"Thanksgiving"

    "Being enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God." 2 Cor. 9:11

 

Well, from the verse cited above, you've no doubt figured out what is the lesson subject for today's editorial. You guessed it, "Thanksgiving." And my first thought is based on two things: first, the statement made to Caesar by the gladiators before they fought, "We who are about to die salute you" and second, a tongue-n-cheek quote I once read that said "More Americans commit suicide with a fork every year than any other weapon."

A few days from today we're going to take "weapon" in hand, but hopefully we'll not become a "gladiator." And I'm quite sure that everyone reading this missive will not suffer the pangs of hunger on that day. Rather, were I a wagering man, I would bet that most of us will feel the pangs of over indulgement. Anyone like to take this wager? I thought not.

Seriously though, let's talk for a few moments about "Thanksgiving." I know that we're all familiar with the story of America's first Thanksgiving celebration. How the early settlers, the pilgrims, after suffering terrible hardships, including sickness, hunger and danger from enemies, celebrated their survival with a day of Thanksgiving.

This was the first such celebration here in this country, but certainly was not the first anywhere. There have been celebrations of "thanksgiving" going on for literally thousands of years. Allow me to remind you of one from the Bible. Our American version is reflective of our Biblical one. It's a story much like the one seen with our pilgrims.

Nehemiah, who was an honored servant of the King of Persia, was allowed by that King to return to Jerusalem with a remnant of the Israelites in captivity in Persia and rebuild the city. You can read the story of this in the book of Nehemiah, but let me condense it for you.

The first thing Nehemiah did was to design and oversee the building of the wall around the city. They accomplished the great task and survived the doing of it despite facing many hardships and danger from enemies round about them. You know what occurred when they finished the wall? You're right. They set up a dedication ceremony and the Scriptures say that they appointed a day for "gladness and thanksgiving." (Neh. 12:27) And when we read a little further, we see that their "thanksgivings" were directed "unto God." (12:46)

Remembering the account of Nehemiah's "thanksgiving unto God" reminded me of something a good friend of mine once said in regards to our celebration of Thanksgiving. My friend remarked, "Isn't it interesting...all these people who want to take God out of our lives have no problem celebrating Thanksgiving.... exactly who do they thank?" I thought that to be a great question myself.

Oh, we can be thankful to friends, to our families and anyone that we owe appreciation and gratitude towards. But, first and foremost, we should be thankful to God for everything we've been blessed with.

I mentioned the word "gratitude" in the foregoing paragraph and I'd like you to know that this is what "thanksgiving" means in the Greek of the New Testament. And, the Hebrew word translated "thanksgiving" in the Old Testament means essentially the same. Praising, or being grateful, for blessings bestowed. In fact, there were sacrifices ordered by the Law of Moses for just that purpose. A sacrifice of "thanksgiving." (Lev. 22:29)

Stepping outside the Bible for another illustration of "gratitude and thanksgiving" we find a story I once read about an elderly woman who had once been a slave during that terrible period of our nation's history. Let me just briefly relate it to you and see if it doesn't tie into our thoughts here today, especially in keeping with the knowledge that all mankind is subject to being in bondage, or a slave, to sin. (John 8:34 et al)

A man in his older years was the teller of this story about the woman who used to take care of him when he was a child. She had been hired by his family and she lived with them. From his earliest recollections he remembered her sitting at the kitchen table, her hands folded and her eyes gazing upward as she prayed, "Much obliged, Lord, for my vittles."

He said that he once asked her what she meant by "her vittles" and she told him that she was referring to her food and drink. He replied to her that she could get food and drink whether she gave thanks for them or not. She told him, "Yes, we'll get our vittles, but it makes 'em taste better when we're thankful." She then told him a lesson he said that he had never forgotten.

She said that an old preacher once told her that she should always look for things to be grateful for. Ever since then, as soon as she woke up each morning, she asked herself, "What is the first thing I can be grateful for today? Even if it might only be the smell of coffee perking in the kitchen she would say, "Much obliged, Lord, for the coffee and much obliged , too, for the smell of it."

After the man had grown up and left the family home, he one day received a message that Anna, the old woman who'd cared for him, was dying. He rushed back home and found her lying in her bed with her hands folded over the sheets, just as she had done when giving thanks at the kitchen table. He wondered what she could be giving thanks for at a time like this. As if she read his mind, she opened her eyes and quietly said, "Much obliged Lord, for such fine friends." What a most appropriate and neat story/lesson.

You know, neither of the words "grateful" nor "ungrateful" appear in the KJV of the Bible, but the words "thankful" and "unthankful" certainly do. Read this passage with me; "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Col. 3:15) Then turn to 2Tim 3, verses 1-3 and notice who the "unthankful" are included with; the covetous, the boasters, the proud, the blasphemers, the disobedient to parents and the unholy." I don't think any of us would be proud to be a member of that group.

Christians should never be known or seen as someone "ungrateful." Or as someone who doesn't express appreciation to God first, and then to others to whom it's due, for the many blessings that we have and enjoy. And, like Anna, not just one day a year, but every day of our lives let's say "Much obliged, Lord," for everything we have been blessed with.

Ron Covey