Reasons To Be Cheerful... And Thankful
The late Ian Dury and The Blockheads sang, “Reasons to be cheerful parts one, two, three..” The song is a musical list, a disparate catalogue of things to be enjoyed, which are, as the title suggests, reasons to be cheerful:
Summer, Buddy Holly, the working folly
Good golly Miss Molly and boats
Hammersmith Palais, the Bolshoi BalletThe juice of the carrot, the smile of the parrot
A little drop of claret - anything that rocks
Take your mum to Paris
lighting up the chalice
wee Willy HarrisBantu Stephen Biko, listening to Rico
Harpo, Groucho, ChicoCheddar cheese and pickle, the Vincent motorsickle
Slap and tickle
Woody Allen, Dali, Dmitri and Pasquale
balabalabala and VolareSomething nice to study, phoning up a buddy
From the Marx Brothers to the ballet, from the simple pleasures of carrot juice, claret, or cheese, rocker Ian Dury reminds us that life is rich in expressions of God’s generosity to savour and enjoy! That’s reason to be cheerful and to give thanks!
On January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:“A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.”Canadians have enjoyed a statutory holiday to take pleasure in family, friends, and food, and to give thanks. All across the country, people gathered at dining room tables to engage in lavish meals, and people of faith paused to trace God’s faithfulness, provision, and protection over the preceding months.
This prescribed cultural marker invites us to give thanks to God for his generosity.
Scripture commands us to practice thanksgiving, not only as a civic observance, but as part of the rhythm of daily life. “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT). The practice of thanksgiving cultivates gratitude and joy. C.S.Lewis wrote, “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” If he’s right - and Scripture attests that he is – the deliberate vocal practice of thanksgiving puts us on heaven’s frequency! Giving thanks safeguards us against a calcified heart. As that sage, Tozer, remarked, “A thankful heart cannot be cynical.”
