The Essential Requirement of Gratitude
A tribute to the Harmon Foundation & other similar entities
People have a way of feeling entitled to the blessings we receive. It is a problem. It creates a warped sense of self, God, and others.
Speaking for myself: I am a bad person. My sinful nature, with which I was born, which once animated everything I did, is motivated by pleasure and selfish pursuit. It is only Christ in me that reforms me to put others first, seeking righteousness instead of pleasure.
Humility is key to a life well lived. That humility does not come when I allow myself to believe that I am entitled to the good things I have. Yet it is very common, even normal, for people to believe that they have somehow earned their innumerable blessings.
Americans in general do not fully appreciate how blessed they are to live in a land of such wealth and plenty. When we learn of people in the majority world who still have to worry about basic amenities like food and water, many Americans are flummoxed as to why they would let themselves live that way, as though the automatic condition of humanity is wealth and plenty. When one learns about how ancient human civilizations lived (until just a century ago), the vast majority living in what would today be considered abject poverty, we only then come to rightly understand ourselves as the wealthiest society this world has ever seen. Folks would rather compare themselves to billionaires in order to identify as poor than learn to be thankful for the wealth and blessings that we have. Like I said: this is not good.
There are many small towns in America, and even large cities, that once knew even more wealth and plenty, but which now get by largely on government welfare money. Nowata, the small town in which I live, was built on top of what was once the world’s largest shallow oil well. The town was booming and full of money in the first half of the twentieth century while the oil flowed. Yet when the oil dried up, the business and jobs that had so easily flourished slowly began to dry up. Today, there are some small businesses that are getting by, but I suspect the largest source of income in this town is federal government money. Some of this is because folks in this town drive to larger cities to spend their money, as is common across America. America, which loves big, cheap things even if we are from little places. Some of this lack of local business and economy is because that is the psychological impact of money given with no strings attached to people who have been deprived of resources.
Many small towns across America have been drying up for decades, federal money not even enough to keep things afloat. Nowata does not seem to be one of those towns. There is a core crew of folks here who pour themselves into public works and efforts, such that the anomie of many small towns is not to be found in such large measure here. Yes, much has been lost since even the 1990s, when block parties were still a thing, meth and opioids hadn’t ravaged society, and families were more intact. Even so, Nowata has maintained some social fabric. We aren’t where we need to be, but we aren’t as far gone as a lot of places.
I already gave credit to local personalities. Another reason why Nowata maintains better than many is because one of those who benefited from the natural resources of Nowata, Claude C. Harmon, moved by what I assume to be a noble noblesse oblige, reserved a great deal of his fortune to form what is today called the “Pearl M. & Julia J. Harmon Foundation,” for the perpetual benefit of Nowata. The two names associated with the endowment are Mr. Harmon’s two wives. The Harmon graves are noted with distinction in the local cemetery, among a few others who once built up this town.
I do not have access to the financial information of the Harmon Foundation. I do not know how much Mr. Harmon set aside for the fund, how it is invested, or how much money flows from year to year. All I know is that a great number of things were made possible in this town that would not have been possible in other towns because of this money. The Harmon Foundation has benefited many organizations like the Nowata Methodist Church over the years by offering 0% interest loans that can be paid off slowly. In harder financial times for the church I now serve, church leadership would have had to seriously consider closing the doors of the church. When I first moved here and immediately the flat roof needed to be replaced ($30K) and we needed to replace the HVAC units (another $30K), it was the Harmon Foundation that made it feasible. Over the years, Harmon money also supported the building and renovation of my church’s Education Wing, the purchase of a 15-passenger van, the preservation of stained glass that was made in 1910, and surely other projects.
The Harmon Foundation leadership does not tout themselves as important. They serve out of a small office in the middle of town. They do not publish a list of projects they have funded, seeking credit. They do not show up to city meetings requiring any sort of quid pro quo. They, rather, quietly supplement the institutions in this community that seek to support the people. I know that they have supported other churches in town with construction loans and funds. They have almost certainly benefited local schools, mental health institutions, and other public works.
Harmon also sometimes donates things outright, without a loan. This is not their operating model, I’m sure, but they have chosen to make things possible for the Nowata area even when local institutions are not in a position to even think about paying things back over time. My understanding is that the Harmon Foundation donated the public swimming pool and the public library to Nowata, as well as a temporary water storage unit when the water tower had to be retired. They have donated funds to the fire departments in Nowata and Delaware, which has made possible the purchase of fire trucks and other equipment. I recall them having purchased a new ambulance a couple of years ago. They are, to my knowledge, singlehandedly responsible for the renovation of the old Landers Grocery Story to become new home of the Nowata County Museum, which is nicer than any small town museum that I have ever seen.
I asked a couple of years ago if the Harmon folks would be willing to give me a list of all the projects they have funded. They politely refused, saying they aren’t doing this for accolades or attention. Even so, I think we are morally compromised when we neglect to give thanks to the source of our blessings. I’m ashamed I haven’t better tracked the many things that the Harmon Foundation has made possible in the community I love. I, too, have often felt entitled to the gifts given. Yet my better nature knows that it is important to call my community to a spirit of gratitude. As Thanksgiving approaches, it is fitting that we spend significant energy reminding ourselves of what we have to be thankful for, as well as where it comes from.
Of course, the ultimate bestower of every good thing is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. “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). We should not only be grateful to worldly people and institutions that share wealth and blessing. Rather, we should come to rightly understand ourselves as the beneficiaries of good gifts from a loving Father who gives us infinitely more than we can rightly ask or deserve. The Christian word for that is ‘grace.’ Grace is the undeserved, free gift of God. In America, the posture of average people has largely become tarnished towards God. This entitled spirit I addressed at the start of this article is often found in individuals who direct not gratitude but resentment towards the source of all their blessings. They feel entitled to more than what God offers, not realizing he offers the most precious and valuable gift of all, and he often refuses to give us things that would further enslave or otherwise harm us.
I worry about those with unthankful hearts. These are the complainers and grumblers who ruin institutions and towns. My prayer for my town, and indeed for the world, is that people reclaim gratitude as their lens through which they see the world, and that they direct such gratitude to the right source of all their many blessings. I have given God thanks many times for the Harmon Foundation. I would like to think that my entire life is a giant prayer of gratitude for the blessing of Christ’s substitutionary atoning sacrifice, for me, on that cross. That is, at least, what I aim for it to be. That is what I understand to be the expectation for all who are now alive in Christ.
If you know that you have been blessed beyond measure, then may gratitude prevail in your life. May you eagerly give thanks to those who bless you, especially those who serve in benevolent organizations like the Harmon Foundation. May you be protected from the evil one, who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy, who fosters envy and entitlement, who plants bitterness that bears fruit in grumbling and complaining. In short, may you know the peace and joy of walking in the light. Give thanks with a grateful heart. There is much to be thankful for!