In All Things...
I have a good friend who wasn’t born in this country. He emigrated here legally, has worked hard to support his family, and now is working to support US troops abroad. He emailed me the other day to wish me a happy Thanksgiving and I replied that he should have some turkey if he can. It wasn’t his email or the fact that he is eternally thankful that surprised me. It was the response of those in the foreign country where he is working. When he said he tried to share Thanksgiving their response was, “but we’re thankful every day.”
Mike drop.
Right there, that’s it in a nutshell. I love the Thanksgiving holiday. I love Christmas time. I also love waking up on the right side of the dirt every morning. But my friend, whom I refer to as my teacher, once again proved the student has much to learn. Here in these United States, a melting pot country founded on Christian principles and prosperous for capitalist ideology, we tend to expect a lot more than we’re thankful for.
A pastor friend of mine posted the picture associated with this blog. Its photos like that, during this “week of giving thanks” that we need to see from time to time. I only wish I had posted it last night before folks ran out and bumped and jostled their way to that most important deal – on Black Friday. But it ties in perfectly with today’s thought. We have taken one day of the year and set it aside to give thanks. The rest of the year – heck the following day – we’re back to “mine, mine, mine.” It’s like taking one morning a week and setting it aside for worshiping God – then we put Him on the shelf (beside the Elf?) around noon and don’t pick Him back up until the next week. That is unless something goes horribly wrong, then we blame Him.
But 1 Thessalonians tells us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (v. 18, NIV)
Give thanks in all circumstances, not just one day of the year. Give thanks every day, like those residents of a foreign country that is 92% Muslim and 6% Christian. Give thanks every day, like the mothers of the children in the photo who are thankful their babies didn’t die overnight. Give thanks every day. Give thanks like the spouses of the 8 sailors rescued after their transport plane crashed, or the Army Ranger double amputee who survived, but don’t wait to be the spouse or the Ranger before you give thanks. Give thanks every day.
Why?
Because it’s God’s will and if the people of a country that is 92% Muslim can do it, then the people of a country founded on Christian principles and whose currency claims “In God We Trust” can do it.
Mike drop.
