In spite of the less noble traits of Thanksgiving, I am still appreciative of a holiday whose tricks a culture of spoiled children to say thanks at least once a year, "Yay, thanksgiving break!" God knows we need it like air.
I used to think Thankfulness was about being nice and showing other people you appreciate them, or at least to make them think that was the case. I was supposed to thank my aunt for that horrendous gift of a (not really) Lego set that won't fit with the real thing. Apparently the goal is to make her think that she is a good gift giver so she can continue to get me what she thinks is the perfect gift without having to try. Thank you for your sub par attention to my interests. I may have some baggage.
A friend recently talked about being thankful, continually, in everything, no matter what. I would argue with him, but the apostle Paul backs him up on this one, though I'm sure he would change his mind if he knew about my aunt and fake Legos. They didn't have fake Legos when Paul was writing half the New Testament. Paul said, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Yeshua The Messiah among you."
That is powerful language. You don't throw around words like "everything" or "will of God" all willy nilly, especially if you're writing the Bible. There is something deeper at stake here.
I got thinking about this being thankful for everything bit and did a little experiment. For the course of about fifteen minutes, I tried to be consciously, genuinely thankful for every little thing I did or interacted with.
-Thank you God that my door opens.
-Thank you God that I have shoes to take off.
-Thank you God that you inspired people to create Pumpkin Spice egg nog.
-Thank you God that we have a couch.
-Thank you God.... for my smartphone.
-Thank you God that I can sit here and play a pointless game on my smartphone for a half hour....
....wait a second.
I tried to say thank you a second time, then a third. Something was hitting the ceiling.
It's hard to say thank you about a deficiency. While I may often enjoy my deficiencies like I love picking like a scab (don't pretend you don't do it too), I can't meaningfully say thank you God for my anger problem, thank you for strong hands to beat my wife with, thank you that I haven't ever had to do anything significant with my life. The reality is that there are things I can't say thank you for without stopping for a second to think, "Should I be thankful for that?"
There is something purifying about being thankful. Is it petty to say thank you for my iPhone or the time I waste on it? I'm not entirely sure, but if it is, should I even have it in the first place? Is it an issue of petty ungratefulness of a spoiled child, or is it something I can't show to God and say, this is an actual blessing in my life, thank you that I have it. Either way an inability to be thankful shows me something needs to change.
The things genuinely worth being thankful for are the things worth keeping in my life.
