The Greater Potential of Thanksgiving
November 10, 2008 · Print This Article
When my daughters were young, we’d take them trick or treating on Halloween. It was usually just a trip around the block - my daughters dressed as angels, or princesses, or babies. The most important thing my wife and I told them, every Halloween without exception, was this: “Remember to say thank you.”
The words “thank you” are possibly the most important words in any language, for any time. It’s not simply about being nice or cordial. Those magic words hit any inclination toward self-reliant pride square between the eyes, and shatter the myth of deservedness. The opposite of gratefulness is entitlement. People who don’t say “thank you” are some of the most arrogant people I’ve ever met, because they often feel like they deserve everything they’ve become.
In our churches, we know the people who are genuinely grateful. They are the worshippers. They are the broken ones. They are the most giving. They are humble at the core. They are grateful because they remember God’s mercy in their lives.
And we know the ones who are not thankful. They are the most negative, the most critical, or the most apathetic. They are the quickest to judge a person who disagrees with them. They feel like hurting people have brought it all on themselves. They withhold compassion. They feel entitled because they have forgotten God’s mercy in their lives.
Thanksgiving is coming. And there is much at stake here. Every year, we set aside one day to express our thankfulness, our gratitude. And every year, we can become tempted to focus more on a large bird, than we do a great God.
There is much at stake here.
At Floodgate, we’ve worked hard over the past three years to help resource your church to experience the true potential of Thanksgiving. We honestly believe that hardened hearts can be transformed into grateful ones. With that in mind, we’ve created a number of media resources for you to implement into your Thanksgiving services. Check them out here.
Whether or not you use any of our resources, it’s vital that churches express gratitude on this wonderful day. And that’s our prayer for you, your leadership team, and your church body. May we be leaders who point people toward a gratefulness that is God-centered, and a thankfulness that comes from their deepest heart.
Because there is so much at stake here.
I was really enjoying this article until the generalisations crept in. And without wanting to appear negative (oh no) about it, I have to disagree.
I am (un)fortunate to know a number of negative people whom are also the most thankful people I have ever met. More so than the broken, the givers, etc. My feeling as to why is that they do realise just how negative they are and as a counterpoint to that they become thankful.
Of course as generalisations go you are right and my aim in life is to get every negative person I meet to say one positive thing … seems God brings a lot of them my way.