The 4 Debts of Gratitude in Thanksgiving
Think for a moment about giving thanks, and the real-life contexts in which the word “thanks” is uttered. We find that in any language or culture, when we say thanks to someone for something, what we are really saying is, “I owe you. I owe you a debt, a debt of gratitude.” Meaning, I have to give back something to you for what you have done for me: “a debt of gratitude.” In a sense, we become debtors to those we thank.
Whether or not that’s a valid way to describe giving thanks or saying thank you—owing a debt of gratitude to someone—you decide. But before you disagree with me or dismiss this definition, do read what I have to say regarding giving thanks being a debt of gratitude.
I submit to you that in the debt of gratitude owed to the one being thanked, by the one giving thanks, there are 4 levels of debt, each one increasing in intensity.
First, there is the verbal debt of gratitude, when we simply say thank you to someone, verbalizing gratitude from the heart saying, “Thank you for what you have done.”
Then there is the reciprocal debt of gratitude, when just saying thanks is not enough, but “Since you have done this for me, I will also do the same, or something similar, for you. I will reciprocate the action and thank you in kind, or in action.”
Moving thanksgiving up a level from words and action, comes the monetary debt of the gratitude. Here, to show gratitude, I’m compelled to give some form of monetary remuneration to the one I’m thanking. “I give you this of my monetary assets, either out of wealth or poverty, to express my thanks to you for what you have done.” This is different from business transactions where we buy a product for a set price, or merely compensate someone monetarily. What’s the difference? The difference is gratitude: a monetary debt of gratitude. Gratitude to God makes all the difference in genuine giving.
But the greatest of all, when verbal, reciprocal, and monetary debts of gratitude exhaust their efficacy, is the life debt of gratitude: I say thanks not just with words, actions or money—for they don’t suffice at this level—but here, I owe my life itself, and I give my life to express thanks.
Which of the 4 debts of gratitude do we owe God based on all He has done for us?
Is He worthy of the verbal debt of gratitude? Yes, it is good to say “Thank you, Lord,” if we really mean it. Jesus did acknowledge that one out of ten lepers who came back to thank Jesus for healing him.
Is the reciprocal debt of gratitude befitting to offer to the Lord? Well, we cannot exactly do for the Lord in kind all He does for us. But in as much as He has blessed us, to a certain extent we can do for others, loving and forgiving others as God in Christ has done for us. Speaking of kindness in action towards others, Jesus said “… in as much as you have done good to the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.” (Matt. 25:40)
How about the monetary debt of gratitude? We give our “offerings” to the Lord every Sunday when the offering plate passes in the service. And without the generous giving of God’s people, it is not possible to keep any ministry going. The local church requires money to keep functioning and operating day to day. A more specific debt of gratitude seems especially apt as we think about this season of Thanksgiving, prayerfully thinking how much to set aside to give as an Annual Thanksgiving Offering. But did you know we can never really out give God? God will be no man’s debtor. He owns it all and doesn’t “need” our money in that sense. But the Lord Jesus did acknowledge the little mite the widow put in the offering to be of greater value than all the big offerings of the rich folk.
Before we give our offerings to the Lord then, as an act of thanks, however big or small, for that monetary debt of thanksgiving to be meaningful and acceptable, there’s something else we must give to God.
Do we realize that we can express thanks to fellow man with the verbal, reciprocal, & monetary debts of gratitude (and in the rarest instances express thanks to man with the life debt of gratitude)? But when it comes to thanking God, we owe Him our very lives in thanking Him. It’s only when we give thanks to God first with the life debt of gratitude, do the verbal, reciprocal, and monetary thanksgivings carry any weight or meaning.
In other words, before the monetary debt of thanksgiving is given as an offering to the Lord, or the verbal or reciprocal debts of thanksgiving are given to the Lord, must come the life debt of thanksgiving. We must give ourselves to God, because we owe Him our very lives. In 2 Corinthians 8:5, Paul wrote of the Macedonian church, “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” Meaning, they discerned that it was the will of God for them to give money graciously, even though they were poor, because they had first given themselves to the Lord. They belonged to the Lord, and so did their money. Therefore, they gave money graciously to His work. And if we first don’t give ourselves to the Lord, presenting ourselves as offerings to Him, we will never be able to give money to God to genuinely thank Him. Let’s remember that generous and sacrificial giving is preceded by genuine and sacrificial living before the Lord. So, as we think about what monetary debt of gratitude we give to our local Churches or other ministries during this Thanksgiving and End-of-the-Year, let’s ask, “Have I given myself to the Lord first, for all He’s done for me?”
Even if you owned a king’s ransom, that would not suffice as an offering to the Lord without first giving your life fully to Jesus, because Jesus gave His life as a ransom on the cross, for all who believe in Him. Isaac Watts wrote,
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
That’s the kind of love that gave His life on the cross, and keeps giving still. How then shall we render thanks to our good and gracious God, for all He has done for us? Happy Thanksgiving!
© Kenny Damara, 2025
