Friday, November 27, 2009

A Slightly Skewed Thanksgiving?


Had a nice Thanksgiving?  Did you go around the table as a lot of families do to say what you've been thankful for this year?  We could all benefit from more gratefulness and awareness that all we have is because of God's mercy and love for us.  But something slightly skewed can come out of this as well.

I was looking through Christian videos about Thanksgiving and saw a common assumption, that being content with what we have is always good, while being dissatisfied is always wrong.  If that were true, there would be no Thanksgiving to begin with.  Imagine the pilgrims being satisfied with the persecution of their faith, with the inability to worship God freely.  Imagine the colonists being satisfied with the oppression of the British crown that only wanted to tax, extort and control them and even massacre them when they resisted. There's a time when being content is very, very wrong.

I am so thankful for this beautiful country where we live, and for all the abundant blessings that we have.  But the abundance came through sacrifice, through the shedding of blood, through freezing winters, ragged armies, and moments when hope was almost snuffed out, all for the cause of the freedom they believed in.  When you've fought, bled and sacrificed for what you know God has promised you, the blessings that follow are more precious than anything else.  They stand as a reminder of God's faithfulness, and in an amazing way they continue to multiply and bless everyone around you for years to come.


Now's our chance to sacrifice.  Is there anything you're willing to bleed for?  Campaign of Israel: www.SucceedinLife.org

4 comments:

Sulma Navid said...

So true!
If we are not content with something we're seen as "ungrateful"...
Then the popular sentences come in, "Well at least you have a roof over your head, some people don't!"
Just because some have it off worst doesn't mean we should be content!

Boy, am I glad to know I don't have to be a hypocrite & be thankful for things I know I'm not thankful for!
God knows our hearts and when we sacrifice, this shows him our discontent. We do a perfect sacrifice, he gives us a perfect miracle!! :D

Janet said...

Jonah sang a song of thanksgiving from inside of a fish. "But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD. And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." He was thanking God for getting him out of that fish, for saving his life, and for allowing him to fulfill his vow. He wasn't thanking God because he was content.

Maritza Barr said...

Many people are always satisfied with the way their lives are. They look at others, whose lives are far worse then theirs. This brings them into the mentality: '"well, at least my life is not that bad. I have food, clothing, etc."

It is having this state of mind that hinders their blessings. Since they are satisfied with how their lives are, they don't but much effort into having a different and better one. This is the scenario were many nominal Christians find themselves in.

Leeanne said...

Very Good point's..
I agree that we should never come to term with satisfaction..Ever, it will only hinder our blessing's.