Friends,
Thankful or thankless -- which word would you say better
describes our society today? It seems like the majority of our culture lives
with an attitude of entitlement. People feel they are entitled to better pay, better
benefits and more stuff. People feel that
if they cannot afford it, then they can rob Peter to pay Paul so to speak, or
better yet, have the government pick up the check. The majority never stops to give thanks for what they have, but loudly voices
their desire to have more. We have, in many
respects, devolved into a society of thankless people, and there are repercussions. The greatest
irony in all of this being that – Thanksgiving has been overrun by
NoThanksButIAmShopping. For many people, it is about greed…I am going to get
something ahead of you. This is just the
opposite of Thanksgiving. This is not to
say that shopping is evil, just whether greed is dominating our lives, or
gratitude. If we are thankful for what
we already have, it should help us not to be so needy or greedy. We have enjoyed so many blessings that we have come to
expect them. We even have begun to display these same attitudes when it comes to
God. People acknowledge God less and less…they don’t give Him honor and glory
for their success in business, or as pertains to life in general. They will
tell you it’s because of their own hard work that they have accomplished these
things. In
this familiar passage (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), Paul reveals to us that
thankful hearts shows that we are healthy Christians. God expects us to be a thankful people. As
Christians, we are called to live counter-culture. With the approach of
Thanksgiving, let’s discover how to have a thankful heart in an unthankful
world.
There are some important realizations that we must own,
if we are to live like Christ. One is that we are not entitled to what we have,
but understand they everything is a blessing from God. “Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows.” (James 1:17) Even at our most
economically unstable times, we have so much wealth in the United States that
it is easy to take for granted simple blessings. What we consider to be poverty today far
exceeds the standard of living that most people enjoyed a century ago. We have gained more possessions for ourselves
today than at any other time in history.
While a great portion of the world looks at the United States and sees
great wealth, many people tend to view it as what we are entitled to for being
Americans. If we encounter situations
that cause us to have to tighten our belts (so to speak), and our standard of
living has to change, we become upset because we feel we are being denied what
is rightfully ours. The person who
believes that the world owes him a living is not going to be thankful for much.
He thinks he is doing others a favor by permitting them to serve him. And
allowing others to serve should not be a bad thing…it is good. But, the thankful heart is usually humble…a
heart that gladly acknowledges God. When we understand that God is the source
of all blessings our natural response should be gratitude. The principle of thanksgiving,
including the holiday, allows us the opportunity to put everything in proper
perspective and to thank God for His abundant blessings. A truly thankful heart will change our lives.
It will keep us from becoming overly critical or constantly complaining. It will
draw us closer to our Heavenly Father and make us more conscious of His
presence. Thomas Merton wrote, “Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never
unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the
goodness of God.”
Finally, this exhortation by Paul proves our need for the
Spirit of God, because in our own strength we could never obey it. Gratitude
makes us alive! When we are grateful we realize that God is the source of all
our blessings, and this keeps us from complaining or taking blessings for
granted. In fact, the word “gratitude”
comes from the same root word as “grace.” And “thanksgiving” comes from the
same root, as well…they are all connected. If we have experienced the grace of
God, then we ought to be grateful for what God brings to us. Where the Spirit reigns, there is gratitude
to God, a deep sense of appreciation, and a spontaneous expression of it. Take
some time to think about everything that you have, realize that it was God that
gave it to you. When we line up our lives with God’s will, we will discover
that it will become easier to be joyful and easier to be
thankful.
Blessings, Don
