Thanksliving

Church Sunday morning was tough. It wasn’t tough because I was sleepy (which I was) or because I often get anxious on Sunday mornings (which I do) or because it felt cold in the worship area (which it did). It was tough because we were confronted with truth in a way that demands change.

Did you know that a child dies from hunger somewhere in the world every 6 seconds?

Did you know that every year, we spend about $450 billion on Christmas gifts………

……and that it would take only about $10 billion to provide fresh drinking water to the entire world?

Hard facts to face, no?

What if we all adopted an attitude of Thanksgiving….not just now, with the holiday hovering a couple of days away, but always? All year long. What if we all showed how thankful we are for our abundance (because really, we do live in abundance) by blessing others? What if we stopped always trying to get more for ourselves, we sought to level the playing field for everyone? What if instead of seeking prosperity, we sought equality? Justice? Fairness?

What if?

Imagine if life was about more than “stuff.” Imagine if Christmas and birthdays and holidays were about more than ourselves. Imagine if we recognized that the things we call “ours” belong to no one but God?

What would you do?

I’m not there. I don’t claim to be perfectly selfless. I can’t pretend that Christmas feels the same in light of our budgetary restrictions this year. I can’t say that I don’t feel a little sorry for myself because Christmas can’t be as indulgent this year. What I can say, though, is that I don’t want to feel that way, and that I feel the need to change that.

I feel sad because I won’t have as many gifts under the tree for my family this year….but what was it like for Jesus to leave heaven – heaven – to enter the poverty of earth? He certainly didn’t do it so that we could celebrate his birthday and every day of the year with opulence and self-indulgence.

What am I going to do to live out my thanks? I’m not sure. I have some ideas, which I might be sharing soon. I might not share them, though, because really, it’s not about someone thinking I have a good idea or applauding what we’re doing. It’s about being thankful – really thankful – and living out that thanks in a genuine way.

Find out a little bit more about what's going on in me at AdventConspiracy.org. Prepare to be changed.