W H AT S H O U L D I B E T H A N K F U L FOR THIS YEAR? By David Foucar
For most of us here in the United States, we enter November looking forward to the celebration of Thanksgiving. After all, who can resist the opportunity to enjoy the three Fs: food, family, and football? I love them all. We might disagree on some of the specifics, marshmallows or brown sugar on our yams, chunky cranberry sauce, or jellied pumpkin pie or apple. Maybe you get together with a big family or a small group of friends. It’s possible, it’s hard for me to imagine but, you may prefer watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade instead of football. Whatever the preferences, most of us look forward to the celebration. The roots of the Thanksgiving celebration begin even before the birth of our nation. Pilgrims celebrated what we consider the “First Thanksgiving” in October 1621. Later, we began officially celebrating as a nation with George Washington’s proclamation of 1789 and the tradition has continued, even though intermittently during some of our history, with the permanent observation set as the fourth Thursday in November established by an act of Congress in 1942.
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While we tend to think of Thanksgiving as an American holiday, its intended purpose was not to display national pride. Yes, I am thankful to live in the United States. Yes, I believe every American should be thankful for the freedoms they have. But, from its beginning, Thanksgiving was intended to recognize the source of all that we have to be thankful for, God Almighty Himself. George Washington’s proclamation recommended that we be devoted to “the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be.” Abraham Lincoln indicated that God’s bounties “are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come.” Woodrow Wilson said it is our custom “to turn in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for his manifold mercies and blessings to us.” Of course, it is not only our national forefathers who remind us to be thankful but, more importantly, the scripture instructs us to give thanks. James reminds us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above…” (James 1:17 NIV) and Paul instructs us “give thanks in all circumstances” and he continues “…for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV) We are to give thanks for every good thing we have because it is from God and we are to be thankful in every circumstance, whatever we have, and wherever we are. That, I have to say, is pretty all-encompassing. Even more than that, Paul tells us that being thankful is God’s will for us. A pretty big deal.
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