I would like to suggest that the story of David and Bathsheba (click here) brings some relevance to how we should celebrate Thanksgiving. Why? It is because there are common themes between how we have procured bounty in this nation with how David was able to get Bathsheba to be his wife.
For those who don't know the story, during wartime, David saw Bathsheba. David sent for Bathsheba. David knocked up Bathsheba. And to hide what he did, David had Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, killed in battle so he could marry her. So for David to have Bathsheba for his wife, he had to steal and kill.
Now let's fastforward to Thanksgiving Day, this year. We will be giving thanks for the great bounty some of us still have opportunity to enjoy. We have homes to live in and places to visit. We have plenty of material blessings. We have plenty of food to eat. And we have nice clothes to wear. But what had to happen for us to have all of that?
That question will most likely not be addressed in Conservative Christian blogposts. It certainly wasn't addressed in the following articles: Marshall Segal on what happens after Thanksgiving (click here), Erik Raymond on a Thanksgiving prayer (click here), or Erik Raymond's blogpost asking if one is a thankful person (click here). The titles pretty much explain what each article is about. And yet, there was no mention of the theft and murder involved with the blessings we have. In fact the first article links receiving blessings with faith. To its credit, that article does mention how, because of our sins, we do not deserve the blessings for which we should be thankful. But that did not deserve line seems to be due to our personal sinfulness and not how our society became so wealthy.
And all of this talk about how the physical blessings we will be giving thanks for are the result of theft and murder seems to go against the grain of Erik Raymond's article asking if one is a thankful person. For such talk seems to answer the question he asks about whether one is a person who complains with an affirmative. And in his other article cited here, he thanks the Lord for the rich bounty we enjoy. He did not mention the price others have had to pay for our bounty.
Finally, we need to be specific regarding how the bounty we have is due to theft and murder. Here, this blog will provide only a partial list of how theft and murder procured our blessings. Of course we start of with the ethnic cleansing of Native Americans from the land. So we stole their land and killed some of them while taking what was theirs. For almost the first half of our existence as a nation, much of our wealth was the result of slave labor. So here, we might want to think about all of the people we stole from their families in Africa and how they either died either in transit or as a result of the conditions of their slavery or how they suffered to make others wealthy. Then after the Civil War, our wealth increased as the result of prison labor where many Blacks were arrested because of their skin color. In addition, the railroads that traversed our nation were built while exploiting the labor of workers who came directly from China as they were paid significantly less than other men who helped lay the tracks.
The above is just a partial list of how theft and murder was used in the past to make this country rich. But what about today? We can start with prison labor again as some companies make significant profits from using such labor while the prisoners receive hardly any compensation for the labors. Or we could talk about how a significant amount of our food is provided in some way to us by trafficked and slave labor. Or we could talk about how many of our clothes as well as some of our electronic gadgets, which we use for work or play, are made in sweatshop factories. We should note that both trafficked and slave labor along with sweatshop factories also exist in the United States. Some of the services we enjoy when at a restaurant or fast food place are provided by those who are being paid poverty wages. And some of the big box items we buy are at stores that pay their employees poverty wages.
We'll stop there. But the above should show us how much of the bounty we receive and should be thankful is the result of the same causes that allowed David to marry Bathsheba. All are the result of exploitation of others. And so the question remains: How should we be thankful for those goods that are ours because of theft and murder?
www.flamingfundamentalist.blogspot.com
(Only one person pictured is a Christian Fundamentalist. And so which one pictured is not like the others)
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2015
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Surviving A Dark, White Thanksgiving
What is a dark, white Thanksgiving? It occurs when a snowstorm knocks out the power at the place you are staying for Thanksgiving. And that is what occurred to our three families as we were celebrating Thanksgiving in New York. And I survived that Thanksgiving with no thanks to me. When things like the power going off for a prolonged period of time, it was 28 hours for us, I turn into an Oscar The Grouch Curmudgeon. So as the wife, the sister in-law of the East, and her husband did a wonderful job at cooking Thanksgiving dinner using a charcoal grill and a propane fueled camper cooker, I remained quietly skeptical.
