Prayer
Different Degrees of Thanksgiving–or Not
For the past two weeks when I sat down in my office to compose this weekly blog, I experienced the same agonizing phenomenon:
The power went out and I was plunged into darkness.
Last week, the Pacific Northwest was struck by an unusual November storm that thrust 200,000 people into hunker-down mode. We slept in a cold home that night, took care of our parents with generators and visits, and waited for the work crews to do their thing.
The wait lasted 28 hours.
Yesterday, some violent winds from the north again knocked out power to 20,000 homes–just as I sat down to write to you. After only four hours in a cold bedroom, the lights burst on and our lips pursed a “thank you” for the blessing of electricity, heat, refrigeration, and hard working repairmen.
Some thoughts on the different degrees of giving thanks-or not.
Of course, Thursday is our USA Thanksgiving when hundreds of millions of Americans gather with friends and family and give thanks for their many blessings.
Gary Randall wrote a good piece this week on the origins of the American Thanksgiving Day. The first one took place in October of 1621 when the Pilgrims joined forces with the native tribes near Plymouth, Massachusetts to eat, play some games, and give thanks to God.
One hundred and fifty years later in 1777, during the early trials of the War for Independence, all thirteen colonies joined in a day of giving thanks. Twelve years later, following their “providential victory” in the war for freedom, George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Another eighty years went by, including forty years of advocacy by an American journalist, until Abraham Lincoln authored his famous Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 during the dark days of the Civil War.
But it wasn’t until 1941 that Congress, during the early stages of World War II, established the fourth Thursday in November as the official American Thanksgiving Day. Every year since, each American president has signed a proclamation calling the citizens of our nation to give thanks.
You can read the details here.
With the power going out and Thanksgiving arriving tomorrow, I’ve been pondering the many aspects of how human beings give thanks–or fail to do so. I’m sure on November 26, 2015, there will be a variety of responses around the nation:
- Many will gather with family and friends and say a prayer around the dinner table (like they do on the TV show Blue Bloods during each episode–one of the only evening sit-coms that I sometimes watch).
- Other will attend parades, watch football, and maybe even begin their holiday shopping.
- A few will attend special church services and Masses to give thanks.
- And some will do nothing at all except to lay around and enjoy a day off.
The different responses reveal a different attitude about life, God, gratitude and what and who a thankful spirit should be directed toward.
Gratitude is an attitude–but there’s a negative form as well.
There are a few people that are so angry at God and life that their “thanks” takes the form of profanity. My father once had a patient who was dying of cancer. During his last moments of consciousness, this man’s bulging face spewed obscenities at God whom he hated for his circumstances in life.
His last words contained gurgling hatred-not an ounce of thanksgiving for the life he’d been given.
Other people see the “glass of their lives” half empty much of the time. They bitch and moan about most everything and everyone around them. You all know people like this. The ones I’m most familiar with live in the Western world in “palaces” compared to the poor of the earth. They have shelter, heat, electricity, cars, TV sets, cell phones, and bank accounts–but are, for a variety of reasons, disgruntled at their lot in life and rarely say a word of praise or thanks.
If they took a moment and thought about the poorer two-thirds of the world–without running water, in horribly hot climates, without jobs, living in huts or shanties, and many without hope in God–they might repent of their attitude and realize just how grateful they should be–at least for the “stuff” they have that others don’t.
These “Eeyores” generally will not say a prayer when they feast on turkey and the trimmings, and will probably get mad when their favorite team loses the game on Thanksgiving Day.
Bitterness is a poison, and is not fun to be around.
So that’s a quick look the negative attitude side of the Thankgiving meter–those who are angry at God and those who are generally mad at their circumstances.
Then there is the positive side: the attitude of gratitude.
There will be many people in America tomorrow who will spend some time thinking about or thanking God or someone for the good things in their lives:
- They will be thankful for family and appreciate getting together around a good meal.
- They are thankful they have a job in a continuing bad economic environment.
