As the elementary school teacher walked alongside the lunchroom table where her students were seated, all eyes were on her—and on the cups of ice cream she was carrying. One by one, she reached down to hand each student a cup of ice cream and a wooden spoon. Silence marked the trail where she walked, as students eagerly dug in and began enjoying their special treat.
Soon, the lunch period was over, and her students were lined up in the hall, ready to begin their walk back to the classroom. This generous teacher then paused to address her class. "Last week, I promised that I would buy a cup of ice cream for everyone, if everyone completed their homework over the weekend. Today I kept my promise, and handed out 32 cups of ice cream that I bought with my own money. Does anyone know how many times I heard the phrase ’thank you’ as I passed out 32 cups of ice cream?"
Her question was met with an uncomfortable silence. Only one student had thanked the teacher for his ice cream that day. I do not know how much of an impression this made on the other 31 students in the class, but those words from my teacher made a lasting impression on me.
In both the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving Day is observed as a holiday for giving thanks to God for His great and manifold blessings. Yet, as our nations stray farther from our Creator and His way of life, the purpose behind the holiday is increasingly glossed over or forgotten. In our greed-driven society, far more attention is lavished upon the heavily commercialized (and pagan) holidays of Halloween and Christmas than on the wholesome national holiday of Thanksgiving.
As a result of Abraham’s obedience, the Israelitish nations of this earth have been blessed tremendously and above all other nations. How sad, then, that Abraham’s modern-day descendants have largely chosen to pursue their own selfish desires, losing sight of the Giver of those good gifts. Because of these choices, God is removing— one by one—the great national blessings He once gave to the family of Abraham.
The book of Deuteronomy foretold and described what is now happening. In detailing the great national curses that would come upon the house of Israel, God said they would occur because "you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything" (Deuteronomy 28:47). Our peoples have not served God; rather, they have rejected Him, and have even sought to remove His name and His laws from public places. Ungrateful modern Israelites now attribute their history of abundance to their own ingenuity, or to happenstance— in short, to the self. As God has been taken out of the picture, our peoples have increasingly felt free to do what seems right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6). The result has been misery and unhappiness.
Those who enjoy abundance without recognizing and honoring its source will end up in idolatry, which leads to destruction. We see this in God’s words foretelling Israel’s rebellion against Him. "When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant" (Deuteronomy 31:20). Israel forgot the reason for its blessings, and the nation went astray. Yes, there is a connection between ingratitude and destruction. Ingratitude is more than simply being impolite; it is a sin (2 Timothy 3:2). Attitudes lead to actions, and an unthankful approach to life leads to destruction. The Apostle Paul tells us about this process, describing that, "because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:21–22).
God delights in giving His children good gifts, and He expects us to be thankful in return. He tells us: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). God should always be in the forefront of our thoughts, and our approach toward Him should always be one of deeply appreciating what He is doing with us and for us. We know that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). If we truly know this—if we understand and appreciate this—how can we fail to give God thanks and praise?
Paul told Christians: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4).What God has done— and is doing—should indeed fill us with great joy. We live in a society where many are troubled, and where there is much suffering and injustice—yet we have hope. Our hope is not tied to the outcome of a particular election or economic policy, but rather to the return of our Savior. As we deeply reflect on our hope—so that it is not just words on a page, but rather is the reality for which we are eagerly preparing—we cannot help but rejoice!
Christians are advised to "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4:6). Instead of being anxious, we are to tell God our concerns in prayer, then turn those concerns over to Him. When we make our requests to God, we are to do so with thanksgiving. This attitude of thanksgiving, when we make our prayerful requests to our Father, is actually a vital key to our overcoming feelings of anxiety.
When we focus on remaining thankful as we make our requests to our Father, we must also be aware of what He has done for us—and what He is doing with us. We must think about His omnipotent power, and on how dependent we are on it. We need to remember that the Creator of all that exists, sitting on His throne in heaven, actually wants to hear from us—and promises to help us. Faithfully filling our prayers with profound thanksgiving will produce an inner peace described as that "which surpasses all understanding" (v. 7).
An attitude of thanksgiving is an antidote to depression. When we focus too heavily on the problems around us, and on our inability to resolve those problems, we can easily fall into depression. By contrast, in order to maintain an attitude of thanksgiving, we must keep a very different focus. Being thankful does not mean that we ignore our troubles; rather, it means that we keep problems in their proper perspective. It means that we remember God’s promises in Scripture, and take comfort from them. Scriptures like Hebrews 13:5–6 encourage us, because they remind us that we are never alone. Scriptures like Romans 8:28 remind us that God is so powerful that He is able to cause even bad situations to work out for ultimate good.