However, the lights came back Thanksgiving night and we could prepare for our next day in the city. That would feature a concert at Carnegie Hall with the nephew's orchestra and a young people's, ages from 10 to 21, string orchestra from Brazil. The nephew's orchestra played very well, but a very pleasant surprise came when the orchestra from Brazil played. Their name was the Orquestra Instituto GPA (click here for the event) and they combined humor, choreographic playings of stringed instruments, vocals, and, last but not least, passion and they put that into their playing of several forms of music from classical to pop. What they did was to go outside rigid definitions of how to musically perform in order to play music the way it should be played.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Carnegie Hall, we ran into protesters expressing solidarity with the residents of Ferguson and with all who suffer abuse at the hands of our authorities. Our first encounter with them was at Times Square where they were demonstrating at a bit of a distance from us. But after dinner, as we were walking to Carnegie Hall, the protesters joined us on the sidewalk we were traveling on so that, in essence, we were walking with the protesters because they joined us.
It is unfortunate that many of my Reformed Christian friends were not there to talk with these protesters. Because in talking with them, they might learn more about why the failure to indict Darren Wilson caused them to take to the streets. In one sense, this is unfortunate because things were framed so that Wilson had to be indicted for some of the people from Ferguson and America to feel that their grievances were being heard. Such a situation robs Wilson of a chance for a fair trial. But, then again, if the shooting of Michael Brown was an isolated incident of an unarmed Black man being shot by police, the failure to indict Wilson would not have caused ruckus. The shooting of Michael Brown is one of many times unarmed Blacks have been shot by the police. And there are other ways in which some police have abused their power.
So perhaps, the way to address Ferguson's grievances, as well as the complaints of many minorities across the nation, is not to write about it from the comfort of one's own home or office. Perhaps, just perhaps, the way to find a solution here is to go to the people of Ferguson and communities like it to listen to the people's grievances. But that is something that many Conservative Christians, especially those from the Reformed Faith, refuse to do.
Why do they refuse to listen to the people most affected by bigotry and police abuse? It is because too many of us Conservative Christians have too often applied a Mathematical approach to Practical Theological issues so that we use our readings and sacred formulas to determine what the people in communities like Ferguson experience and what should be done to remedy their situation. It is us outsiders who are telling the people of Ferguson what they must do to solve their problems without even listening to their side of the story. We could call the overuse of a Mathematical approach to Practical Theology 'Theomatics.' It is based on the idea that the Scriptures trump experience in interpreting reality. But our problem becomes that it isn't just the Scriptures that obtain such authority, so do all of our pet theories and theologies as well. And the more we practice Theomatics, the less need we feel to talk with and listen to others regarding what is happening in the world. After all, if not only the Scriptures, but all of our theories and theologies can be used to interpret reality, then what need do we have to listen to others? In fact, why do we need to experience life ourselves when our theologies and theories can explain it?
Yes, the Scriptures do interpret life and reality better than our experiences do. But the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, weren't written in a way so that we could write a specific, concrete rule for each situation and decision. So to think otherwise pushes one to attempt to write a New Testament version of the book of Leviticus.
Just as my preconceived notions on how turkeys could and could not be cooked was proven wrong by experience and the skill of my brother in-law who is an excellent cook. And just as a preconceived, classical approach to playing music could never enable the Orquestra Instituto GPA of Brazil from playing all kinds of music in a fuller way. So our Theomatics can neither tell us what the people in communities like Ferguson are experiencing nor how to address their grievances. Rather, before we deductively calculate our solutions for Ferguson and others, we need to listen its residents. Then just perhaps, together we can find some solutions.