- They will be grateful for the day off to rest, eat, watch TV, and hang out with people they love.
- They are pleased with their overall health and the safety of their loved ones.
- They might even be thankful to be an American–and appreciate the freedoms they enjoy.
This list could go on and on if we had time, thought, and length of page. There is really no end to the things in our lives that bless us, encourage us, and let us know that life is worth living.
I believe when most Americans think about Thanksgiving this year, they will be thankful for at least something. In fact, when we think about Thanksgiving at this time of year, we usually focus on the stuff if we’re worldly or “blessings” if we’re religious.
To many Americans, Thanksgiving is a day of rest to be thankful for things. But “things” are a lower level of the attitude of gratitude.
Let me give an example.
The young groom-to be is excited to finally give his bride her cherished wedding ring. He arranges all the circumstances leading up to one of the greatest moments in their lives.
She doesn’t know what’s coming. But at the pre-planned moment, he drops to one knee on the carefully chosen beach, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a package that looks like it might have a ring in it!
She gasps and accepts the small box….and excitedly opens it. There it is! A beautiful personalized engagement ring meant only for her and only from him!
Lost in wonder, she pulls the ring and box close to her chest and begins dancing up and down the beach giving thanks for the ring! She has an engagement ring! Drunk with delight, she completely forgets about the ash-fallen man still kneeling on the sand behind her as she frolicks down the beach alone.
She’s thankful for the ring!
Now, wait a minute. Let’s go to take two.
The groom gives her the ring, she opens it and bursts into a tearful shout of joy! She admires the ring, but quickly closes the box and jumps into the smiling guy’s arms because the ring is all nice and good–but what she really appreciates, loves, and is thankful for, is him.
It’s not the gift that is most important. It is the loving heart of the giver that is most to be cherished. In this scene, the two love birds then walk arm in arm down the beach holding the ring but truly being thankful for each other–not the stuff.
That’s the higher level of thanksgiving. It must be directed at a person, not at things.
Material things are good. They are blessings in our lives. But loving relationships–the source of all gifts–are far more important than the things.
And the giver of all good things is God (James 1:17).
Our thanks must be directed to a Person who loves us, died for us, and wants us to be with Him forever. Some don’t do it because acknowledging Him demands that they give Him his rightful place in their lives–as Savior, Lord, and Friend.
Those who love Him do. Thus the Bible focuses thanksgiving and praise toward God, not his blessings. “Give thanks TO THE LORD” ( i.e. Psalm 106:1 and Psalm 136:1).
Don’t settle for a lower level of thanksgiving this year. Lovingly submit to God. Pray for those who are angry and bitter, appreciate deeply the blessings of your life, but in everything:
Give thanks TO THE LORD.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Satan Teams with Bremerton High To Take on Coach Joe
When I was young, I played both football and basketball games at Bremerton High, now the center of a national prayer controversy regarding the public schools.
In the early 1970s while playing games in Bremerton and many other high schools in the state, our coaches led us in prayer. Read More
Fiscal Insanity and the National Day of Prayer
I’m in Washington, D.C. for the National Day of Prayer. There are many important gatherings this week both here and all around the nation.
The main prayer event will be a large gathering in the Cannon House Office building from 9-12noon on Thursday. Many leaders of government will be there. That same evening a cross-section of the “Church of the City” will gather on the west steps of the Capitol. The crowd will represent a broad rainbow expression of the Body Christ from many diverse ethnic backgrounds.
I’m been coming to America’s National Day of Prayer since it began in 1988. This year our youngest son, Jason, is along with me for a graduation trip. Shirley and I just completed twenty-five years of home schooling. What does America’s future hold for Jason and coming generations?
I’m fearful that woefully inept financial policies that our nation is currently engaged in–and their devastating consequences–will overwhelm our son’s generation (and ours) if we don’t get our house in order.
