Tag Archives: Gratitude

discipleship, Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Uncategorized

Revisiting Thanksgiving

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Family. Turkey. Stuffing. Gravy. Pies. Tums! There are so many things to be thankful for, and the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us! Expressing thanksgiving is good for our relationships and mental health. And it’s what God desires: “… in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Although people have tended to be thankful, the formal holiday stems from the gratitude early Spanish and European settlers showed to the indigenous American Indians for feeding them and acclimating them to a new land and new ways.

It’s hard to say precisely when the first Thanksgiving occurred. One account pinpoints the autumn of 1621 when “at least 90 Wampanoag joined 52 English people at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, to mark a successful harvest.” Another group in Berkeley Hundred (now Virginia) celebrated their arrival to the new world as early as 1619. Supposedly, the meal consisted of scant oysters and ham. But they were thankful even without abundant turkey, ham, pie, cranberry sauce, etc. We find another, even earlier, Thanksgiving celebration in 1565 with the Spanish settlers and the Seloy tribe. But who established the official Thanksgiving holiday, and when?

The first Federal Congress passed a Thanksgiving Holiday resolution on September 28, 1789. Consequently, President George Washington proclaimed Thursday, November 26, 1789, a day for public thanksgiving. But President Abraham Lincoln made the holiday a regular, recurring event (the last Thursday in November) in 1863. Of course, commerce prevailed, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the second-to-last Thursday of November in 1939 to lengthen the Christmas shopping season.

Regardless, we must always give thanks for everything that is benevolent and brings innocent joy, including each other, God’s provision and mercy, our jobs, and every breath we take. As a community, we must express thanksgiving for those who protect us. Decision-makers who govern deserve our thanks, too. And in our gratitude, we must show love and be thankful when we receive it. This is worship, and it brings healing and expresses our love for God while healing our relationship with Him.

Worship comprises ‘worth’ and ‘ship.’ It means to give worth to what we value. We express worthiness to God by acknowledging His protection, provision, salvation, comfort, grace, and mercy. How should we do this? By showing (not just telling!) gratitude. In other words, ‘being’ thankful through our actions. Purity. Prayer. Loving others as God loves. Sacrifice. Note how worship is full of action, not passivity.

Summary: Have a blessed Thanksgiving Holiday! Be thankful and enjoy the festivities. But don’t stop there: be grateful every day through your actions. In your gratitude for what you have received from God, give the same to others. Next time, I’ll share more about our diminishing Western Christianity and its evaporating sea of gray. Until then, give more than you receive.

Blessings and peace,

Dr. Ron Braley, MDiv, DMin.                                                                 

discipleship, Finding Answers to Stuff Churches Don't Discuss, Uncategorized

An Attitude of Gratitude for Latitude

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The Bible reflects a grateful attitude for what God and others have done in many places! Here are a few examples:

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. (Psalm 100:4)

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing. (Psalm 107:21-22)

We also find a grateful apostle Paul:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. (Romans 1:8).

And he reminds us always to be thankful to God as we continue to ask Him to meet our needs:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

If you think about it, we can (and should!) be grateful for so many things, including family, friends, jobs, and God’s creation itself. So, expressing gratitude—especially toward God—seems to be important! Why? Giving thanks for what we receive or experience is an appropriate response that completes a transaction: you have received something, so you give something in return. And having a grateful attitude can also be physically and emotionally beneficial.

 Practicing gratitude “reinforces generous behavior, squeezes our negative feelings, and can help with depression” (https://www.heysigmund.com/the-science-of-gratitude/). Also, “research has found that we tend to feel more grateful for experiences than for things we have.” Being grateful causes us to change our focus from our issues and troubles and makes us feel better as if we’ve received an emotional ‘shot in the arm.’ I want to share one of my experiences.

In 1994, I opened an electronics repair and computer business. Naively, I wasn’t financially prepared, and my family was without money for food by early 1995. My church didn’t help. They were friendly, but not ‘kind.’ However, one of my customers, a kind Catholic woman who heard of our situation, rallied her congregation to buy groceries before, during, and after Thanksgiving and Christmas gifts for our four children. Her selfless acts were purely sacrificial and loving. Our gratitude for what she and the others in her church did gave us relief from our struggles and empowered us also be kind to others over the years.

In closing, I’ll tell you that I’m thankful for every one of you who reads and ponders my articles. They are my gift to you, and I’m grateful for your readership. What’s next? Well, let’s continue our journey of self-improvement in Turning Bad Into Good.

Blessings and peace,

Dr. Ron Braley