However, the lights came back Thanksgiving night and we could prepare for our next day in the city. That would feature a concert at Carnegie Hall with the nephew's orchestra and a young people's, ages from 10 to 21, string orchestra from Brazil. The nephew's orchestra played very well, but a very pleasant surprise came when the orchestra from Brazil played. Their name was the Orquestra Instituto GPA (click here for the event) and they combined humor, choreographic playings of stringed instruments, vocals, and, last but not least, passion and they put that into their playing of several forms of music from classical to pop. What they did was to go outside rigid definitions of how to musically perform in order to play music the way it should be played.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Carnegie Hall, we ran into protesters expressing solidarity with the residents of Ferguson and with all who suffer abuse at the hands of our authorities. Our first encounter with them was at Times Square where they were demonstrating at a bit of a distance from us. But after dinner, as we were walking to Carnegie Hall, the protesters joined us on the sidewalk we were traveling on so that, in essence, we were walking with the protesters because they joined us.
It is unfortunate that many of my Reformed Christian friends were not there to talk with these protesters. Because in talking with them, they might learn more about why the failure to indict Darren Wilson caused them to take to the streets. In one sense, this is unfortunate because things were framed so that Wilson had to be indicted for some of the people from Ferguson and America to feel that their grievances were being heard. Such a situation robs Wilson of a chance for a fair trial. But, then again, if the shooting of Michael Brown was an isolated incident of an unarmed Black man being shot by police, the failure to indict Wilson would not have caused ruckus. The shooting of Michael Brown is one of many times unarmed Blacks have been shot by the police. And there are other ways in which some police have abused their power.
So perhaps, the way to address Ferguson's grievances, as well as the complaints of many minorities across the nation, is not to write about it from the comfort of one's own home or office. Perhaps, just perhaps, the way to find a solution here is to go to the people of Ferguson and communities like it to listen to the people's grievances. But that is something that many Conservative Christians, especially those from the Reformed Faith, refuse to do.
Why do they refuse to listen to the people most affected by bigotry and police abuse? It is because too many of us Conservative Christians have too often applied a Mathematical approach to Practical Theological issues so that we use our readings and sacred formulas to determine what the people in communities like Ferguson experience and what should be done to remedy their situation. It is us outsiders who are telling the people of Ferguson what they must do to solve their problems without even listening to their side of the story. We could call the overuse of a Mathematical approach to Practical Theology 'Theomatics.' It is based on the idea that the Scriptures trump experience in interpreting reality. But our problem becomes that it isn't just the Scriptures that obtain such authority, so do all of our pet theories and theologies as well. And the more we practice Theomatics, the less need we feel to talk with and listen to others regarding what is happening in the world. After all, if not only the Scriptures, but all of our theories and theologies can be used to interpret reality, then what need do we have to listen to others? In fact, why do we need to experience life ourselves when our theologies and theories can explain it?
Yes, the Scriptures do interpret life and reality better than our experiences do. But the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, weren't written in a way so that we could write a specific, concrete rule for each situation and decision. So to think otherwise pushes one to attempt to write a New Testament version of the book of Leviticus.
Just as my preconceived notions on how turkeys could and could not be cooked was proven wrong by experience and the skill of my brother in-law who is an excellent cook. And just as a preconceived, classical approach to playing music could never enable the Orquestra Instituto GPA of Brazil from playing all kinds of music in a fuller way. So our Theomatics can neither tell us what the people in communities like Ferguson are experiencing nor how to address their grievances. Rather, before we deductively calculate our solutions for Ferguson and others, we need to listen its residents. Then just perhaps, together we can find some solutions.
