The Other Side Of Thank You

A baby gift came to a young couple who were new parents. They were grateful for the present, so the mom picked up a thank-you card, wrote a nice note, and got it ready to send.

Somehow it got buried in an avalanche of paperwork and was never mailed—and the thank-you was forgotten. The gift-givers waited, but no acknowledgment came.

A rift developed as one family thought the thank-you had been given, while the other thought the lack of a thank-you was a snub. This inadvertent failure to send a card left the gift-giver feeling slighted, unappreciated, and neglected.

Among the most important words we can speak are the two words, “Thank you.” And while it is vital to be grateful, there’s another side of thank you. If we bestow a gift on another, we should do so out of a motive that doesn’t expect anything, even a thank-you, in return. True love gives with no expectations.

Love, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “suffers long and is kind” and is never self-seeking. Love keeps no record of wrongs—even if someone forgets to thank us for a kindness. The other side of thank you is a pure heart that reflects God’s perfect love for us.
—Dave Branon

Devotion taken from Our Daily Bread, November 21, 2007

let us not forget, we are brothers and sisters and we should make it clear to everyone that we are thankful for each other 's existance, even though sometimes we don't think so. Nothing is expected from each other, and hopefully, our actions are quantified by love and only out of love. Expect nothing in return but be thankful in what you do because God has given you the ability to do so.

-kim