When we closely examine our "Thanksgiving Day" holiday and practices, we find, at least at first glance, that most folks take this event fairly casually. Great focus is placed upon travel, family reunion, dinners, and such. How easy it is for all of us to get caught up in the spirit of the event.
Also, the commercialization of "Thanksgiving" has become paramount to the point that the day after that blessed day is the largest retail sales day of the year. I can think of no reason not to get a great discount on a long-awaited item. But, is that all there is to it?
With all of that being said, ought we not just stop and put ourselves in remembrance of how special "Thanksgiving Day" is? Shouldn't we thank our Father for giving us all we have today? Do we not live in the greatest country on earth (at least until someone tries to change it)?
Are we not "rich"? Do any of us sleep under a bridge? Do we not all have cell phones, cars, TV sets, warm places to dwell (and cool in the summer time)? Do any go to bed hungry at night? Is there any among us who can't just pull over at the nearest convenience mart and grab a cold drink or a snack of some kind? Who among us cooks most of his meals over an open fire and has to gather the wood for that fire every ... single ... day?
Solomon, arguably the wealthiest person to ever live (heaping silver up in huge piles like dust is pretty wealthy, I'd say), didn't have running water or a flush toilet. He didn't have a telephone. He not only didn't have air conditioning, he didn't even have a swamp cooler. He could have afforded the most expensive SUV but even the lowly bicycle had yet to be invented. So, shouldn't we consider ourselves "well off" and be humbly thankful for it all?
I've been to Ghana West Africa. A third of the two million population of Ghana's second-largest city, Kumasi, subsist on less than two U.S. dollars per day. I've been to Baja and Juarez, Mexico and seen "campos" that had no electricity and no running water. In one campo, people lived in what we would literally call "chicken coops". There were no floors: only dirt. The only water for more than 100 people was a 3/4" pipe with a hose bibb rising a couple of feet from the dirt. Toilets? Sure; a row of outhouses a hundred yards from the coops. The main food items were predictable: frijoles and tortillas. Such poverty impacts the soul leaving a person unable to comprehend such destitution. It also gives one cause to reflect on just how blessed he truly is because of being an American.
In fact, the same dynamic of taking our life for granted can be found with the taking of communion in church. It is a vital element of our Christianity yet many, if not most, take communion without stopping to think and actually understanding the depth of impact that it has on the believer's life. Its significance has escaped us because we have not exercised the scriptural principle of putting ourselves into remembrance of these things.
Paul the Apostle actually addressed this matter by saying that the church at Corinth didn't have understanding and discernment of the body of Christ. They were not in faith and were merely practicing a church ritual instead of taking the time to wait on the Lord and continually put themselves into remembrance of their covenant in Christ. Because of that, many (many!) died a premature death and were weak and sickly.
The Psalmist found himself envious of the prosperity of the wicked and foolish (Psalm 73) until he waited on the Lord and put himself into remembrance of the promises of God. He was out of peace until he reminded himself of what the Lord had in mind for them.
Taking time to remind oneself of the blessings of God is a discipline and all disciplines require an effort (e.g. prayer, fasting, waiting on the Lord, et. al.). Let us not take for granted this holiday. Rather, let us put ourselves in remembrance of the price that was paid by our military and the labors of our forefathers so that we, a mere 6% of the world's population, might be free and live in unprecedented prosperity.
Let us continually thank our Lord who alone is worthy to be praised.
Amen.
