ThePreachersWord is back after a short break! We hope you’ve had a good Thanksgiving holiday and enjoyed some special times with loved ones.
On Wednesday we published our ABC’S of Thanksgiving. If you missed it, I think you would enjoy it. https://thepreachersword.com/2012/11/21/the-abcs-of-thanksgiving
With the holiday behind us, I wanted to share a few thoughts that have been on my mind the past few days. Kind of a potpourri of post-thanksgiving thoughts and observations.
(1) We’re blessed to live in the USA. Even with challenges and problems we face, we are a blessed country. Freedom and free enterprise allow us to move from state to state without governmental inference. Liberty is something we take for granted. But what a great blessing it is to be able to travel great distances in a short time.
(2) Life is about relationships. While the food was delicious and bountiful, it’s really about being with family. When you are together on a weekly or even daily basis, it’s easy to take each other for granted. But when you’re separated, then you are reminded of what is really important. Valuable. Significant.
It’s all about people. Family. Fellowship. Relationships. To reminisce together. Share good times. Laughter. Tears. Stories. Warm embraces.
(3) The spiritual is more important than the material. Spiritual blessings out weigh material ones. Our bondedness in Christ supercedes even physical ties. It’s a pleasure to worship with brethren from days past when you are visiting. To see old friends. To see the gleam in their eyes. And feel the warmth of their fellowship.
(4) However, it has unfortunately been a time to see some growing trends that are disturbing. A number of years ago columnist and political pundit, Walter Shapiro, wrote an essay that said in part…
“In a nation where the mall never palls and seven-days-a-week shopping seems enshrined as a civic religion, Thanksgiving stands out as an oasis of tranquility and a reminder of the values that once tempered America’s materialism. This Thursday give thanks for the one holiday that cannot be bought.”
Sadly, this can’t be said anymore. Black Friday has moved into Thursday. And before the turkey is ever digested, people were out buying things. And pushing. Shoving. Fighting. And shooting. Here were some of the headlines from various media outlets:
“Shots fired outside Walmart.” “Mayhem at Nebraska Mall.” “Gang fight at Black Friday Sale.” “Customers Run Over in Parking Lot.” “Black Friday Chaos as Crowd Battles over Cell Phones.” “America Goes Wild in the Aisles.”
How ironic! At a time when we should be relaxing and giving thanks for our blessings, so many are frantically fighting for more stuff! Now, please understand, I’m not opposed to a good buy that saves a few dollars on something you need. However, I fear that too many are bowing down to the god of materialism. Financial peace guru, Dave Ramsey expressed it this way, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like!” Too often that is so.
And so, let us remember who we are. Where we came from. And why we are here. May we honor God, as the beneficent benefactor who has richly blessed us. Not just on the fourth Thursday of November. But daily. Let Thanksgiving become Thanks Living. And may the virtues of faith and family, home and hearth be the bedrock of our traditional values. May they remain constant. And when the Lord comes may we be found faithful.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
ThePreachersWord 
WOW Ken! That was excellent! Thank you so much and Amen.
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I suppose this current situation, which those of us who are older and have watched as it trended this direction, is a barometer illustrating man’s basic self serving nature allowed to run rampant. It takes me back to the Tower of Babel. Surely, as a race of beings, we are at the foot of such a structure again.
I thank God every day that I am one who can observe this, grieving in my heart while guilty of sin myself, thanking God for His wonderful Grace and Mercy.
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Great post Thanksgiving thoughts that still apply today. We should all stop and reflect on our lives and the current situation of how things are these days. It’s all about materialism with most and like the article said, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.” Great blog, thanks for sharing again.
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