Pride is the cost
Pride keeps you looking down on everyone else and forever guarding your own worth.
Humility pays you back
Humility lets you rest in who you are, without having to be better than anyone.
How giving thanks grows it
Giving thanks names what you have received, and that keeps pride from taking root.
Contempt is the cost
Contempt turns people into obstacles and leaves you alone in your judgments.
Kindness pays you back
Kindness builds the bonds that make life feel safe and shared.
How giving thanks grows it
Thankful people notice the good in others, and kindness flows from what you notice.
The lack of it is the cost
Without goodness, life turns inward and becomes small.
Goodness pays you back
Goodness makes you someone others can trust and lean on.
How giving thanks grows it
Gratitude to God overflows into goodness toward the people around you.
Drifting is the cost
Neglect and forgetfulness let what matters quietly slip away.
Faithfulness pays you back
Faithfulness builds a life of steady trust that endures through hard seasons.
How giving thanks grows it
Remembering what God has done keeps your grip steady when the road gets rough.
Harshness is the cost
Harsh words shut doors and leave wounds that linger.
Gentleness pays you back
Gentleness opens the way for real change in yourself and others.
How giving thanks grows it
A grateful heart stays soft, and softness speaks louder than force.
Bitterness is the cost
Holding a grudge keeps you chained to the hurt long after it happened.
Forgiveness pays you back
Forgiveness lets you put the weight down and walk free.
How giving thanks grows it
Seeing how much you have been forgiven makes it possible to forgive others.
Selfishness is the cost
Selfishness shrinks your world down to your own needs and leaves you empty.
Compassion pays you back
Compassion turns your heart outward and fills your days with meaning.
How giving thanks grows it
Gratitude for what you have opens your hand toward those who have less.
Fear is the cost
Worry adds nothing but steals today’s peace and tonight’s rest.
Trust pays you back
Trust lifts your eyes off your fears and onto what is good and present right now.
How giving thanks grows it
Counting what is good gives worry no room to grow.
Comparison is the cost
Looking at others’ blessings makes your own never feel like enough.
Contentment pays you back
Contentment lets you enjoy what is yours without measuring it against anyone.
How giving thanks grows it
Thanksgiving turns your eyes from what others have to what you have been given.
Guilt is the cost
Carried guilt keeps you looking down and convinced you have nothing to offer.
Release pays you back
Confession and release clear the conscience and let you walk with your head up.
How giving thanks grows it
Thankfulness for grace makes it easier to accept the forgiveness you have been given.
Control is the cost
Trying to control everything leaves you exhausted and anxious about what you can’t.
Trust pays you back
Trust hands the impossible over and lets you rest in a bigger plan.
How giving thanks grows it
Gratitude for what has already been provided makes letting go a little easier.
Entitlement is the cost
Entitlement treats every good thing as owed, and nothing ever feels like a gift.
Grace pays you back
Grace makes every good thing a surprise worth savoring.
How giving thanks grows it
Thanksgiving is the natural reply of a heart that knows it has been given far more than it deserved.
Greed is the cost
Greed closes your hand around what you have and leaves you afraid of losing it.
Generosity pays you back
Generosity loosens your grip and makes what you have a source of joy instead of fear.
How giving thanks grows it
A thankful heart knows it has been given enough, so it can give freely.
Complaining is the cost
Complaining keeps your eyes on what is missing and drains the joy out of every day.
Praise pays you back
Praise turns the same life into a song instead of a complaint.
How giving thanks grows it
Thanksgiving feeds praise, and praise is what gratitude becomes when it grows up.
“Praise is what gratitude becomes when it grows up.”