Thanksgiving; Giving Thanks

This morning, I whip into Starbucks before staff meeting to get me my usual Venti Dark Roast Coffee. Interestingly, instead of Starbucks brewing the “Thanksgiving” blend, they were brewing the “Christmas” blend. I thought that was unusual seeing-as-all it was Thanksgiving week; but, hey, what do I know. As I ordered my Venti Dark Roast Christmas blend coffee, the barista comes back and hands me the coffee to which I respond and say, “Thanks.”

After this exchange, it got me thinking about this whole idea of thanks, thanksgiving, or giving thanks. My “thanks” was a cultural mannerism that I and others use to be polite. But I got to thinking, was I really giving her thanks for my coffee? How could I be thankful for someone doing what I was entitled for them to do? That coffee was mine! I paid for it. Therefore, I felt I was owed the barista to give me my coffee.

Here’s the principle I believe God whispered in my ear:

You cannot truly give thanks if you believe you are entitled to what you give thanks for.

In other words, if you believe you are entitled to something or have earned something, then it is difficult—quite near impossible—for you to be truly thankful for it.

I believe we live in an entitlement culture. [To be clear: the entitlement culture is not just reserved for millennials. This type of culture spans generations.] People think they are entitled and owed certain things. Take my kids for instance. They believe they are entitled to play the gaming system as long as they want. They think dinner at the house should be menu-style as opposed to what momma is cooking. They consider bedtimes to be optional. Thus, when we allow them to play their video games for two hours, when we cook them a nice homecooked meal, or when we send them to bed with a mattress, covers, and pillows they aren’t grateful nor thankful because they feel owed or entitled to these things.

This brings me to the meaning of thanksgiving or giving thanks—something that this week’s holiday is all about. But to truly understand what thanksgiving or giving thanks means, we have to understand its two sides—particularly from the biblical viewpoint. And if we fail to understand the two sides, then our thanksgiving will either be missing, misdirected, or misunderstood.

The two sides to thanksgiving (or giving thanks) is confession and praise. In the Hebrew Scriptures, there are two words that are translated into English as “thanks.” First, the word “Towdah” is mostly connected with offerings (sacrifices) of thanksgiving; and, second, the word “Yadah” )not to be confused with Yoda) is mostly associated with praise.

It may be helpful to think of “confession” as that idea tied to who we are and what we deserve, while the idea of “praise” is tied to what we got and how we should respond. Both “confession” and “praise” is inextricably linked to both the concepts of mercy and grace. I’ve heard mercy described as God withholding what we dodeserve, and grace being described as “Gods. Riches. At. Christ’s. Expense”—or God giving us what we do notdeserve.

Therefore, if we are going to practice true thanksgiving (or giving thanks) we must realize who we are and what we deserve.

As believers, the Bible teaches that we are rebels who committed treason against the King of Glory. We attempted to rob God of His glory and of His throne. As a result, we shattered His image on our life. In addition, we damaged His created order. What God created good, we ruined and turned to bad. As such, we deserve to be judged, sentenced, and executed. We deserve no good thing! That should be our confession!

However, God did not give man what he deserved. He did not order a judgement, a sentence, or an execution—punishments and consequences yes; but not a condemning sentence or execution—He lavished them with a Father’s love! He pursued them, promised them redemption, and properly clothed them. What God gave man and continues to give man—both through general and specific revelation—is grace!

Every good thing we have in life has been generously dispensed from the gracious hand of the Father. And the ultimate good that has been lavished on us is the sacrificial, atoning, and substitutional death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

In short, as depraved, rebellious, and sinful human beings, we deserve, we are entitled to, we are owed no good thing. That’s our confession. However, our praise is that in God’s mercy and grace—which is ultimately realized in Jesus Christ—we have something to praise, worship, and supremely thank God for. My prayer for this Thanksgiving is that I will (and hopefully you will too) truly give thanks to the Lord for every good thing that I have for I deserve no good thing! As the psalmist says:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving (towdah); go into his courts with praise. Give thanks (yadah) to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation (Ps 100:4–5).

Happy Thanksgiving!