Ways to Make Sure Our Gobble is Not Ungrateful

© 2014 by Karen Friday

The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday you know where.

A fourth grader’s report on the first Thanksgiving when the classroom teacher requested students make no reference to God. (While I have a copy of this Thanksgiving poem, I cannot confirm the citation.)

We are disturbed about Christmas devoid of God. What about the holiday before the birth of Christ? Finding and keeping God in Thanksgiving?

Are we celebrating more than pilgrims and turkey?

Gobble:

1. The sound a male turkey makes.
2. To eat, devour, grab, or use something up in a speedy or greedy way. Some definitions cite to eat noisily. (That’s another article on etiquette, but try not to do this at the Thanksgiving table.)

‘To gobble’ paints the picture of an action without reflection beforehand. No careful consideration of what is being devoured or gratefulness of where the means is derived. Thankfulness is lacking for the provision of the gobbled item.

To give thanks—maybe like the first Thanksgiving—we are grateful for our ‘haves’ without begrudging our ‘have-nots.’ A thankful heart for the place we have landed (whatever it looks like for each of us). Thanksgiving for the cornucopia of many blessings received and yet to be given from our maker. The abundant provision of necessities and freedoms.

Ample cynicism is seen in the media, government, and society…perhaps in us. There is a lot of ungrateful gobbling going on. We can rise above the negativity for this fact; in comparison to other countries and peoples, we have plenty…and plenty to be thankful for.

Let us not lose sight of giving thanks for freedoms—no matter how we have to say it or do it (like in the fourth grader’s report).

A sign of relief is spoken by, “Thank goodness” or “Thank God.”

Thanksgiving…real thanksgiving in our hearts, is grateful more than one day a year. Continual grateful gobbles. Not just as a relief that something turned out good in the end. But thanking God, that in the end, we understand all good things come from him.

Grateful people are generous people. Generous people are grateful people.

Before gobbling up a turkey leg or piece of pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, contemplate the fullness in our lives because of a generous God. Then consider how we show ourselves to be generous people. What does grateful gobbling look like in daily life? In our communities and world?

It’s fun to have ‘Friday’ as a last name. A favorable day of the week. Our family loves to say, “TGIF-Thank God (goodness) it’s Friday!” While this catchphrase can make light of the biblical truth to thank God, there are innumerable reasons to say it and mean it.

This Thanksgiving season; TGIF-Thank God in fullness! Fullness of stomach, life, love, family, freedoms, and in Christ!

 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations. Psalm 100:4-5 AMP