Thanksgiving is a Lifestyle

It’s finally November, and the smell of the holiday season is in the air. The stores all bring out their Christmas wares. The Christmas-themed advertisements bombard us from all sides. Every coffee store debuts some kind of pumpkin-spiced or peppermint treat. But tucked away between the two marketing giants of Halloween and Christmas, there is a less media-celebrated holiday called Thanksgiving.

And generally speaking, we all treat Thanksgiving as a once-a-year event. The whole family gets together, around vast quantities of delicious food, spending a joyous time together. Whether it’s with nostalgic appreciation or happy reminiscing, we go around and share “one thing we’re thankful for.” It’s a one-time event when we try to remember things we’ve taken for granted that past year. It’s a beautiful and precious tradition.

However, this doesn’t encompass the greater definition of thankfulness and gratitude given to us in the Scriptures. The Bible actually treats thankfulness much more seriously. In fact, NOT giving thanks, according to Apostle Paul, is one of the main reasons that human beings deserve punishment from God. “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.” (Romans 1:21 NIV) Why is this the case? It is because when we give thanks to God, we are correctly acknowledging that we live in God’s world, and we are simply receiving the gifts from his goodness and generosity. As scholar Timothy Gombis states, “In other words, when we refuse to give thanks we are dismissing the truth that God is God and we are claiming that our good fortune is the result of our own accomplishments. On the other hand, thankfulness keeps us properly oriented toward God and his goodness…Giving thanks to God helps us remember that we are in his hands. It’s a lesson in humility, a reminder of our condition.”

In other words, true thankfulness is a posture of submission. Gratitude is an acknowledgement that we are not in control; God is. Therefore, thankfulness is not primarily something we DO as much as it’s something we LIVE. A thankful heart is a lifestyle. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV) This is a subtle rebuke of the American ideal of the “self-made man.” According to scripture, no one is “self-made.” When we succeed, it is not due to our personal efforts, ambition, or knowledge, it is due to God’s good will in our lives. That sounds blasphemous doesn’t it?

But notice that I’m not saying that effort is useless or meaningless. I am saying that God doesn’t bless us BECAUSE of our effort. Hard work is good. We should always do our best. But we should not use our hard work to control the outcome, or, worse, try to control God. This means we should give our best with the knowledge that the result is in God’s hands. God doesn’t owe us anything because we worked hard or gave our best. Rather, with an attitude of humility and thankfulness, we remember who gives us the breath that we breathe, the country we live in, and the opportunities we receive. And when we live lives of thankfulness, we will be compelled to act in distinctly Christ-like ways. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17 NIV)

May we remember to live in a posture of thankfulness and humility this Thanksgiving season. Happy Thanksgiving!

For further reading: https://timgombis.com/2013/08/19/the-serious-business-of-giving-thanks/

Pastor Kevin Lee