Be grateful to God for even the smallest gift.

即使最微小的礼物，我们也要感谢上帝。

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the  your God for the good land he has given you.Deuteronomy 8:10

你吃得饱足，就要称颂耶和华你的上帝，因祂将那美地赐给你了。-申命记8章10节

In Australia, it can take hours to drive between towns and fatigue can lead to accidents. So at busy holiday times rest stops are set up on major highways with volunteers offering free coffee. My wife, Merryn, and I grew to enjoy these stops during our long drives there.

在澳州，开车前往另一个城镇常要花好几个小时，长时间驾驶容易疲劳，导致车祸。所以在假日的尖峰时段，常有志愿人士在主要的高速公路旁设置休息站，提供免费的咖啡。我和妻子茉琳越来越喜欢这些休息站。

On one trip, we pulled in and walked over to order our coffee. An attendant handed the two cups over, and then asked me for two dollars. I asked why. She pointed to the small print on the sign. At this stop, only the driver got free coffee; you had to pay for passengers. Annoyed, I told her this was false advertising, paid the two dollars, and walked off. Back at the car, Merryn pointed out my error: I had turned a gift into an entitlement and become ungrateful for what I received. She was right.

有一次在旅途中，我们到休息站点咖啡。一位服务员递给我们两杯咖啡，并要求我们支付两元澳币。我问她为何要付费。她指着看板上的一行小字说：本休息站仅提供咖啡给驾驶人，同行的乘客则需付费。我气恼地对服务员说，这根本就是在骗人，随即付钱离开。回到车上，茉琳便指出我的错误。我把一份礼物当成应享的权利，又对所受到的恩惠不知感恩。她说的真没错。

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses urged them to be a grateful people (Deut. 8:10). Thanks to the blessings of God, the land was abundant, but they could easily treat this prosperity as something they deserved (vv. 17–18). From this, the Jews developed a practice of giving thanks for every meal, no matter how small. For them, it was all a gift.

当年摩西带领以色列民进入上帝应许之地的途中，力劝他们要懂得感恩（申命记8章10节）。那块富饶丰沃的应许之地是出于上帝的恩泽，但以色列民会很容易将繁荣富庶视为自己努力的成果（17-18节）。故此，他们就开始为每一餐作谢饭祷告，无论饮食丰盛与否，都要记得这是上帝所赐的。

I went back to the woman and apologized. A free cup of coffee was a gift I didn’t deserve—and something for which to be thankful.

我走回去向那位服务员道歉。一杯免费的咖啡，是一份我并不配得的礼物，我该为此感恩。

Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

主我们的上帝，天地的主宰，祢是应当称颂的，

因为祢从大地赐给我们食物。
（犹太人的一段谢饭祷文）

Deuteronomy 8:6-18New International Version (NIV)

6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forgetthe Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lordyour God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

整理：于姊妹