What do you have to be thankful for?

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:12-17).

What do you have to be thankful for?

A lot of people are feeling glum going into the holiday season.  Although the economy is better, unemployment remains a problem and the outlook for retailers is mixed.  People like to invite family over for big fancy meals at this time of the year, and have lots of gifts to open when Christmas arrives.  But when you have to be economical, who can afford lavish dinners?  Who can afford to travel?  How can you afford the kinds of presents that you’d like to give?

I would like to suggest that the holiday season is not dependent on money.  Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have; that attitude of appreciation should set the tone for the weeks leading up to Christmas.  Instead of worrying about the things we don’t have, why don’t we celebrate the things that God has blessed us with?

A popular holiday gift is something fashionable to wear.  But I wonder how many clothes and shoes you already have stashed in your closet?  Are you grateful for having something warm to wear when the wind starts howling at this time of the year?  Are you grateful that you have a choice of outfits to wear?  Are you grateful for the washer and dryer and indoor running water that make it easy to keep your garments clean?

And let’s talk about food.  Sure, it’s nice to have an expensive cut of meat on the serving platter.  Sure, it’s nice to eat out at a fancy restaurant.  But how grateful are you for the produce that grows in your garden?  How grateful are you for the canned goods that fill your cupboard?  How grateful are you for the stove and microwave that make cooking so easy?

Most importantly, how grateful are you for the relationships in your life?  The closeness of family?  The support of friends?  The respect of coworkers?  The love of Christ that forgives your mistakes, gives you peace of mind, and encourages the best from you?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg.  You have much to be grateful for.

God is generous with us; He blesses us with everything we need to live and love and serve, and often much more besides.  Sadly, we tend to abuse God’s generosity.  We take His gifts for granted, we constantly whine for more, and we let our love for stuff get in the way of our love for God.

God fills our lives with good things that we rarely thank Him for.  When’s the last time that you woke up and thanked God for giving you another day of life?  How often do you tell God 'thank you' for a clear blue sky or sparkling white snow?  When’s the last time that you thanked God for your home or your job?  And when the Lord forgives your sins, how hard do you try to resist temptation as a way to show Him gratitude for His mercy?  Or do you think to yourself, “It doesn’t matter what I do—Jesus will forgive me anyway?”  Do you take God’s generosity for granted?

We also have the bad habit of never being satisfied.  You see it at Christmas when someone is disappointed that there are no more gifts to open, even though the floor is covered in shredded paper.  We are a nation of overeaters because we always want just one more helping.  People trade in perfectly good cars because they want something newer.  People file for divorce when they think that another partner can better meet their needs.  How satisfied are you with the things that God has given you?

Worst of all, we lavish more attention on what we have than on who gave it to us.  How often is lying in bed more pleasurable than going to worship the God who gave you that bed?  How often do you spend so much money on yourself that there is nothing left to give back to the God who filled your wallet in the first place?  The Lord says You shall have no other gods (Deuteronomy 5:7), yet how often do you let work or family or leisure time distract you so much that you forget about prayer or reading the Bible? 

Thankfully, God is also generous in dealing with sinners.  When we go to Him for mercy, He does not treat us as our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10).  If we trust in the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood, He will wipe away our guilt and focus our attention where it should be—squarely on Him.

It’s in our nature to whine and complain.  We see advertisements for new products and immediately want to go shopping, then get irritated when the money just isn’t there.  We become envious when a friend or relative or coworker gets something shiny and expensive.  We get bent out of shape because we can’t have the best of everything.

In His commandments, God tells us not to covet.  To covet is to want something so badly that it dominates your thoughts and affects your behavior.  A child might covet a new toy so much that he throws a temper tantrum in the store, trying to force mom or dad to get him what he wants.  A teenager might want the position of head cheerleader so much that she starts spreading vicious rumors about any girl that stands in her way.  A businessman might be so attracted to his secretary that he can’t concentrate on getting his work done. 

Constant desire for things that you don’t have wastes time and makes you unpleasant to be around.  Coveting interferes with the things God wants us to be doing—loving and serving.  If your mind is consumed with wanting something, you’re not going to notice when a loved one is unhappy and needs your attention.  If you are competing with another person for the same thing, your desire will be to push him aside instead of finding out which of you actually has the greater need.  If you can’t get something that you want, you’re likely to be sullen or irritable, the kind of grumpy person others stay away from.  You might even get so frustrated that you lash out at others, hurting them with nasty words or physical violence.  Coveting destroys relationships and leaves you alone with your bitterness.

In 1st Corinthians chapter seven, Paul tells us how to view the things we covet: those who use the things of the world [should live] as if not engrossed in them.  Easy to say; difficult to do.  But try to put things in perspective: when you’re sick in a hospital bed, which do you want more?  A room filled with things, or a room filled with people who care about you? 

It’s nice to have things, but nothing bought with money can give you lasting happiness. That’s why it’s so wonderful that Jesus gives us love and salvation absolutely free.

If you stop and think about it, you will see that God is very generous to us.  Martin Luther gives us the following list—food and drink, clothing and a place to live, money and goods, the means to earn a living, a family devoted to God, Christian friends and neighbors, good government and good weather, peace and health, self control and a good reputation.  While some have more and others less, all of us have received these blessings from God.

Even better, the Lord has given us the gift of His Spirit, who blesses our lives with all sorts of spiritual gifts.  Listen to Paul’s description in Galatians chapter five: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  These are the gifts that fill our lives with joy; these are the gifts that connect us to each other in bonds of love and mutual support.

Best of all, we have God’s gift of salvation given through His Son Jesus.  Christ lived a perfect life on your behalf so you can be forgiven for not measuring up to God’s righteous standards.  Jesus suffered and died in your place so you can be spared God’s terrible punishment for being a sinner.  Jesus rose from the dead so that when a loved one is laid to rest, you have the assurance of a new life together in paradise.  And Jesus returned to heaven to open its gates for you, promising that any friend of Christ is welcome in His home.

God has blessed you richly, and His generosity is all the more amazing because we have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.  We are disappointments through and through; our thoughts are often vile, our words frequently hurtful, our actions riddled with mistakes.  Yet in spite of all this, God still loves us and cares for us.  Paul writes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24). 

How do you respond to such unmerited generosity coming down from heaven to fill your life with goodness?  Martin Luther said it best in his Small Catechism: “For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.  This is most certainly true.”