling lived from 1865 to 1936. He was English, born in Bombay, India. He wrote poetry and is the author of books like Captain Courageous, How the Leopard Got His Spots, and the Jungle Book.  Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune.  

A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word." The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, "Here's a one hundred dollar note, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words."  

Upon receipt of the money, Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks!"  

The word "thanks" is certainly a word worth one hundred dollars. In fact, its value makes it more like a million-dollar word.   According to Matt. 12:36-37: … Words are powerful ; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." (Message)  Very few words have more potential than thanks! Thankfulness makes at least three major contributions into our life.

#1 Thankfulness fulfills the will of God.  Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thess 5:18   How many times have we prayed, “Lord show me your will?”   There is nothing wrong with this prayer.  However, before we worry about what to do next, we need to begin with giving thanks!  When Jesus taught us to pray, he showed us to honor God before we ask: Our Father in heaven may your name be honored.  Matt 6:9  Thanksgiving honors God. NLT  As crazy as it may sound, our first need in every situation is to align ourselves in God’s will by giving thanks to Him.   Anything that fulfills the will of God is certainly worth a million dollars.   

#2  Thankfulness makes us whole.  In Luke 17, we find the story of ten lepers who were healed by Jesus.  In verse 15 one of the Lepers was healed and turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God.  He was the only one who said thanks.  The million dollar word not only brought him physical healing, but Jesus proclaimed that his faith expressed through his thanksgiving made him whole.  The word ‘whole’ meant among other things to keep safe and sound; to rescue from danger.  Healing was truly wonderful, but the implication is that his heart of thanks contributed something far greater.  This man walked away with healing of the heart and body. 

#3 Thankfulness improves our quality of life.  Henry Ward Beecher once said: “The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"   In life, we find what we are looking for.  If we look for what is beautiful, we find beauty.   Incredibly, the more we look for beauty, the more beauty we find. Yet, if we look for what is unattractive, we find unattractiveness. The more unattractiveness we look for, the more unattractiveness we find.  

This brings new meaning to the famous Helen Keller quote: “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”  

We live in a world that is full of things and people that daily showcases the incredible beauty, kindness and generosity of our God.  Yet, though we have eyes to see them, we don’t have the vision to comprehend them.   In this blindness, we find ourselves living in what has been described as a “culture of complaint.”  Our problem has never been and never will be what we don’t have.  Our problem is that we don’t recognize what God has already given to us.

Rom 1:20 explains that God’s eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). 

  

I challenge you during this season we call Thanksgiving, not to get so caught up in what you have to do that you are blinded to what you have!  Take at least a few minutes to see the hand of God so clearly around you.  (Your family, friends, nature, the gift of salvation by grace, just to name a few.)  Then from your heart, say the word so rich it will bless you more than a million dollars – Thanks!