We live in a time of “fiscal insanity” that many of our current leaders seem oblivious to, that could lead the United States over an economic cliff. The danger signs include:
- Sixteen trillion dollars of staggering federal debt.
- One trillion more in national debt added each year, with no end in sight.
- The liberal U.S. Senate has not produced a budget for over three years.
- The college-educated of our nation owe over one trillion dollars in student loans.
- 46% of Americans spend more money than they take in each month–with 600 million active credit cards in use (or misuse) in the United States.
Fiscal insanity–including debt–is a symptom of wrong priorities (wanting more than one can afford), an immoral spirit (thinking immediate actions won’t have long term consequences), and a lack of trust in God (to guide and provide for our needs).
We need to pray for God’s perspective, change our ways both individually and nationally, and elect some leaders who will have the guts to do what’s right in the coming years.
I encourage you to start with yourself. Are you content with what you have? Do you live within your means on a monthly or annual basis? Is your debt-level prudent, and do you have a plan to be debt-free in the coming years? Are you using you time, talents and money wisely to glorify God in your life?
Check out this web-site for a sobering look at the personal debt crisis in this nation. Each of us must start with ourselves, admit our mistakes, ask God’s forgiveness and change our ways. Then we must get up off our knees and help bring our nation back to common sense and self control.
Next, I direct your attention to the Heritage Foundation who give us a helpful visual glimpse of the fiscal insanity the nation faces. Click on this link to view eight eye-popping charts that really tell the story of the danger we’re in.
Heritage and Daily Events also give great insights on the foolishness of the political theater that is currently taking place. Here are some excerpts:
Heritage Foundation
“‘Fairness,'” an elusive idea normally exploited by spoiled children, is now the foundation of the Democratic Party’s economy policy. If implemented, anyone earning $1 million a year or more would be required to pay at least 30 percent of his income in taxes. That would help reduce the deficit by raising $31 billion over 11 years according to congressional tax analysts — 2.8 billion a year, or less than a day’s worth of new debt incurred by Washington.”
“And the wealthy did not create our debt; government did. Government — this administration in particular but all of them in general — is, by nature, risk-averse and never deals with the consequences of its failed ‘investments.’ It is the un-entrepreneur. Really, should the head of an organization that annually spends $1.6 trillion it doesn’t have be setting the parameters for a discussion on ‘fairness’?”
Daily Events
“President Obama…[is] laying out his case for the Buffett Rule, a plan to drastically raise taxes on successful Americans and small businesses. The core of his argument is that the rich aren’t paying their fair share. It makes for great populist rhetoric, especially when families are hurting and angry under today’s high unemployment, but the result is terrible policy. Worse, it’s a distraction from the big issues facing the nation, like the deficit, the economy, jobs, gas prices, health care, and on and on, none of which are addressed by the President’s proposals, and none of which he wants to talk about.”
“Will the President’s tax hike at least tackle the country’s fiscal problems? No, it won’t.
According to a recent analysis by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the Buffett Rule would raise a mere $47 billion over ten years. Meanwhile, President Obama’s budget calls for adding $6.7 trillion to the national debt. That means that the Buffett Rule will only cover one half of one percent of the President’s new spending. Soaking the rich cannot get deficits down, only spending reductions can do that.”
“When it comes to the biggest problem America is facing — a weak economy and high unemployment — the Buffett Rule would weaken the economy and make matters worse. Heritage’s J.D. Foster and Curtis Dubay write that the tax would fall most heavily on job creators (who pay taxes at the individual rate) and confiscate their resources that would otherwise be used to start new businesses, grow existing businesses, and hire more workers. As a result, economic growth will slow down right along with job creation.”
“The President says, ‘This is not about a few people doing well. We want people to do well, that’s great. But this is about giving everybody the chance to do well.’ Really? Raising taxes on the rich, weakening the economy, somehow gives everybody the chance to do well? Raising taxes on anybody somehow gives everybody the chance to do well? This is absurd even by the low standards of American political rhetoric.”
