The Value of Thanksgiving
Dr. Jim Riley
“In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
One of the greatest things to learn in life growing up is how to say “Thank you.” We all hopefully have had a parent who has taught us early in our lives that we need to say “Thank you” whenever someone gives us something. The words “Thank you” do not come naturally to us. As human beings we normally focus on the gift rather than the giver of the gift. We get more excited about the gift than we do the giver.
We learn that being thankful is a necessary way to be polite to people who have been nice to us or done some good for us. In addition to learning how to be polite or mannerly, showing gratitude is a benefit for our souls. We need not only to know how important it is be grateful for whatever we have been given; we need also to know how important it is for our well being. Giving thanks blesses heart of the person who gave to us, but it also blesses our heart. It gives us a happy heart. The grateful person is a happy person. The ungrateful person is an unhappy person.
In our nation we have one day in the whole year to remind us to be thankful for what we have been given. How important it is that we have at least one day in the year to stimulate us to be grateful and express our thanks! Wouldn’t be great if every day was Thanksgiving Day? Wouldn’t we become happier people? Wouldn’t it bring more happiness to others around us?
The fact is that every day we have something to be thankful to God. Every day is a gift from God who gave us life. Every day we can be reminded that God gave us his Son’s life for us through his death on the cross. Every day we can be reminded that we have the gift of Jesus’ life living in us who trust him as our Savior.
Every day is our Thanksgiving Day!