Thankful
Have you ever been in a group of people around Thanksgiving time and someone says, “Ok, let’s all share what we are thankful for this year”. The group usually starts to stir nervously, each one hoping that they aren’t the one who has to go first. I was one of those, I would hope that before it was my turn that maybe something would come to mind or someone would say something I could spin my answer off of. Now that’s not to say that I didn’t have things to be thankful for before, it’s more of a realization of what true thankfulness is. I mean it’s easy to look around you and say how you are thankful for the “stuff” around you…the roof over your head, the food in your cabinets, the car in the driveway, or the money in the bank…but I have found that none of that compares to the people in my life, the peace and joy in my soul, or the love in my heart. Wow, pretty corny huh? Think what you want…but it’s real and I figured it out…it’s a gift.
So it’s my turn to share? No problem…I’m thankful that God not only stepped in and kept me from completely destroying my life, but has turned around and made me worthy of being used to help others. There is no better feeling I have ever felt than to know that I can be used by God to help others learn and find the peace, joy, and love that I have found in my life. If you want to put it in “worldly” perspective…it’s like finding a big bag of money and handing out handfuls of cash to people all around you. But you can’t put a dollar value on what I got, and when the market crashes I don’t lose anything that I’ve saved in my heart and soul bank, and there is an unlimited supply.
Never in my life have I ever seen people lose so much of what they have made so important in their life. I imagine that this will be a difficult Thanksgiving for many families in America and I sympathize with them. People were fooled in to believing that “debt” was the path to true happiness and they put their necks in the noose and lost their life…at least what life was to them. When you stake your happiness on houses, cars, vacations, toys, and the like, it’s like standing on thin ice. People are angry and wanting everyone else to help bail them out. When are we going to start taking ownership of our bad decisions and quit blaming anything and everything around us?
I recently have an opportunity to go speak to a group of guys at the local rescue mission. You see these guys are homeless, and it’s not just because they made bad choices, but some are there because while America was busy buying homes they couldn’t afford and going in to major debt, the price of housing went so high that there just isn’t enough affordable housing left. It’s one of the leading causes of homelessness. Even rentals have gone so high that without assistance many can’t afford them. So when I went and saw how some of these guys, even in their poverty, were praising God, it confirmed what I already believed…you can’t steal the joy of the Lord from anybody!
There is a story in the Bible about a rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked what he had to do to gain eternal life. Jesus lists the commandments to him and the young man states that he has followed those laws since he was a small child. Jesus wasn’t done of course and told him that all he had left to do was to sell all he had and give it to the poor, then come follow him. The rich young ruler walked away very sad because he had so much wealth he couldn’t let go of it. Jesus went on to explain how hard it is for a rich man to go to heaven because of what they have…because of what they consider valuable. I would have to wonder if the rich man was seeking eternal life in heaven or on earth. Furthermore, I would guess that if he would’ve said yes to Jesus that he probably wouldn’t have made him sell all his stuff anyway…who knows?
I’ve been on the verge of homelessness before in my life. If it wasn’t for my mom and dad, I don’t know where I would be today…but I am more thankful for the prayers that my mom prayed for me every night than for any of the other help I received. You see, my mom didn’t pray for me to have money or things…she prayed that God would save me from myself. She prayed that I would see God for what He is, a good and loving God who wants the best for our lives. But even God knows we have to deal with our mistakes. He is not going to step in and do a “bail out” in our lives, we need to learn from our mistakes and make better decisions for our future. We need to quit blaming God for the way the world is, and start doing something to change the world for the better!
A few months ago I was in Sacramento at a youth workers convention, and as I was walking down the street I passed a homeless man on the street asking for change. I reached in my pocket and dropped some change in his hand and as I continued I felt drawn to turn around and do more for him. No, I’m not talking about giving him more money, because what I had given him was meaningless. I had something much more valuable that I had kept to myself. I kept thinking, “I got to go back “. Well, the place I walking to was closed (hummm?) so as I turned to go back the other way I got my chance. When I found him I stopped and told him “I gave you some change but I didn’t give you the most valuable thing I have”. I went on to ask him if he new about God and about what Jesus had done for us and only after our short conversation could I walk away feeling like I had really helped him. I give all the glory to God for changing my heart and making me see what is valuable and what we should really be thankful for.
So here’s something I realized…after I left the rescue mission the first time, my heart was breaking for all the people there. I wanted to dive in a help them all and then I realized this…if Jesus was to come back to earth today and start a new ministry…who would be willing to follow him? It occurred to me that those who have the least to give up, would most likely be the first to follow. These homeless people we look down on with pity are in better shape than we are! In fact when I spoke about this to the guys that night at the mission, one of them asked me to read Proverbs 30:7-9…
And then he prayed, “God, I’m asking for two things before I die; don’t refuse me--
Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence. Give me enough food to live on, neither too much or too little. If I’m too full I might get independent saying, God? Who needs him? If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God.”
A perfect prayer for Thanksgiving this year, don’t you think?
By Glen Bryant
