All of us have heard someone described as “a self-made person.” The truth is that no one is self-made. I am not. You are not. No one is. No one will ever be. It is impossible to become eminently successful at anything solely by self-effort.
Having said that, how long has it been since you personally credited someone who contributed to all or part of your success? Legions of people cooperate to make each of your days possible. Some work very hard daily: the trucker on the road at 3:00 AM delivering the produce you consume, those involved in law enforcement seeking to provide for your security, and even the crossing guards who protect and assist you on your way across the street to attend school.
There is the pastor in his study preparing a message that he prays will lift your faith. There are teachers who guided or who still guide you through school. There are those who gather the news, print, and deliver the daily newspaper that keeps you informed on what is happening around the world. There is the research scientist on a stool in a lab trying to learn something that will buy you a few more years of life. Closer to home there are the members of your family who strive to meet your needs daily.
Do not forget the men and women in the military services of our country who risk their lives in hot spots around the world in order to preserve the liberties no American should ever take for granted, men on platforms drilling for oil so you can drive where you wish, and secretaries, receptionists, restaurant cooks and waiters who serve you. This is only a partial list of those who touch your life on a regular basis.
Your father worked and earned the income that provided food to eat, clothes to wear, and other necessities for you and each member of your family. Your mother nursed you when you were just a child, clothed you, and kept you safe. Millions in our world die before the age of ten. Millions more are beaten, abused, famished, and diseased. Life and health should never be taken for granted.
Teachers taught you to read, inspired you to learn, gave you a love for music, and taught you to play a sport. Nurses brought you a blanket or a tray of food when you were a patient in the hospital. Someone went the second mile to meet a specific need you had or have.
Know that you owe. Know whom you owe. Know that you could not be the person you are, know the things you know, or do the things you do, if it were not for others. Do not fail to recognize the countless contributions that countless individuals have made and still make to your life every single day. And please do not forget to say “Thank you” – to God, or to others – when these two words are earned and appropriate.
You fool no one except yourself if you are foolish enough to think you made it, or could ever make it, entirely on your own. No one ever has. No one ever will. Countless individuals have made investments in your life. Know that you would not and could not be the person you are without those investments.
It is not what you have in your pocket or in the bank that makes you thankful; it is what you have in your heart. Be grateful not just for the doors of opportunity that have opened to you, but also for those who oiled the hinges. There is a sense in which no gift is ours until we have thanked the giver.
The Paper Pulpit 
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