“…when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;
but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
(Romans 1:21, KJV)
Growing up in a pretty diverse area in South Florida, I had a lot of friends who didn’t identify too much with American culture, namely friends from other countries. In fact, I have friends in countries like England, Australia, and Jamaica. Even my best friend lives in Brasil. When I talk to these people about what is a distinctly American culture, one of the things that seems strange to them is the idea of the Thanksgiving holiday. This can be for multiple reasons. For example, some feel that thankfulness shouldn’t be limited to one day per year. Others feel that this holiday needs to be strictly American. Whatever the reason, most of my friends will openly admit that thankfulness, in and of itself, is important.
Personally, as an American, I am grateful for the Thanksgiving Holiday. In the busy (yet cushy) American lifestyle, I think it is all too easy to forget to be grateful to the Giver of “every good and perfect gift” (James 1:17). That’s why I’m glad for October 3, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln set aside the fourth Thursday in November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”[1]. I think we need to be reminded of our need to be grateful for all the Father has lavishly bestowed on us, especially as Americans. In Romans 1, Paul is speaking about the sinful patterns of the world and he is careful to add “neither were they thankful”. Ungratefulness is a natural inclination… for the Romans… for the Israelites in the wilderness… and for us. Thankfulness, then, must be taught. It is a habit we must develop, both in ourselves and in our families….
…because it is so easy (so natural) to be unthankful, we must fight the spirit of ingratitude constantly. We naturally want to focus so much on what we DON’T have. “I don’t have enough money”. “I don’t have enough time in the day”. “I don’t have the ___ that I want” (and so on). The cure for this is to focus not only on what you DO have, but on the God that has given it to you. While it sounds simple, we really need to work hard to “count your blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the LORD has done”.
So join me in taking each day to tell God that we not only NOTICE all the little (and big) things He’s given us, but that we’re eternally thankful for them, giving Him all praise and glory. Sound too hard to do every day? Let’s just start with November then. Take this month to tell God how grateful you are, both for the noticeable things He’s blessed you with AND for the often unnoticed things you often take for granted; things like clean water, food and shelter… things like a car and a job… things like having both hands and both legs. You get the idea. Because the truth is… someone in the world doesn’t have those things. Remember, thankfulness is NOT optional, even though we seem to act like it is around this time of year. “In EVERYTHING gives, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning YOU.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) If we make gratefulness an ingrained part of our Christian lifestyle, not only will it make us stand out in a (by and large) ungrateful culture, but it will give us the joy to see the blessings that Almighty God gives us every day.
David’s sermons can be heard at www.sewardcongregational.com
[1] Source: http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/thanks.htm
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