By Jonathan Keller
Leaves trade their grassy hues for fiery pallets. Breezes form stronger crosswinds that chill to the bone just a little bit. Air conditioners switch over to heaters to stabilize domestic climates.
Fall is in the air, and winter is coming.
What happens during the fall? If you look through Costco or Walmart or peruse online ads, apparently Halloween and then right to Christmas.
What about Thanksgiving?
Over the next four weeks, I aim to hold back the tide of Christmas cheer a bit to reflect on the importance of Thanksgiving in American culture and in the Christian life. For this week, I’ll start with the object of Thanksgiving. That is, who receives thanks during this time?
The Object of Thanksgiving
Working in a church, it would be simple for me to run to “God” as the easy answer for the “true” object of Thanksgiving. Who are you thanking around the Thanksgiving table? Why even celebrate it? Didn’t the Pilgrims thank God, and shouldn’t we follow that tradition?
Instead, think about what happens in the act of giving thanks. I, the thanks-giver, have to recognize something given to me by some provider, acknowledge it as good (if I’m being genuine), and craft some communication that’s understandable to the provider. For their gift given to me, I give a gift of appreciation back to them.
But why thank? Why not just use the gift and implicitly show its utility? Thanksgiving, or appreciation, continues a cycle of relationship between the gift-giver and the thanks-giver. It continues the goodwill started by the gift-giver, and it inspires further goodwill after appreciation is given. Both gift-giver and thanks-giver are encouraged to give more gifts and give more thanks. Both givers are uplifted in their hearts by a clear acknowledgment of the goodness of the gift.
The Object of Thanksgiving: God
If it is good to establish goodwill between people in giving thanks, why not communicate that same goodwill between man and his Creator?
If our spirits are lifted up a little in human gift- and thanks-giving, how high do our spirits soar when we give thanks to the Provider of All Good Things?
Furthermore, one element of goodwill in relationships is trust. When I thank someone, I taste the goodness of their actions and grow in trust toward them. My thanks-giving informs me that I should expect more goodness from them in the future, and that reinforcement exponentiates when I see the joy in the other person from my thankful communication. Expressed thanks toward God likewise nurtures my trust in Him that He will remain in good favor toward me according to His promises. It is not that His promises “become” more true; it is that they feel more true through my thanks-giving.
What are you thankful to others for? What are you thankful to God for? How might you express your thankfulness to both others and God today?