Here is an article I wrote for the local newspaper. Hope you enjoy it. Happy Thanksgiving.
-Dave
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To whom do you Give Thanks?
By Dave Sable
On November 23, 1623, Governor William Bradford, after a near farming disaster that only turned around after a day of prayer and fasting, proclaimed November 29th of that year a day “to listen to ye pastor, and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings.” This was the third year after the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth.
Years later on June 20, 1676, Edward Rawson stamped the government council seal upon a document in Charlestown proclaiming that they should not be found an “insensible people” towards “so many intimations of his (the Lord’s) returning mercy” and thus appointed the 29th of June “as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which might be Instanced.” George Washington proclaimed a day of public thanksgiving and prayer on November 26, 1789 “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God”.
President Abraham Lincoln through executive order made Thanksgiving a national holiday proclaiming the fourth Thursday of November as a day of, “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”. It was to “acknowledge the gracious gifts of the Most High God” and “fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation.”
The intention of historic days of Thanksgiving was to thank God. For if thanksgiving is “giving thanks”, to whom else do you give thanks?
Granted we Americans are not very good at using holidays for their intended purpose. Some would sidestep God with an answer in terms of expressing thanks to family and friends or maintaining a general sense of appreciation to no one in particular.
Family tradition and good cheer have their place. However, viewing this as the sole reason for the holiday only cheapens it, converting it into a mere Academy Awards ceremony where we glitz ourselves up with a fancy dinner only to carry on the self-congratulatory exercises of a self-absorbed society.
Thanksgiving to God lifts us to something higher. A. W. Tozer argues, “The history of mankind will probably show that no people have ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God.” Whom we thank tells much about how high we gaze as a people or how shallow and superficial we have become.
On this premise hinges the Christian message, if not all religions. Paul observes that from Creation “God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made” (Romans 1:20), a self-evident truth that the complex yet harmonious order of the universe implies a transcendent yet benevolent mind that originally set things into motion.
But, what does one do with this knowledge? Paul continues, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:21) The pivotal decision to suppress a heart of thanksgiving towards God and to crown oneself or one’s fellows as the highest point of reference is the ultimate leap from reality. It leaves one trapped in the truism of G. K. Chesterton, “The danger when men stop believing in God is not that they'll believe in nothing, but that they'll believe in anything.”
The irony is illustrated as the farmer who stands in the middle of his field and shakes his fist towards heaven while shouting triumphantly how he alone brought his crops to market. He ignores the One who designed the seed, caused the sun and rain to arrive at its proper time, and infused within him the very life and strength he uses to lift his hands.
The food on our table, the moral conscience in our heart, the pleasures of family and friends, the satisfaction of work – these things were not ultimately set in order because we willed it. It was formed into Creation by God. For this, we owe Him gratitude and expression of joyful thanksgiving.
With delight towards a benevolent Creator, have a happy and enjoyable day of thanksgiving and praise.
Dave Sable may be contacted at
outdeep@yahoo.com.
