Rabbi Joseph Telushkin told about attending a synagogue service conducted by a friend. As the service began, the presiding rabbi asked, “What good thing happened to you this week?” One by one, people stood to recite their blessings during the previous week: a book published, a degree completed, several engagements and anniversaries, even first words spoken by a grandchild. Telushkin was so impressed with the uplifting nature of the service that he and his wife brought the same practice into their home. At the beginning of each Friday Sabbath meal, the family took turns telling about something good that happened to them during the week. Even when one of the family members had experienced a tough week, others always helped find something for which to be thankful.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV), the Apostle Paul instructs believers to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Gratitude might improve our attitude and mental health, and it might even be commanded in Scripture, but it’s not very common, is it? Remember the story of Jesus healing 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19) and, when they realized they’d been healed, only one of the ten returned to say “thanks”? Jesus asked, “Where are the nine?”

We can only imagine. Perhaps some of the former lepers rushed home to hug a spouse or the children they hadn’t been allowed to touch in a long time. (Lepers were “unclean” and contact with others was prohibited because of the contagious nature of the disease.) Caught up by joy, they forgot gratitude. A couple of “type A” personalities probably told themselves that obedience to instructions was important; Jesus had told them to “go show (themselves) to the priests.” Maybe some even dismissed the miracle by telling themselves, “I would have gotten well anyway.” Perhaps one of the former lepers had grown so bitter through his suffering that his thought was simply, “Well, it’s about time God heard my prayers!” We really can only guess at the reasons, but only one out of ten expressed gratitude for his healing.

Why doesn’t gratitude come more naturally?

Or maybe it does. Animals can seem more grateful than humans. Some of the employees of a school near our home spoil our dog. They keep treats in a pocket or purse, and when Harley sees one of those friends during his walk, he joyfully bounds over to greet them and get his treat. Harley’s tail wags his whole body! Gratitude comes pretty naturally to my dog; he knows when he’s blessed.

Phil Traband told of hiking through a clearing in Oklahoma when he heard a sound like a crying baby. Turning, he saw a wildcat slowly coming toward him. Knowing that wildcats can be very dangerous, Traband was afraid. He noticed, however, that the wildcat’s mouth and muzzle were swollen. He crouched down and the wildcat actually let him pry open its mouth. A sharp tooth had pierced and trapped the wildcat’s tongue, and the tongue was infected. The wildcat couldn’t eat or drink. As gently as he could Traband slipped the tongue off of the tooth; the wildcat never moved. After Traband finished, the wildcat stood looking at him. Traband stroked its fur, and the wildcat meowed its gratitude before vanishing into the woods.

Perhaps the reason gratitude seems to come more “naturally” to animals than to some humans is that humans are often too full of themselves! We wallow in our misery, believing that what has happened to us is the worst; in the midst of such misery, how could we feel gratitude? Or we get caught up in success, thinking that with all the hard work we put in, we deserve what we’ve earned. We don’t stop thinking about ourselves long enough to be grateful. We take life for granted, forgetting that each breath is a gift from God.

So let’s change the paradigm. Take a moment and consider: What good happened to you this week? God must be thanked, and perhaps others should hear your thanks as well. The English clergyman William Law wrote, “Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most, it is not he who gives most alms…it is he who is always thankful to God, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”