Thanksgiving is upon us. And what will you be thankful for? Do you announce what you are thankful for at the dinner table that day? My family always did a special prayer for the Thanksgiving dinner. I wouldn’t be too surprised if that is the norm. While it is true the the holiday is not specifically a Christian or Jewish holiday, it does carry with it a kind of religious feel. You may notice that there are a lot of holidays that have something to do with spirituality. Those days, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter have both holy and secular parts to them. It’s not too hard to differentiate between these parts either.
Take Christmas for example. I bet you can name five things quickly that are considered secular for the holiday. You might list putting up a tree in your house, or Santa Claus, or parties, caroling, and gift giving. But the holy part of the holiday? That is easy too. We celebrate Christ coming into the world. It’s pretty easy to tell the difference between the secular and the holy parts of Easter too. Eggs and bunnies, for example, don’t have much to do with Christ’s resurrection.
I think the biggest difference between the secular and spiritual parts of a holiday are in how often you can do each. Imagine celebrating Christmas (and everything that comes with it) once a month. Could you do it? I doubt it. It would be a huge strain. Now imagine having a Thanksgiving holiday once a month. Would your waistline ever recover? But what about the spiritual parts of holidays? You can observe those things every day. You can celebrate Jesus coming into the world all the time. In fact you are encouraged to do so. You can focus on Christ’s resurrection and what that means to all of us daily can’t you? You don’t have to have a special day of the year to do that. And what about Thanksgiving? Can’t we be thankful all the time?
The bible commands us to be thankful. Paul does it often. It is in the Psalms too:
Psalms 136:1-9
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
Being thankful is a pretty biblical concept. And it is good for you too. Studies show that people who actively practice gratitude are happier, have less stress, improved health, deeper relationships, and even better sleep. What if someone told you that you could get all of those things for free?
There are other things you can get for free too that are good for you. You can lose weight without spending much money. You can be fitter. You can have a clean home. The list goes on. You can do a lot of things that help yourself out without breaking the bank, but the key is you have to be motivated to make it happen. Being thankful is no different. What if you thought of expressing gratitude as a discipline? What if you made it a point every day to write down three things you are thankful for? The practice of doing that is called keeping a gratitude journal. And outside of a pencil and some paper it won’t cost you a thing. But the payoffs, according to people who have done it, can be enormously good. I have read story after story of people who keep a gratitude journal who have developed better health and a better mindset. It’s no wonder you see this concept all through the bible.
Practice giving thanks every day. Start now and see what happens in your life. I bet you will be glad you did.
God Bless