From Thanksgiving to Thanksliving

As we enter into time of year when the calender reminds us to give thanks, I am especially mindful of the many blessings in my life. It is often quite easy to get caught up in the mentality of scarcity and neglect to recognize just how truly blessed we are.

God has abundantly blessed us with all the we have, and I have much to be thankful for: my health, my family, a job, a home, food, clothes, a car, friends, free time, a computer, and so much more. In these uncertain economic times, we are faced with real choices. For some the choice can be as simple as not dining out or what stores we shop at, for others it can mean which bills get paid and which don't, for others it can mean feeding our children or filling our car with gas. The times we are living in can cause us to focus on all the things we don't have and miss all that we are blessed with; this too is a choice.

In the midst of difficult times we are also faced with a critical spiritual choice: will we be filled with fear or faith? Will we allow our lives to be consumed with fears about our future, doubts about whether we will ever recover, and anxiety about what lies ahead? Or will we move forward confidently knowing that God has brought us all that we have and will continue to provide for us. To live in fear is to live as though it all depends on you. To live in faith acknowledges that God is in control. What will we choose? Who do we believe is in charge?

A true key to living a life of faith is understanding thanksgiving. To be thankful means we acknowledge the gifts we have been given, we acknowledge that we are not the source of all things, we acknowledge the Lord has been good to us. If we want to move from fear to faith then Thanksgiving has to go from being a day to a way. We must move toward living a life of thanksliving. When we no longer feel the burden of meeting all of our needs, when we acknowledge God as the source, when we remember how faithfully God has provided for us throughout our lives, we are on the way to thanksliving. We are moving from fear to faith.

The apostle Paul understood the power of thanksliving, he understood what it meant to live a life of faith. As he doggedly shared the gospel with all he met, he endured great pain and suffering. Paul was ridiculed, shamed, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and ultimately killed for sharing his faith. Throughout all of his trials and tribulations Paul continually modeled faithful living, he showed us thanksliving. At the end of his life, while in prison, Paul wrote to one the churches he helped establish in Philippi. He wrote to them a letter of encouragement and thanks. He wrote in the midst of great personal suffering and with the knowledge that he would soon be executed.

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:10-13

Paul learned the secret of thanksliving: to be content with whatever he had. Paul understood in a profound and real way that no matter what his circumstances, God was with him and providing for his every need. As we enter into the time of Thanksgiving, may we all be blessed to know contentment in the Lord and to live a life of thanksliving.

A Spiritual Crisis

More and more each day it seems the news gets worse and worse. Our economy continues to struggle, our country continues to be at war overseas, families are wondering if they will make it through. As we struggle putting together our "own house" and restoring order to our lives, the lives of many in our world have gone from bad to horrible. We are currently experiencing a new level of hardship that many in our world have always known. Many, now for the first time, live with uncertainty about the basic needs in life: food, shelter, safety, employment. The "American Dream" has taken a severe hit and for many it has become an American nightmare.

For those of us who look for positive developments and opportunities in the midst of difficulty and crisis, these days have been particularly difficult. As Christians however, we do have resources to help us understand and deal with any situation that arises. When we learn to place and re-place our trust in the Lord, when we learn to keep our priorities in order and focus on God, the struggles of life may not all go away but we do learn how to endure.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall! Matthew 7:24-27

Perhaps our current economic situation is like the man who built his house on sand, when the crisis hit the whole system fell apart. Our economy was built upon credit we didn’t have, expenses we couldn’t afford, and the illusion that we could have it all. The system broke down and exposed its true self and its priorities. A house of sand cannot withstand the storms of life. Unfortunately for a great many, those who perpetuated this situation suffered little compared with countless people who unknowingly became victims of an immoral and unsustainable situation. While families and individuals worry about losing a job, a home, or a retirement, the corporate executives receive bailouts and bonuses. What is wrong with this picture?

I believe that our current financial crisis is a spiritual crisis. As a culture we must make critical decisions about how we want to live and what our world will look like going forward. Will we continue to make decisions based on greed and consumption? Will we be driven to acquire more and more material stuff under the illusion of happiness? We will move past our insatiable hunger for more power, wealth, and position? Will we reflect upon our current situation and make genuine life-style changes? Will we be driven by fear or faith? These are questions for us all as individuals to take seriously, but even more, these are questions for our society and culture to address. Who is God calling us to be? What does it mean to be faithful in today’s world?

For me, the spiritual antidote to our current predicament is contentment. To be content with what you have is a spiritual gift and a true key to happiness. The opposite of being content is constantly striving for more, and never being satisfied with what you have. This is a deeply embedded cultural value in America—discontent. Advertising, marketing, and our economy are all driven by consumers who buy products they are convinced they “need.” When we can learn to be thankful for what we have, when we live within our means, when we learn to say “no” to things we don’t need, when we learn to trust that God will provide, then we will know contentment. I pray we all might share Paul’s perspective on life.

Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13