Thanks(giving) - (Blog Post)

The week of Thanksgiving is getting blown out of the water in our "I can't wait for anything special" American culture.

Christmas is overshadowing Thanksgiving by a mile, and it's not that it shouldn't, but all in good time, yes?

We basically go from Halloween to Christmas now, and Thanksgiving is such a good pause to cultivate reflection, we can't allow society to push it aside on the way to a 60% off sales and Instagram worthy Christmas decor.

I recently did a teaching cohort on 1 Tim 4:1-5.

There's a lot in that passage that we could unpack, but what I want to focus on is verses 4 and 5.

"For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer." (ESV)

This encouragement Paul makes to Timothy comes after his warning of false teachers leading others away from the faith by turning what God made for our pleasure and his glory into a "not to do list" that leads to destructive legalism.

We know God created everything good. He says it in Genesis 1 after each element of our world he created. After he created man, he called is very good.

The word “good” is “tov” which means to be in harmony with God.

Therefore, what we consume, enjoy, take part in, etc. it's all for our deepening relationship with God through our constant giving of thanks.

I told a story on my first blog about how I was eating lunch and was lead by the Spirit into a deep sense of gratitude for the pretty basic meal I was eating. I thought of the farmers who grew the food and raised the cow. The hard work that was put into stewarding the resources to create a delicious meal. The thankfulness that I felt made a seemingly routine lunch turn into an act of worship.

How, then, can we cultivate this in our life with everything?

I think it's worth practicing.

And not in the sense of it becoming "I must do this so I can experience that." That's essentially what Paul was warning about, although he mentioned false teachers' emphasis on abstaining from God's good creation.

This week, we reflect on how our country came to be, through a meal. A meal that was served by those previously in need to those who helped them survive.

But even more so, Thanksgiving focuses on gathering together, sharing a meal, and thanking God for his provision in times of need and abundance.

If we let that slip away, what does that say about our culture as a whole?

Fight the good fight, men.

Do it by thanking God constantly through prayer by the Spirit. Live a life of gratitude and glory by letting the God of the universe, who makes all things good, know where your heart lies.

A posture of surrender and thankfulness can truly change your life.

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