Monday, December 1, 2014
ONIM For December 1, 2014
Christian News
World News
Pick(s) Of The Litter
- Hobby Lobby's Bible Course Is Cancelled By Oklahoma School District -- Christian Today (UK)
- Pope Francis Prays In Mosque During Trip To Turkey -- Christian Today (UK)
- Church Member Denied Funeral Due To Non-Payment Of Tithes -- Christian Today (UK)
- Read Why David Robertson Is Wishing For A "White Christmas" -- Christian Today (UK)
- Can Wheaton College Require ROTC Program Be Run By Christians? -- Christianity Today
- The End Times Are Here And Began With The Reestablishment Of Israel, Says David Jeremiah -- The Christian Post
- Happy Progressive Thanksgiving: How 'Gospel Progressives' Transformed American Culture -- The Christian Post
- America's Racist God Meets Miss Celie: Darren Wilson Not Indicted -- Religion Dispatches
- Hagee Calls Obama "The Most Anti-Semitic President Ever" -- Religion Dispatches
- What Ferguson Protests Mean For Religious Progressive Activism -- Religion Dispatches
World News
- Here's What Happens To Police Officers Who Shoot Unarmed Black Men -- Mother Jones
- No Indictment For Darren Wilson Is No Surprise -- The Guardian
- Protesters Shut Down New York Bridges Over Ferguson Decision -- Business Insider
- 41 Men Targeted But 1,147 Killed: US Drone Strikes--The Facts On The Ground -- The Guardian
- US Increases Number Of Troops In Afghanistan Yet Again -- RT
- My Struggle With Black Rage And Fear After Ferguson -- Salon
- Darren Wilson Tells ABC He Has A 'Clean Conscience,' And He Would Shoot Michael Brown Again -- Raw Story
- Employers Keep Shifting Costs Under Affordable Care Act -- ZNet
- US To Send 3,000 Smart Bombs To Israel -- Middle East Monitor
- Guiliani: Michael Brown Death Should Have Never Gone To A Grand Jury -- Yahoo News
- Cleveland Police Officers Waited Minutes To Give First Aid To Tamir Rice -- Cleveland.Com
- Report: Walmart Workers Cost Tax Payers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance -- Forbes
- White Supremacy So Deeply American That We Don't Even See It -- Raw Story
- JP Morgan CFO Admits $7 Billion Of DOJ Settlement Is Tax-Deductable -- Buzz Flash
- Did Police Set Autos On Fire During Ferguson Protests? -- Popular Resistance
- America The Beautiful, America The Violent -- Christianity Today
Pick(s) Of The Litter
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Will We Be Celebrating Thanksgiving Or Prosperity Pride Day?
A truth that is taught throughout the Scriptures is that our claims to love and worship God are often betrayed by how we treat each other. This is explicitly stated in I John 4:20 when John states that we cannot love God and hate our brothers and sisters. In the parable of the two men praying, the prayer of the pharisee shows that he believed he was righteous in God's eyes by how he saw himself in comparison to the tax collector (see Luke 18:9-14). And in Genesis 4:1-8, we have the story of Cain's reaction to God's rejection of his gift with the murder of Abel.
We should remember those Scriptures before appearing to give thanks during this Thanksgiving Day. We should remember them lest we too easily believe the possible lie we are telling others about ourselves: the lie that conceals our pride for what we have by saying we are thankful for the gifts God has given us.
So what tells us that we are truly thankful to God for what we have? One test can be found in our attitude toward the poor--note that this test is not about how much we have given to the poor because people give for various reasons. Rather, this test can be graded by how we identify with the poor. For when we see a poor person, do we think, 'But for the grace of God go I' or do we look down on that person and think, 'I am thankful that I am not like that poor person because I' ____ and he/she doesn't.
Yes, working hard and following certain rules and principles provide an immediate cause for avoiding poverty. But do we believe that working hard and following certain rules and principles alone guarantees success? If we do, there are plenty of people who could tell us otherwise. Howard Zinn talked about how, despite their hard work, his parents did not escape poverty. He observed that that was the case for others too. In addition, we also have to ask who gives us the energy to work hard and who moves our hearts to follow rules and principles that help us succeed? And let's not forget how the economic class we grew up in gave us privileges and margins of error that others do not have.
