The Real Cost of Thanksgiving

Everything these days seems to be broken down to show the cost. Every action is dissected to determine who caused it. Even the slightest thing can explode into a major deal because of perceived intent. I personally believe one of the mitigating factors is the number of lawsuits filed on a daily basis, but I digress.

What is Thanksgiving? If you parse the word itself you find a very simple meaning: to give thanks. Then, you are left with the "interpretation" and that is where we find the difference of opinion. Who is to be thankful, and to whom should thanks be given? And the more important question, why should we be thankful, and for what?

One of the first things that has to be sacrificed in order to give thanks is pride. By thanking someone else you in essence are admitting you did not do it all yourself. None of us have done it all alone. Everyone has received help. To deny this is the ultimate display of pride. All of us have reason to be thankful.

The primary reason I resist allowing Christmas to overshadow Thanksgiving is because of the importance I place on giving thanks. First and foremost, each of us should give thanks to our Creator-God for the very breath we have in our lungs. Secondly, we should be thankful for our parents for bringing us into this world (regardless of how they treated you). If you live in the U.S.A., you should be thankful that you have the freedom to pursue any dream you have.

In all of these, it requires us to confront realities that we are not self-sufficient. This, I believe, is the reason Christmas has eclipsed Thanksgiving. We tend to shun the idea of exalting others above ourselves when instead we could reap all the gifts that we want others to bestow upon us.

The real cost of Thanksgiving: humility.