By Garry J. Moes

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One of the first things many parents teach their toddlers to say, after Mama and Dada, is “Please” and “Thank you.” This is a good thing if civilization and gentility are to be perpetuated through good manners.

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The phase “Thank you” is a grammatical curiosity. Indeed, it isn’t really a “phase” but a truncated sentence.

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1. "Thank" – This is the verb in the imperative form. It is the base form of the verb to thank, used here in a direct command or request. Even though it appears as a command, it functions in a polite and indirect way as a form of expressing gratitude.

2. "you" – This is a pronoun serving as the direct object of the verb "thank," indicating the person being thanked.

 

In terms of sentence structure, "Thank you" is a shortened imperative sentence with an implied subject (the speaker). In full, it might be considered to have an understood subject, like "I thank you." However, in this case, the subject is omitted, which is common in expressions of politeness or gratitude.

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The tone of the phrase is polite and informal. It is often used in both spoken and written language as a way to express appreciation.

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​If you can forgive this detailed word-smithing explanation of a two-word sentence, I want to focus on the one little word at the end, the direct object “you.”

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In recent years, thanksgiving, particularly Thanksgiving Day, has devolved into an utterly secular and commercialized brief way-stop between the unholy day of Halloween and the formerly holy day of Christmas (now known increasingly as a Happy Holiday). Thanksgiving Day is now Turkey Day and the weeks-long Black Friday holiday sale extravaganza—with a momentary pitstop for a parade, food, and football games.

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What seems to be forgotten in our giving of thanks near the end of November annually is the direct object pronoun “you” in the sentence “Thank you.”  And so, we are left with pious calls for a simplistic “Attitude of Gratitude.”

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A bare attitude of gratitude, however, is an orphaned outlook on life. It really is an empty emotive that focuses on the self, whereas true gratitude always has an object outside oneself—the giver of whatever gift has produced an attitude of gratitude. As in, “Say thank you to Grandma for your nice birthday present.”

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The celebration of Thanksgiving Day in America, as everyone used to know, has its roots in the gratitude our Pilgrim families felt toward God for blessing them with earthly success after initial years of unspeakable hardship upon their arrival in the New World. When President George Washington and other subsequent presidents officially proclaimed days of thanksgiving (sometimes for other blessings as well), they uniformly focused their proclamations on the goodness of God.

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Washington’s acknowledgement of God’s hand in the nation’s prosperity and successes is unmistakable:

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Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and

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Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:

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Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us.

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And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws; discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us), and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

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Given under my hand at the City of New York, the third day of October, A.D. 1789.

G. Washington

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If we are to truly Make America Great Again, we urgently need to return to this kind of attitude of gratitude: Thank You (with a capital You). Remembering: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17).