Thanksgiving Message

I find it very easy to shift from an attitude of gratitude to one of entitlement. That’s one reason why celebrating Thanksgiving is so important.

This weekend our Thanksgiving church message highlighted this for me. It came from the text:

“What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” [1]

What does this mean? I think it points out that life is a gift that we receive. We do not control when we come into the world or the nation where we are born or the basic skills and intelligence we possess. We receive all of them.

When I lived in Honduras, CA, I daily walked past a woman who was blind. She did not speak, but she had her hand out requesting money. Each day that I passed her, I pressed a coin into her hand. I have often thought, “Why did I have the gift of sight and the benefit of being born in this country?” I do not know. But I do know that the blessings I enjoy are things that I “received” and did not earn or deserve. I should be grateful.

[1] 1 Corinthians 4: 7