Even though, as a follower of Christ, I attempt to live in this world and be different, I often find myself in the same category as every other American--incredibly spoiled and ungrateful. Even if we remember to say "thanks" it is only because that has been programmed into us as a politically correct way to keep receiving. We do it so we can get more. We may even be genuinely grateful but still not fully satisfied. Even people who are poor in America, would be considered wealthy anywhere else.
I watch commercials leading up to this holiday we're celebrating and they are all about tomorrow. How much can I get for nothing? How much can I push and shove and get a better deal than anyone else? There is not once commercial about staying home and looking around you and being thankful. There is not one reminder about spending less, saving more, and giving it away to put others ahead of yourself. I am guilty of it too. The only reason you won't see me out on Friday is because I am too selfish for my sleep.
With all of that said, we must remember that a thankful heart is an attitude of daily living. It is a quality that can be achieved in one's life everyday, not just once a year. A person will have no other choice than to be thankful, if they are focusing their minds on the things above rather than on earthly distractions. A person who truthfully recognizes how far they have come (as in where they were on their own accord) and what they have been saved from will be a thankful person.
May we not be a people who have been saved from so much and are guilty of being thankful for so little. I pray that my children hear their Daddy and Mommy giving thanks, rather than complaining.
I pray that we are not just thankful for the things we have (i.e. our home, our family, our health, etc) but we take the time to recount the goodness of God. For He is the One who has provided those things. Let us get past those things, even though they are good, and be consumed with the Giver of those things. I could write a long list of the things I am thankful for; I have been abundantly blessed! But rather today, on Thanksgiving, I will leave you with Psalm 138. I will record the list of my God whom I serve and I will be thankful.
Psalm 138
Give Thanks to the LORD
Of David.
1 I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;before the gods I sing your praise;
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.
4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
