Thanksgiving: What Everyone Should Know

Men for Palin Blog ^ | November 28, 2008 | John Philoponus

[Charlie Fairbanks]

Thanksgiving Day itself is over. Now that we are back from early morning Black Friday bargain shopping, and are settling into the Friday leftovers of turkey soup and cranberry dressing sandwiches, it behooves us all to reflect on the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a true American celebration with Biblical roots. One of our female MFP correspondents offers the following thoughts from her home in California.

[Charlie Fairbanks]

Second only to Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day is a uniquely American holiday. And as an American holiday, it is rooted deeply - like our nation - in faith in God. The earliest Thanksgivings were celebrated by Americans who were keenly aware that their blessings - like their rights - came from God. In times of hardship unimaginable to us today, they took time to give thanks to their Creator.

Throughout early American history, when they suffered from drought, famine or war, Americans paused, not to seek vengeance or to question their faith, but to give thanks to God for the blessings they still had. At a time when the economic news seems to get worse very day, it is important to remember the humble faith of these early Americans. They didn’t just give thanks when times were good, they gave thanks when times were bad - especially when times were bad.

Voices from Thanksgivings Past:

“The centrality of God in Thanksgiving in America comes through in the words of some of our greatest national leaders” - Virginia Gov. Thomas Jefferson, 1779.

“[I] appoint . . . a day of public Thanksgiving to Almighty God . . . to [ask] Him that He would . . . pour out His Holy Spirit on all ministers of the Gospel that He would spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth . . . and that He would establish these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue.” - President George Washington’s first federal Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789.

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor . . . Now, therefore, I do appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November 1863 . . . that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.” - President Abraham Lincoln, making Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War.

All of the early Thanksgiving celebrations had one thing in common. The thanksgiving was directed toward God. It did not matter that many had very hard times. The people knew that God was their creator and provider and that all good things ultimately came from Him. It is in his spirit that I bring you the following passages from God’s word:

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done.” - 1 Chronicles 16:8

“Give thanks to the LORD on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” - Psalm 105:1

“Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

During these times of great economic difficulty it may be hard to think about how we can be thankful but that is actually the best time to be thankful because it helps us to remember what we really should be thankful for. You see if we have food, freedom, shelter and friends and/or family who love us we should be considered rich by any standards. Think of the thousands and thousands of people scrambling into our country for freedom, liberty. It is really a matter of perspective. Let us focus on what really matters this Thanksgiving such as our faith, family, friends, our soldiers, our nation and show them how much you appreciate them this holiday season.

HAVE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING