ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

When it comes around to this time of the year, everyone always talks about Thanksgiving and makes some sermon or Bible study or something about it. I don’t want to be cliche. But it does give us an opportunity to focus on a subject that plays a huge role in many parts of the BIble.

The Bible has plenty of commands to give thanks. Here are a couple, just to make the point:

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!

Hebrews 13:15
Through him then let us offer to God a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Ephesians 5:4
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

So there you have it. The Bible tells us to be thankful, and there are so many instances throughout Scripture where people live this out. There are words of thanksgiving that come after great victories, like the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, sung after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and escaped their slavery in Egypt. When David had been delivered from his enemies, he delivered powerful words of thanksgiving in 2 Samuel 22. But there are also equal amounts of thanksgiving given in difficult times and trials. The most famous example is Job, who, after basically losing everything he had, declared that “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21b). Another well-known Bible name is Jonah, the man who was swallowed by a giant fish for his disobedience. While inside, before he was even released, he offered words of thanksgiving, documented in Jonah 2:2-9.

We are called to be thankful, despite our circumstances. In good times and in bad, we need to be thankful for the blessings that God has given us. We need to be thanking God for who He is and what He has done for us.

But why?

Why doesn’t matter, right? If God tells us to do something, we should be content to do it. But I’ve found that “because God said so” doesn’t always fly when you’re trying to convince someone that it’s important to do, and I find that I have a tougher time doing something if I don’t understand why I’m doing it. While there are times in my life when that is inescapable, I try to avoid it if it is possible.

And I think this is a good question to ask. Why are Christians so hung up on thanking God all the time? Is God just some kind of a narcissist? When we start to answer this question, we gain some more insight into the heart of God and into ourselves as well, and that’s the best reason why I think we should ask “why” in this scenario.

What we have isn’t ours

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

Think of the difference between using your own car and borrowing a friend’s car. One time, I had to drive my friend’s Jeep when we went on a trip to Louisville, Kentucky. I’m not the most aggressive driver in the world, but since I know my car and my roads when I’m in Pittsburgh, I’ll pick my gaps and weave a bit. But when I was driving my friend’s car, there was no way that I was going to do anything reckless. Of course, the more I drove the car, the easier it was to forget that I was driving someone else’s vehicle, so I had to be on my guard against that.

When we continually thank God for something He’s given us (anything from a car to a friend to the weather), it reminds us that it really is something that He’s provided. We don’t just randomly have things happen to us. God is in control, and nothing surprises Him. So, as we thank God for stuff more and more, we remember that without Him, we’d have nothing.

We don’t deserve the good we get

I’ve written before about the state of man apart from God. In light of the fact that “no one is righteous, not a one” (Romans 3:10), preacher Paul Washer makes some sense when he said the following (quoting from memory, sorry about that):

The question, then, is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The question becomes, “Why does anything good happen at all?”

We as humans generally tend to thank other people when people do something for us, because we want to express our appreciation for the effort they made. But if I’m a boss and my underling has to have a report on my desk every week, then I don’t really have to thank the guy when he does what he’s supposed to do. I probably will because I’m not a jerk, but I don’t have to.

I don’t think we’re ever in that position with God. Sure, God promises us things that we can appeal to, but we never deserve any promise we get. Every time that anything good happens to us, we really should be grateful, because it is always undeserved.

We need to learn that it isn’t all about us

Isn’t it odd that we’re commanded to be thankful? I mean, isn’t thanksgiving a heart thing, something that we should WANT to do rather than HAVE to do?

The Hebrews verse I quoted at the top of the article suggests that praise can be a sacrifice at times. Sacrifices are never easy, because you’re giving something up! Even though we may not feel like praising God, we are told to do so anyways.

This makes a lot more sense if you ever watch a parent interact with their young child. I have a friend with a kid who’s young - around three years old, I think. When someone gives something to her, my friend will tell her, “Say thank you.” The little girl then utters a “thank you” in a relatively flat and disinterested voice.

Is that girl grateful? Of course not. She’s only saying it cause Daddy told her to. But as she grows up, she’ll begin to realize why she’s saying thanks - because it isn’t all about her. Kids are the center of their universes. From the time they’re born they get constant attention and devotion from parents. This is obviously necessary, but it has the side effect of making the child a bit selfish. When the child learns about the concept of gratitude, it helps them to realize that they shouldn’t expect what they get and that they don’t deserve what they get.

We need to glorify God

It all comes back to this one, right? To glorify is to make clearer the glory of God; that is, to give Him the recognition and praise for things so that people will understand His greatness better. If I brag about my achievements, I only give myself glory. If I thank God for something that He enabled me to do, then people realize that it’s God who’s great, not me.

This point comes back to the point of humility, a theme that’s woven through Scripture. Pride is the biggest thing that keeps us out of heaven, because we can never repent if we’re not in the wrong. But Jesus set the example of humility so that we might follow His lead, be humble, and follow our Savior into heaven. To continually give thanks means that we humble ourselves and give props where props are due.

Conclusion

So remember these things as you head to the Thanksgiving table. Be thankful, and remember why you’re supposed to be thankful. And please, whatever you do, don’t let your attitude of thanksgiving die by the time Christmas hits! This is a continual thing.

Grace and peace,
Brendan