In short, how thankful we can be toward God is measured by how much we identify with the poor. The less we identify with them, the more we credit ourselves for what we have and blame them for what they don't have. But the more we can truly identify with the poor, the more we realize that what we have is from God and not ourselves. And thus, instead of feeling proud, we should thank God for what He has graciously given us--realize that grace is unmerited favor. And we should note that the truest compassion for the poor one can have comes from our ability to identify with them. Perhaps, the end of a journal entry by a then 12-year old Rachel Corrie about the homeless can provide a guide (click here for the whole entry).
So, if we fall to temptation and think that our nation is better than others and thus think that its riches are due to its characteristics, then we will believe that what we have is because of who we are as a nation. And if we believe that, then we will believe that our nation's prosperity is earned rather than graciously given. And this is an important distinction. For if the riches of our nation are earned, we might rejoice on Thanksgiving Day but we will be offering no thanks to God. Rather, we will be grateful to our nation, rather than to God, for our riches and we will be proud. Yes we are rejoicing and we claim to be giving thanks, but, in reality, our Thanksgiving Day parades and other celebrations are our nation's way of flaunting our superiority and riches. This would make Thanksgiving Day, with its parades and celebrations, our Prosperity Pride Day.
Thanksgiving Day is an odd day for many Americans. That is because many of us show our gratitude to God for what we have by upping our overconsumption. We might pray before our meals, but it is our meals that act as the altar. So we do need to ask ourselves on days like this Thursday the question: Is our Thanksgiving Day feast a way of truly giving thanks to God for His kindness and mercy or are we using it to worship ourselves or our riches? One way of answering the question is to look at how we treat and regard those who have a lot less.
We should remember those Scriptures before appearing to give thanks during this Thanksgiving Day. We should remember them lest we too easily believe the possible lie we are telling others about ourselves: the lie that conceals our pride for what we have by saying we are thankful for the gifts God has given us.
So what tells us that we are truly thankful to God for what we have? One test can be found in our attitude toward the poor--note that this test is not about how much we have given to the poor because people give for various reasons. Rather, this test can be graded by how we identify with the poor. For when we see a poor person, do we think, 'But for the grace of God go I' or do we look down on that person and think, 'I am thankful that I am not like that poor person because I' ____ and he/she doesn't.
Yes, working hard and following certain rules and principles provide an immediate cause for avoiding poverty. But do we believe that working hard and following certain rules and principles alone guarantees success? If we do, there are plenty of people who could tell us otherwise. Howard Zinn talked about how, despite their hard work, his parents did not escape poverty. He observed that that was the case for others too. In addition, we also have to ask who gives us the energy to work hard and who moves our hearts to follow rules and principles that help us succeed? And let's not forget how the economic class we grew up in gave us privileges and margins of error that others do not have.
In short, how thankful we can be toward God is measured by how much we identify with the poor. The less we identify with them, the more we credit ourselves for what we have and blame them for what they don't have. But the more we can truly identify with the poor, the more we realize that what we have is from God and not ourselves. And thus, instead of feeling proud, we should thank God for what He has graciously given us--realize that grace is unmerited favor. And we should note that the truest compassion for the poor one can have comes from our ability to identify with them. Perhaps, the end of a journal entry by a then 12-year old Rachel Corrie about the homeless can provide a guide (click here for the whole entry).
These are our sisters and brothers. And that is what terrifies us. They are us. And we could as easily be them.
And what is true of how we think as individuals is even more true for how we think collectively. For if we think that we have our success because our nation is God's greatest gift to mankind and that it has, above other nations, followed God's law, then, again, we are not as thankful as we are proud--along with being delusional. Yes, God has blessed this country. But our history of violence and exploitation tells us that God's blessings for us have been unmerited rather than something to be proud of. We can thus realize that God has blessed our country despite its sins and shortcomings rather than because of our imagined merits.
