I really enjoy the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The commercialism overshadows the spiritual substance in both, but I still enjoy them. The fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day, is a legal holiday in our country. Thanksgiving has been an activity practiced by people of different religions for centuries, usually in response to a productive or successful harvest.
In the early years of America, celebrations focusing on the giving of thanks were observed at different times by different groups of people. We popularly trace our Thanksgiving holiday to a three-day celebration in 1621 at Plymouth, Mass., where 53 settlers and 90 Native Americans feasted together.
Presidents made numerous Thanksgiving Day proclamations until 1941, when Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the fourth Thursday in November as a national holiday.
Today the Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel times of the year. Thanksgiving Eve is one of the busiest nights for bars and clubs, and the day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Recreation, particularly football, has been associated with Thanksgiving for many years. Thanksgiving meals throughout the years included turkey with various side dishes. But at the heart of a national Thanksgiving Day has been the reminder to give thanks to God.
We have much to be thankful for in our nation. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t always agree with my government. Sometimes the actions of our elected officials disturb me. However, I am thankful for my country, and I appreciate the fact that we still have a Thanksgiving holiday.
Giving thanks is a way of life for disciples of Jesus Christ. Prayer has historically been a part of our national day of Thanksgiving. While giving thanks one day a year is better than never giving thanks, consistently giving thanks throughout the year is best. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Prayer and the giving of thanks go together.
It shows good manners to give thanks to others. It is good theology to give thanks to God. Life is not always fair. Bad things happen to good people, but regardless of what is happening, God remains a loving, holy, sovereign, merciful God. He is worthy of thanksgiving even in our deepest valleys.
Dwight and Tabitha Easler have shared their thoughts on Thanksgiving in this issue of the Courier. Their story is especially meaningful and powerful because their son Benji was killed in a tragic accident three years ago in Spartanburg. Their hurt is obvious. Their loss is painful. But their spirit of thanksgiving is encouraging to all of us.
Please take the time to read their thanksgiving testimony again and again. It will certainly help all of us to grasp the importance of giving thanks to God.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We cannot give thanks for everything that happens, but we can always give thanks to God — even through our pain, tragedies and disappointments.
May God empower all of us to celebrate with joy the Thanksgiving holiday and genuinely give thanks to the One whose name is above every name. “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever” (Revelation 7:12).