I read an article entitled, "Is Black Friday Edging Out Thanksgiving?" With stores moving to open their doors on Thanksgiving and offering fantastic deals early, there is expected to be a large retail day this Thanksgiving.
I believe that this is more than just good capitalism (btw, I believe in capitalism and believe in free market competition as the best economic system we have to offer). I believe this is a spiritual battle.
Abraham Lincoln, when speaking of Thanksgiving, said this:
"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. . . .They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.
"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Thanksgiving is a day to remember, with humility and with joy, all of the things that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with- to realize the prosperity that we have compared with the rest of the world. It is a time to be set aside to be grateful. It is a day of worship and remembrance of Who provides all the things we enjoy.
What could possibly make Americans want to skip such a day? What driving force could make America forget its blessings and forget to give thanks?
The answer is greed. Greed and gratitude cannot coexist. They are mutually exclusive. Greed says, "I need more!" Gratitude says, "I'm thankful for what I have." It is no coincidence that the desire for more is the one thing that is edging out Thanksgiving in our national identity. It is a spiritual battle, because Satan knows the power of the idol of materialism in America. How can Satan get America to stop giving thanks to God? Distract them with their greed. Promise them more and more and more stuff (to the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, mind you) and . . . . . . get them thinking about MORE on the day when they are supposed to be grateful for all they HAVE.
It is bad enough that the holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ is more known for angry crowds at malls than it is for the birth of the Prince of Peace. Now Thanksgiving, which is one day set aside for gratitude, will see the angry crowds screaming for deals at malls too. If I were Satan, I could not have come up with a better strategy for distracting the American people from the gratitude they should have towards God on this special holiday.
Today, Christians, realize that much more is at stake than a deal or a bargain. This is a spiritual battle- not fought over life or death or a terrorist attack, but fought over the thing that Jesus said would cause us to walk away from God more than any other thing.
The question is whether or not people who have more stuff than any other people in the history of the world will stop the frenzied acquisition for one day to reflect, remember, and be grateful for all they have. Or, will people, in order to save a few bucks on something that will be in a yard sale in a few years, forego the day devoted to remembering the faithfulness of God?
Spend this Thanksgiving gathered around a table with your family with heads down in prayer. Thank God for all you have. Thank Him for His provision and His goodness to you. Don't run off to the mall and see what you can get, as if you really needed more. Spend the day in rest and joyful praise of the God who has given you more than you could ever ask for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I believe that this is more than just good capitalism (btw, I believe in capitalism and believe in free market competition as the best economic system we have to offer). I believe this is a spiritual battle.
Abraham Lincoln, when speaking of Thanksgiving, said this:
"To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. . . .They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.
"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens."
Thanksgiving is a day to remember, with humility and with joy, all of the things that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with- to realize the prosperity that we have compared with the rest of the world. It is a time to be set aside to be grateful. It is a day of worship and remembrance of Who provides all the things we enjoy.
What could possibly make Americans want to skip such a day? What driving force could make America forget its blessings and forget to give thanks?
The answer is greed. Greed and gratitude cannot coexist. They are mutually exclusive. Greed says, "I need more!" Gratitude says, "I'm thankful for what I have." It is no coincidence that the desire for more is the one thing that is edging out Thanksgiving in our national identity. It is a spiritual battle, because Satan knows the power of the idol of materialism in America. How can Satan get America to stop giving thanks to God? Distract them with their greed. Promise them more and more and more stuff (to the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, mind you) and . . . . . . get them thinking about MORE on the day when they are supposed to be grateful for all they HAVE.
It is bad enough that the holiday that marks the birth of Jesus Christ is more known for angry crowds at malls than it is for the birth of the Prince of Peace. Now Thanksgiving, which is one day set aside for gratitude, will see the angry crowds screaming for deals at malls too. If I were Satan, I could not have come up with a better strategy for distracting the American people from the gratitude they should have towards God on this special holiday.
Today, Christians, realize that much more is at stake than a deal or a bargain. This is a spiritual battle- not fought over life or death or a terrorist attack, but fought over the thing that Jesus said would cause us to walk away from God more than any other thing.
The question is whether or not people who have more stuff than any other people in the history of the world will stop the frenzied acquisition for one day to reflect, remember, and be grateful for all they have. Or, will people, in order to save a few bucks on something that will be in a yard sale in a few years, forego the day devoted to remembering the faithfulness of God?
Spend this Thanksgiving gathered around a table with your family with heads down in prayer. Thank God for all you have. Thank Him for His provision and His goodness to you. Don't run off to the mall and see what you can get, as if you really needed more. Spend the day in rest and joyful praise of the God who has given you more than you could ever ask for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
There is that word Greed again. I'm telling you, it's the downfall of us.
ReplyDeleteJust as a bitter person is never thankful and a thankful person is never bitter, a greedy person is never grateful and a grateful person is never greedy. They cannot coexist.
ReplyDelete