I live by a little mantra: whatever I don’t turn into praise turns into pride.

According to the Talmud, the Jewish commentary on the Old Testament, “A man embezzles from God when he makes use of this world without uttering a blessing.”

In other words, if you enjoy something without giving thanks, it’s as if you have stolen it from God. Anything less than gratitude is grand larceny! God's Word tells us, “we enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100)

Without the attitude of gratitude, we don’t even get in the front door!

An observant Jew would pronounce one hundred blessings per day. Those blessings would begin with, Baruch Atah Adonai. (Translation: Bless the Lord most High for ...)

They would then fill in the blank with a thousand different things. According to rabbinic tradition, “A man should taste nothing before he utters a blessing.” They would offer a blessing before meals, as many of us. But they would also bless God during the meal for the double blessing of different tastes, different smells.

An observant Jew would bless God for a new day, a new article of clothing, a new experience. One of my favorite blessings from the Talmud is zoological: “On seeing an elephant, a tailless ape, or a long-tailed ape, one should say, ‘Blessed be He who makes strange creatures.’” I don’t know why they singled out those particular animals, but I love this approach path to new things. Whenever they experienced something pleasurable, they would praise God. 

I think what impresses me most is the way Orthodox Judaism nuances blessing. They wouldn’t simply bless God for rainfall. In the words of Rabbi Judah, “We give thanks unto You for every raindrop You caused to fall on us.”

There are 90,921 drops in a gallon of water! They were supposed to bless God for each and every one. On that note, there are thirty-seven sextillion chemical reactions happening in the human body at any given time. You are digesting food, regenerating cells, purifying toxins, catalyzing enzymes, producing hormones, and converting stored energy from fat to blood sugar. We owe God thirty-seven sextillion thank yous!

If you don’t count your blessings, you begin to discount them.

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17, NLT)

Start counting and don’t stop!

If this sounds legalistic, maybe we have gone too far the other way in thinking that we alone are somehow responsible for the good in our lives?

A few years ago I was convicted by God for saying, "something good happened to me" or, "I was lucky (luck and Lucifer come from the same root word, by the way)" instead of giving credit where credit is due: "God blessed me by..." At the time, I was (and still do) teach in a public school, which pays the bills while God uses me to start churches in small villages in Alaska.

An atheist liberal who taught next door to me in the school where I taught turned me into the School Board for having a cross in my room (which had been put up by a Jewish girl decorating my room) and allowing my relationship with the Lord to ooze out during my teaching. When I reminded him that his religion was humanism and the epitome of pride - game on! He was furious that anyone would even dare accuse him of having any religion, even though I consistently heard him preaching his atheism to the students!

When I met with a sub-committee of the school board, they reluctantly gave me a "verbal reprimand" without any written proof, but so what? Life is too short to play it safe when the next generation needs to hear about Jesus! I wasn't mean or prideful or forceful about bringing up God, but being a Christ-follower is part of who I am as a person. Jesus is the most important part of me.

What has confused me about liberalism is "Let everyone be who they are" applies to all - unless you are a Christ-follower who wants to give credit where credit is due! What's up with that hypocrisy!

“I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:1–3, NLT)

Whatever I don’t turn into praise turns into pride. Yes, I am probably more vocal about it than most, but what if the 76% of people who claim to be Christians in America at least gave God one praise a day in front of others?

How can you give GOD praise today?

“Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:32–34, NLT)

Rejoicing, On the Victory Side!

Beau