Many people have referred to a recently coined term “thanksliving” in both secular and sacred ways. With the Thanksgiving holiday recently passed, now would be a good time to examine our everyday lives to see if they reflect an attitude of gratefulness to our Creator. Second Timothy 3:2-5 recites a lengthy list of common sins that will characterize mankind in the end times. We find “ungrateful” (unthankful) in the list. A literal translation is “without grace”.
That should give pause for thought. James 1:16-18 reminds us of the source of all the things for which we should be grateful,
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” (NASU) Air to breathe, muscles to move the body, food to eat, sleep, beauty around us, minds to think with, people to love, money, etc. and etc. should all be reminders of the goodness of God for which we should be exceedingly grateful.
God certainly knew that we would be prone to forgetting His beneficence. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 states it bluntly, “Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” (NASU) We are certainly disposed to taking all the good things in our lives for granted. We get caught up in everyday life and forget to give thanks for all that God has done for us. That is tragic.
Colossians 3:23 is a familiar verse to most of us. In it we are told to perform our daily activities as if we are doing them for the Lord (in fact we are). Just a few verses earlier, Colossians 3:16-17 states much the same thing with a little different emphasis, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (NASU) Every ordinary, mundane activity of word or deed and every extra-ordinary, exciting activity of word or deed that a Christian does should be done in the name of Jesus and with thankfulness to God. Earning a living, playing games, reading books, performing charitable acts, washing dishes, taking walks, going to church, studying, etc. and etc. should all be done in an attitude of thankfulness to the Author of Life. We exist only because He wanted us to exist. We should be singing with thankfulness in our hearts to God.
2 Corinthians 9:15 gives the greatest reason for “thanksliving”, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (NASU) God the Father has given us one completely incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable gift: His only begotten Son. Romans 8:31-32 sums it up nicely, “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (NASU) We have eternal reasons to live every day in thanksgiving to God.