So, if we fall to temptation and think that our nation is better than others and thus think that its riches are due to its characteristics, then we will believe that what we have is because of who we are as a nation. And if we believe that, then we will believe that our nation's prosperity is earned rather than graciously given. And this is an important distinction. For if the riches of our nation are earned, we might rejoice on Thanksgiving Day but we will be offering no thanks to God. Rather, we will be grateful to our nation, rather than to God, for our riches and we will be proud. Yes we are rejoicing and we claim to be giving thanks, but, in reality, our Thanksgiving Day parades and other celebrations are our nation's way of flaunting our superiority and riches. This would make Thanksgiving Day, with its parades and celebrations, our Prosperity Pride Day.
Thanksgiving Day is an odd day for many Americans. That is because many of us show our gratitude to God for what we have by upping our overconsumption. We might pray before our meals, but it is our meals that act as the altar. So we do need to ask ourselves on days like this Thursday the question: Is our Thanksgiving Day feast a way of truly giving thanks to God for His kindness and mercy or are we using it to worship ourselves or our riches? One way of answering the question is to look at how we treat and regard those who have a lot less.
Friday, November 29, 2013
A Half A Thanksgiving Forever
R.C. Sproul Jr., the son of R.C. Sproul, wrote a Christianized Thanksgiving post (click here) for Ligonier Ministries last year. In that post, Sproul complained that sinful man is more troubled by what he does than who he is. His point here is that we seem to be content with ourselves if we don't act on sinful thoughts and impulses. And being so content, we underestimate who we are as sinners and who God is as a gracious savior. So if we were to really grasp all of this, we would have the most solid grounds for giving thanks and our thanksgiving would last all year round. And failure to be thankful is one of the most serious sins we can commit.
Sproul has a point here. We give ourselves false assurance over the sins we have refrained from committing even though our thoughts and feelings betray and condemn us. We are thoroughly sinful and knowing this helps us appreciate God's grace and that appreciation is the 'root' of our joy.
Likewise, Sproul points out that our level of thanks is all too often based on what is being done or not being done to us and what we are or are not getting. How comfortable are we? Are we getting what we dream of? All too often, the answers to these questions cause us to fail to be thankful. Thus, if we are to realize what God has done for and promised us in Christ, we should have a joy that produces a lifestyle of being thankful.
In all of the above, Sproul is right. But being right does not prevent one from being incomplete in what they teach. Whether Sproul says in other places what we will say here or not, we should point out that we should not base how we help others entirely on what he has written thus far. For if we do, for if we respond to those in need solely by teaching them how to be grateful in all circumstances because of what Christ has done for us, then we would have ignored James's warning in James 2:14-26.
In the passage cited above, while telling us that faith without works is dead, to not help those in need with physical goods when we can is to possess a dead faith. So while Sproul points out that the refraining from doing wrong can mislead us regarding our sinfulness, refraining from doing right can instruct us regarding the kind of faith we have. And we need both messages here because all too often the Church has held back from being involved with providing earthly help to people when it could because of its focus on Christ meeting our spiritual needs. However, if we are to read James, we find that such an abstinence shows our sinfulness just as much as harboring wrong thoughts and feelings as well as not being grateful to God.
Some look at Thanksgiving Day as a chance to help those in need by helping to feed the hungry. If we add that thought to Sproul's admonition to make Thanksgiving a lifestyle rather than a holiday, then not only should be grateful all year round, we should help those in need, those who cannot pay us back, all year round too.
Sproul has a point here. We give ourselves false assurance over the sins we have refrained from committing even though our thoughts and feelings betray and condemn us. We are thoroughly sinful and knowing this helps us appreciate God's grace and that appreciation is the 'root' of our joy.
Likewise, Sproul points out that our level of thanks is all too often based on what is being done or not being done to us and what we are or are not getting. How comfortable are we? Are we getting what we dream of? All too often, the answers to these questions cause us to fail to be thankful. Thus, if we are to realize what God has done for and promised us in Christ, we should have a joy that produces a lifestyle of being thankful.