An attitude of thanksgiving is an antidote to pride. Pride comes as a result of focusing too heavily on our own glory. By contrast, an attitude of thanksgiving comes as a result of acknowledging our limits and our need for God. When we recognize that all we have—and all we are—comes from God, it is rather difficult to become puffed up about ourselves. When we remember that God gives, and that He also takes away, it is rather difficult to become puffed up over what we recognize is not our own doing (Job 1:21).
An attitude of thanksgiving is an antidote for envy and jealousy. Envy and jealousy come about when we focus on not having what someone else has. When we consider James 1:17 along with Romans 8:28, however, we have to realize that everything good comes from God, and that He has a good reason for letting us do without those things we do not have—and about which we might be tempted to envy.
God enjoys giving us good gifts, and sometimes He gives us the opportunity to build character by doing without something we desire. Just as a child can be spoiled if it is given everything it desires, so too can we be spoiled, if we do not sometimes have to learn how to do without.
God has given all of us a variety of physical blessings for which we should be thankful. However, our greatest blessings are spiritual, not physical. God has opened our minds to understand His word. Our knowledge of God’s law keeps us safe from many pitfalls in life. But it is more than just knowledge that helps us. Many who know of His law do not understand that it is relevant to their own lives, and that it will guide them toward lasting happiness. Many who are worried about the future of our world—and about what is in store for them and their loved ones—have not had their minds opened to the understanding of God’s plan that we in His Church have been given. While we do not know all of the smallest details, we are privileged to know what lies ahead—that God does have a plan, and that His plan involves all who were created in His image.
Most people in the world only experience joy in relation to their present physical satisfaction. By contrast, when we come to understand God’s word, we experience a joy in our lives that is not tied exclusively to the here and now. We understand that real lasting joy is not tied to physical things, but rather is a fruit of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us (Galatians 5:22). The joy that is a fruit of God’s Spirit in our lives is based on the hope that lies within us. Because of the source of our joy, it is not taken from us when we go through the inevitable trials of life, for we recognize that those trials are preparing us to be members of God’s family (James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 4:12–13). Many around us seek joy without understanding its true cause, or its ultimate effect. As Christians, we should be filled with joy and thankfulness for the understanding of God’s way of life, and for what it produces in our lives.
In the Western nations, we often hear talk of "peace on earth" at this time of year, yet few if any actually expect to achieve peace. We in the Church, however, are blessed to know that God will soon establish His government on this earth, ushering in a time of global peace and harmony. This will not be a mere temporary peace; it will be a lasting peace extending even to the animal kingdom (Isaiah 9:7; 11:6–9). At a time when many in society see very little reason for hope, we in God’s Church can be thankful that we have hope. Our hope is not bound to a particular political candidate or financial situation, but rather to God’s word, which cannot fail (Isaiah 46:10).
Governments and leaders around the world seek "peace" based on treaties and agreements between opposing parties. Rarely expressed is the understanding that true peace is not simply the absence of fighting—it involves unity and harmony, which no treaty between belligerents can accomplish. Real peace is the result of obedience to God’s law. Here is how the Apostle Paul summarized that law: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself’" (Galatians 5:14). We can begin building peace now, in our relationships with other people. Are we truly thankful for the people around us? Do we love them and truly want to sacrifice of our time and our treasure to help and to serve them? Only when we truly understand God’s love—His law—is peace truly possible. We should be deeply thankful that God has given us this understanding, and that He has given us the ability to reap in our lives the benefits of that understanding— even during this time when most of the world has been blinded by Satan, the "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
God wants to have a loving relationship with His children. As Psalm 23 describes, He wants to lead them, to protect them, to provide for them and to bless them greatly—but He cannot do this unless His children follow Him. The opportunity God will later give to the rest of humanity— to understand His word and experience its blessings in their lives—is being given to us now. Are we sufficiently thankful for that wonderful blessing?
We in God’s Church certainly have much for which we ought to be thankful. To take God’s gifts for granted is a sin that ultimately leads to our forgetting the source of every good gift. As followers of Jesus Christ, let us resolve to be thankful always!