Okay. I admit it.

A blog about thankfulness on Thanksgiving might be too on the nose. But I have a question I've been wrestling with that I'd like to ask you.

Are you thankful—or merely thank-ish?

By definition, someone who is thankful is—well—full of thanks. So much so that thankfulness oozes out of your pores. Thankfulness is a resident of your heart, not merely a visitor.

But many of us live at a different level—one I’m calling “thank-ish.” Here, we occasionally enter moments of gratitude. But it’s not our sweet spot, not something we think we need to work on. We treat thankfulness like a distant vacation spot—a nice place to visit for those who don’t mind going the distance.

Every time you genuinely thank someone, there’s a bit of humility involved. Thanking someone else acknowledges they did or said something that you could not or did not do yourself. Something that leaves you in their debt. In a strange way, it makes the other person larger. We don’t like feeling smaller—so maybe that’s one reason we’re not more thankful.

Other reasons?

• Many of us are so preoccupied with trying to survive that saying thank you feels "optional." It just doesn't make it onto our radar screens.

• Also, some of us grew up in homes where parents didn't model thankfulness well. That's no excuse—but it is an explanation.

• Then, many of us suffer from a sense of entitlement we don't even recognize in ourselves. Why say thanks for what you feel is owed you?

• Finally, some of us treat the Bible like we treat church, like we treat our entire Christian lives: "We get to it as best we can whenever we can. And that's good enough."

Except, it isn’t.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 commands,

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

That's the standard: "In everything!”

So, I ask again. Thankful or thank-ish--which are you?

P.S. Thanks for reading this blog! I'm grateful for you!