In all of the above, Sproul is right. But being right does not prevent one from being incomplete in what they teach. Whether Sproul says in other places what we will say here or not, we should point out that we should not base how we help others entirely on what he has written thus far. For if we do, for if we respond to those in need solely by teaching them how to be grateful in all circumstances because of what Christ has done for us, then we would have ignored James's warning in James 2:14-26.
In the passage cited above, while telling us that faith without works is dead, to not help those in need with physical goods when we can is to possess a dead faith. So while Sproul points out that the refraining from doing wrong can mislead us regarding our sinfulness, refraining from doing right can instruct us regarding the kind of faith we have. And we need both messages here because all too often the Church has held back from being involved with providing earthly help to people when it could because of its focus on Christ meeting our spiritual needs. However, if we are to read James, we find that such an abstinence shows our sinfulness just as much as harboring wrong thoughts and feelings as well as not being grateful to God.
Some look at Thanksgiving Day as a chance to help those in need by helping to feed the hungry. If we add that thought to Sproul's admonition to make Thanksgiving a lifestyle rather than a holiday, then not only should be grateful all year round, we should help those in need, those who cannot pay us back, all year round too.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Has Thanksgiving Become Confirmation Day
Though the first official Thanksgiving Day many years later, the first recognized Thanksgiving Day occurred in 1621 and was a feast shared by both Pilgrims and Indians. The Indians were the indigenous peoples of the land and helped the Pilgrims by both giving them fish and teaching them how to fish, as the expression goes. This first Thanksgiving Day was the Harvest Festival from English tradition and it lasted more than a few days--Black Friday did not yet follow the original feast and the word 'charge' meant something different back then.
What were the Pilgrims thankful for? They were thankful for survival. And to whom could the Pilgrims give thanks? Of course, the first response would be God. But considering the help that the Indians gave the Pilgrims, they could legitimately give thanks to their hosts as well.
Compare what the Pilgrims' situation with ours. We have Thanksgiving Day but survival is not a concern for many of us. In addition, it has been quite a while since Americans have acknowledged any dependence on others in order to survive. Rather, we give thanks on Thanksgiving Day for living in the richest country in the world and believing that others could not survive without us.
But at this point it is important to ask, are we really giving thanks or are we using our prosperity to show off and congratulate ourselves? This is an important questions for Christians to ask about Thanksgiving Day. And one way to answer this question is to just observe what we do and where our focus is on this day.
What is it that we do during Thanksgiving? For one thing, we eat. We become gluttons for the day. And eating food is not the only way by which we become gluttons. We are gluttons in consuming entertainment as well. We watch parades and football until it is time to go to bed. And that is our schedule if we ignore the fact that stores are now open on Thanksgiving for Christmas shopping. And then, we spend the next day, weekend, and weeks shopping for Christmas gifts. And perhaps a question we need to ask ourselves amongst all of these good times is have we become like the Hebrews from Exodus 32 and I Cor. 10:7. For these verses tell us how the while waiting for Moses, the Hebrews asked Aaron to make idols to worship so they could sit to eat and drink and stand up to play. These Hebrews were referred to as idol worshippers. And it is the sins of gluttony and idol worship that we Christians need to ask if we are committing especially on the holidays.
We spend our days waiting to enjoy the spectacular. The spectacular comes as entertainment we watch and new gadgets we play with. We couldn't enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without them. But what is it that we might be too busy to see? Could it be that we are too busy playing to see those in need both where we live and elsewhere? Perhaps, while we are eating Thanksgiving meals with our families, we should ask if we are eating Thanksgiving with those whom Jesus said we should invite (see Luke 14:13).
Basically, Jesus told us to invite the needy and those who cannot pay us back. Jesus told us to invite those who give us no status uplift by being with them: the outcasts. Jesus told us to invite these people because there is little earthly reward in inviting them and because each person is made in the image of God. So though it is good to be with family and friends, how many of us will be with those who are suffering and in poverty?