“Here’s what you really need to know about Obama’s plan. Under the Buffett Rule, businesses and families earning $1 million will pay a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate. The President says those Americans aren’t paying enough, and as proof he points to billionaire Warren Buffett’s secretary who reportedly pays a higher tax rate than her uber-wealthy boss. But right from the get go, the President is distorting the facts.”
“How can President Obama get away with saying that Warren Buffett pays lower tax rates than his secretary? Many wealthy Americans who have done well like Buffett receive dividends and capital gains — a form of investment income that is subject to multiple levels of tax. First, the investment income results from investment. This capital didn’t appear out of thin air. It was earned and taxed previously, often many times over at rates up to 35 percent.”
“Then, once invested, it generates income that is taxed at the corporate level at a 35 percent rate, and then it’s taxed again at the individual level at a 15 percent rate on dividends and capital gains. The combined rate on corporate earnings alone is over 45 percent, and this is all after the first layer of tax.”
“One way to think about this is to imagine you’re driving down a toll road, and you pay three separate tolls. The first toll of $3.50 is when you get on the highway. Then after a few miles you pay another $3.50 toll, and when you exit there’s a final toll of $1.50. A reporter asks you as you leave the last tollbooth how much toll you paid. What’s the most accurate answer — what you paid at the last tollbooth or what you paid altogether? Obviously, feeling some $8.50 lighter in the wallet, the correct answer is to respond with the total.”
“Conveniently for him, President Obama only talks about the last level of tax, the 15 percent portion, leaving out the rest. He only wants to talk about the last toll paid, not the total, and that’s how he makes his disingenuous argument. And all of this leaves out the final tax that many wealthy Americans pay — the death tax, which is set to return to its 55 percent level in 2013.”
“Then there’s the inconvenient fact that if you look at only the last level of tax, the data show clearly the highest-earning families and businesses in America are already shouldering the vast majority of the country’s tax burden. Heritage’s Curtis Dubay writes that the top 1 percent of income earners — those earning more than $380,000 in 2008 — paid more than 38 percent of all federal income taxes while earning 20 percent of all income. Meanwhile, those in the top 10 percent ($114,000 and above) earned 45 percent of income and paid 70 percent of all taxes. By comparison, the bottom 50 percent of income earners — those earning less than $33,000 — earned 13 percent of all income and paid less than 3 percent of federal income taxes.”
And once again from Heritage:
“Like clockwork, the President has returned to his favorite policy solution: raising taxes. When gas prices went up, he called for higher taxes on oil companies. When he wanted to try to create jobs, he called for higher taxes to pay for stimulus spending. When health care needed a fix, he called for higher taxes to fund Obamacare.”
“If President Obama truly wanted to be fair, he would pursue tax reform like The Heritage Foundation’s “New Flat Tax,” included in its Saving the American Dream plan. It’s simple, coherent, and comprehensive, encourages saving and investment, offers relief for seniors, and helps low and middle income families purchase health care and pay for higher education.”
“Leading with effective policy solutions, though, isn’t the name of the President’s game. Rather, his goal is to concoct a distraction from his failed leadership. Under his watch, the U.S. Senate has failed to pass a budget for the last 1,078 days, the House unanimously rejected Obama’s latest budget, and meanwhile the national debt is closing in on $16 trillion.”
“Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are careening toward implosion, gas prices have doubled, the economy is underperforming, 12.7 million Americans remain out of work, and the President’s signature legislation — Obamacare — has never been more unpopular. Instead of offering solutions, the President is offering class warfare..”
The myopia of our leaders toward our nation’s fiscal insanity is stunning. But in other ways, it’s not. We, the American people are also blindingly addicted to getting “something for nothing” and living beyond our personal means as well.
This National Day of Prayer may we wake up as individuals and as a nation, humble ourselves, and pray for God’s forgiveness. Then, let’s have the backbone and faith to reject this pathway of fiscal insanity, and restore God’s blessing to our individual families and nation.