The Benefits of Being Grateful

Transcription

1 The Benefits of Being Grateful ADULT By Richard Lentz 1 June December for use as STEP 1. Focus: God is my salvation, so I will praise and thank Him. Bible Basis: Isaiah 12 Students will discuss how to have an attitude of gratefulness to God even in the midst of dire circumstances. OPENING ACTIVITY: Give Thanks Begin class by asking students to respond to these two questions: What are some things you are or should be thankful for? Why do you think it s important to express our gratitude? Students may be thankful for a loving family, for good health, for material blessings, for caring friends, or for knowing that God loves them. Reasons we need to express gratitude include making sure we don t take what God has given us for granted and giving credit where credit is due. This week s story explains why researchers say gratitude is a healthy attitude. OPENING STORY [read it aloud to your class, or make copies and pass it around]: THE SCIENCE OF BLESSINGS Although Christians have probably known for a long time that blessings come from learning to be grateful, independent researchers are now discovering the same thing there are a host of benefits for those who are consistently grateful. According to the University of California in Berkeley, researchers have found that regular expressions of gratitude result in: -a stronger immune system and lower blood pressure -a higher level of positive emotions -more joy, optimism, and happiness -acting with more generosity and compassion -feeling less lonely and isolated

2 June 9, 2013 / Step 1 2 Memory Verse In that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4 The Greater Good Science Center, in collaboration with the University of California in Davis, is in its second year of a three-year project to expand the scientific understanding of gratitude, particularly in the key areas of health and well-being, developmental science, and social contexts. Among the things they hope to discover is the role of gratitude in youth development. They want to know, for example, if there is a critical period when the capacity for gratitude is best transmitted from an older to a younger generation. They also want to know to what degree gratitude is predictive of positive outcomes such as school success, overall well-bring, community service, resiliency, healthy behaviors, and less risk taking. The studies the university is pursuing were prompted in part by research into the relationship between gratitude and health by Dr. Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at U.C. Davis and author of the book Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make you Happier. Some consider Emmons to be the world s leading scientific expert on gratitude. Emmons says that there is a distinction between feeling grateful and being grateful. We don t have total control over our emotions, Emmons said recently, but being grateful is a choice, a prevailing attitude that endures and is relatively immune to the gains and losses that flow in and out of our lives. Emmons emphasizes that people ought to be grateful under all circumstances. That doesn t mean that we have to be thankful for all circumstances. But finding what we can be grateful for in the midst of even dire circumstances is not just helpful it is essential if we want to have a healthy response to what life brings. [Now form small groups and have your class discuss the following questions.] What is the difference between feeling grateful and being grateful? How can you choose to be grateful independent of your feelings or the circumstances? In what situations do you find it difficult to be grateful? How can you still have a grateful heart even in those situations? [When you are finished, go on to Step 2 in your Adult Teacher s Guide.] News Sources: Greater Good Science Center - Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude Gratitude Power - The Science of Gratitude

3 ADULT The Benefits of Being Grateful June for use as STEP 4. Focus: God is my salvation, so I will praise and thank Him. Bible Basis: Isaiah 12 CAN WE ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL? Being grateful is not always easy. How can we be grateful, for example, if our house is destroyed by a tornado or our spouse dies? Paul told the Thessalonians, Be joyful always. Pray continually. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:16-18). Paul was basically telling us that we can give thanks in spite of our circumstances because of who God is and what He has done for us. What contributed to Isaiah s gratefulness was looking forward to the day when God would turn things around and restore His chosen people to their land. We can choose to be grateful, independent of our circumstances. It is an attitude of the heart expressed through our voices, perhaps written down with our pens, but more importantly evidenced in our lives. ACTIVITY Have your students return to the groups they had in Step 1 and do these activities. On an index card or sheet of paper, write some things you are or should be grateful for. If you feel comfortable doing so, share what you have listed with your small group or the entire class. Do something this week that expresses your gratitude, such as designating a time each day to thank God for what He s done for you, or sending a note of appreciation to someone who has done something special for you. Conclude with a time of open prayer where students may pray aloud, telling God what they are thankful for and praising Him for His goodness to us. (David C Cook is not affiliated with and does not endorse any website listed on these pages. At the time of writing, David C Cook editors carefully review the referenced material and non-referenced web page content. However, due to the nature of the Internet, non-cited content

4 June 9, 2013 / Step 1 2 Memory Verse In that day you will say: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4 on the website [including pop-ups, links, and ads] changes frequently and is beyond our control. Please review carefully before showing links in the classroom.) THE BIBLE IN THE NEWS J. Warner Wallace, author of Cold-Case Christianity, has argued that the Bible and science agree on the Big Bang Theory the idea that everything (space, time, and matter) came from nothing:

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