The answer to the last question tells us the location of our focus. Is our focus during Thanksgiving what we can get out of it or is our focus on our dependence on God and how we can share with those who bear His image and are in need? And if we are sharing with those in need on Thanksgiving, are we sharing with them on Black Friday and nameless Saturday? And while we have time to discuss anything we want, do we also talk about how we can change the system so that few people are in need?
Has our bounty become an idol to us or are we truly thankful to God? That is the question we Christians must answer this Thanksgiving and Black Friday as well as this Christmas. And we must ask ourselves that question every Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas. And the answer can be found by looking at with whom we share Thanksgiving with as well as with whom we live and celebrate the other days with. For if our bounty has become and idol, then regardless of how our lips say we are thanking God, our hearts are far from such thanksgiving.
What were the Pilgrims thankful for? They were thankful for survival. And to whom could the Pilgrims give thanks? Of course, the first response would be God. But considering the help that the Indians gave the Pilgrims, they could legitimately give thanks to their hosts as well.
Compare what the Pilgrims' situation with ours. We have Thanksgiving Day but survival is not a concern for many of us. In addition, it has been quite a while since Americans have acknowledged any dependence on others in order to survive. Rather, we give thanks on Thanksgiving Day for living in the richest country in the world and believing that others could not survive without us.
But at this point it is important to ask, are we really giving thanks or are we using our prosperity to show off and congratulate ourselves? This is an important questions for Christians to ask about Thanksgiving Day. And one way to answer this question is to just observe what we do and where our focus is on this day.
What is it that we do during Thanksgiving? For one thing, we eat. We become gluttons for the day. And eating food is not the only way by which we become gluttons. We are gluttons in consuming entertainment as well. We watch parades and football until it is time to go to bed. And that is our schedule if we ignore the fact that stores are now open on Thanksgiving for Christmas shopping. And then, we spend the next day, weekend, and weeks shopping for Christmas gifts. And perhaps a question we need to ask ourselves amongst all of these good times is have we become like the Hebrews from Exodus 32 and I Cor. 10:7. For these verses tell us how the while waiting for Moses, the Hebrews asked Aaron to make idols to worship so they could sit to eat and drink and stand up to play. These Hebrews were referred to as idol worshippers. And it is the sins of gluttony and idol worship that we Christians need to ask if we are committing especially on the holidays.
We spend our days waiting to enjoy the spectacular. The spectacular comes as entertainment we watch and new gadgets we play with. We couldn't enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without them. But what is it that we might be too busy to see? Could it be that we are too busy playing to see those in need both where we live and elsewhere? Perhaps, while we are eating Thanksgiving meals with our families, we should ask if we are eating Thanksgiving with those whom Jesus said we should invite (see Luke 14:13).
Basically, Jesus told us to invite the needy and those who cannot pay us back. Jesus told us to invite those who give us no status uplift by being with them: the outcasts. Jesus told us to invite these people because there is little earthly reward in inviting them and because each person is made in the image of God. So though it is good to be with family and friends, how many of us will be with those who are suffering and in poverty?
The answer to the last question tells us the location of our focus. Is our focus during Thanksgiving what we can get out of it or is our focus on our dependence on God and how we can share with those who bear His image and are in need? And if we are sharing with those in need on Thanksgiving, are we sharing with them on Black Friday and nameless Saturday? And while we have time to discuss anything we want, do we also talk about how we can change the system so that few people are in need?
Has our bounty become an idol to us or are we truly thankful to God? That is the question we Christians must answer this Thanksgiving and Black Friday as well as this Christmas. And we must ask ourselves that question every Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Christmas. And the answer can be found by looking at with whom we share Thanksgiving with as well as with whom we live and celebrate the other days with. For if our bounty has become and idol, then regardless of how our lips say we are thanking God, our hearts are far from such thanksgiving.
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