Dear Family and Friends,

I once watched my dad and another driver get into a ‘tif’ on the road. The two had come to an intersection at the same time and both men kept waving at each other – – insisting that the other go first.

As the two finally resolved their ‘dispute,’ smiled, and waved goodbye to each other, I’m proud to say my dad won! The other guy went first.

Given my tendency to count stuff, I recently took a survey. The unofficial results are in: by my count, today there are more drivers who do not thankfully wave when let into a lane than those who do.

What this says is that over fifty percent of today’s drivers are either not thankful or worse, feel entitled, when it comes to acts of kindness.

Let me ask, would you get upset if a driver didn’t wave thanks? I suspect most of us would, while reluctantly accepting the fact that this lack of gratitude is just one of many societal values that have recently vanished.

My message for us this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving is simply this: let’s not get swept up in the ways of the world. Let’s guard ourselves against becoming self-centered or entitled. Let’s not allow the bad behavior of others to become our behavior as well.

So, how do we stay true to our Jesus?

Allow me to start by explaining a practice exhibited by the Israelites that’s worth emulating.

Many of us have heard this verse from 1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV which says, “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Hint, Chris Tomlin wrote a song called Forever using this verse.

Besides the song, do you know why this verse seems so familiar? This verse or slight variations thereof were said at least 43 times across multiple books in the Old Testament; each time following a blessing the Israelites recognized as coming from the Lord.

The books in which these verses can be found, First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, Psalms, and Jeremiah reveal that this verse was recited throughout Israel’s ancient history.

And to show just how important this verse is to God’s Chosen, one of the Psalms with this verse, P 118, is still prayed and sung today during the morning services of Jewish Festivals.

May I suggest we make this verse a part of our lives as well? Let’s also be a people who are constantly and consistently grateful for what the Lord has done, praising Him for His goodness, for His love endures forever.

Everything we have is a gift from Him. All that we are is a gift from Him. If we don’t periodically pause to be grateful, we will start to believe that our achievements are ours alone. Nothing can turn us more quickly into arrogant, selfish, dissatisfied people than ungrateful hearts.

Conversely, nothing can restore contentment and joy more quickly than a thankful spirit. Keeping our hearts constantly and consistently grateful will help keep us in the right relationship to the Giver of all good gifts.

“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:16-17 NIV

Now I realize that life is not always full of good and perfect gifts. To that Paul suggests in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV that we, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

In all circumstances means being thankful not only when good things happen, but when bad things happen as well.

But to clarify, this does not mean we are to be thankful for attacks by the enemy. No, we thank our Lord for the promise that lies ahead (see James 1:12) and the strength given us to endure it (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).

We all suffer losses in life as well. Perhaps a job or a relationship or even a loved one. ‘In everything’ means that we have thankful hearts toward God even when we don’t feel like it, because we can rest assured that the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” (Taken from Philippians 4:7)

I imagine many of us will be spending this week preparing for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, after which we will:

  • Go shopping for gifts
  • Check out Black Friday
  • Peek at Cyber Monday deals
  • Order Christmas cards
  • Buy stamps
  • Decorate the house
  • Wrap gifts
  • Mail gifts and cards
  • Deliver gifts
  • Oops, buy and deliver last minute gifts
  • Plan, shop for and prepare Christmas dinner
  • Go to Don Quixote or Chinatown for New Years food
  • Prepare New Years dinner
  • Clean the house
  • Put away decorations

Are you exhausted? Yes, the Holiday season is upon us and we have so much to do. But be aware – there is a battle raging in the spiritual realm for our time and attention.

Let’s not allow ourselves to get swept up in the commercialized Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years ways of the world.

But instead make this and all other seasons about giving thanks to our Lord for the countless blessings we receive every single day.

In love always,