But, back to Thanksgiving—why do we often gloss over it? I’m thinking there might be a couple of reasons. First, being “thankful” carries with it the fact that someone did something extra good. It has long been tradition in our nation to give thanks to God for his bountiful blessings as He did extra good things for us.
A description of the "First Thanksgiving" from Edward Winslow in “A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth,” in 1621: “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, so that . . . we might rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed much fowl. . . many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted. . . yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."
They had Thanksgiving for three days. They invited at least 90 Indian men (plus women too?) and entertained and feasted because they were “so far from want by the goodness of God.”
But here in 2009, almost 400 years later, are we too modern, too advanced, or too intelligent to think that we should give thanks to an almighty God who has repeatedly demonstrated his goodness to us? You see, I think that’s the problem—if we are going to say “thank you,” we need someone to say it to. If we have become so “evolved” that we believe God does not exist, we then have no one to thank. So, we call it “Turkey Day,” forget the thankful stuff, watch some football and parades, and get on with Christmas.
My other thought comes from an observation that Halloween and Christmas are both very, very big. Why is that? I’d like to think the latter is because it is a celebration of God coming to earth bodily; however, I’m afraid that it has more to do with Santa and PRESENTS—the “I want stuff!!!” notion. Is that why Halloween is such a favorite—because it’s a license to accumulate great quantities of treats? Is "getting" the theme that these two seasons share, while Thanksgiving is more about giving than receiving?
In Acts 20, we hear that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It’s a bit difficult for kids to understand that concept; and, I’m afraid, the same could be said about many adults. “Getting” may be the excuse to buy oneself the newest technological toy—to take care of #1.
To paraphrase John Gill’s exposition of the bible, it is much more of a privilege “for a man to work with his own hands, and support himself, and assist others, than to receive at the hands of others.” We all need help sometimes, but how much greater to have enough and to help someone else. Oh, it doesn’t feed our greed, but our kinder nature led by the Spirit of God is fed sumptuously when we give to others.
After saying all that, I kind of hate to admit that we spent hours yesterday putting up Christmas decorations at our restaurant; but if I might offer an excuse, we have several Christmas parties booked starting later this week. The restaurant is beginning to look really festive, and I do love the Christmas lights, the cookies, the music, the family activities, and the smiles that people often wear.
But, I’m not ready to forget Thanksgiving. I want to celebrate Thursday by being thankful and sharing the blessings God has given us (well, that is unless our new baby comes that day—then we’ll really be thankful, even as we eat bologna!!!)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
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