Not too long ago there was a post going around Facebook that had a picture of an emaciated child drinking water out of a bottle offered by a healthy woman. The caption of this picture read something to the effect, “Be thankful for what you have because someone else has it worse than you.” I struggle with this idea of being thankful.
Yes, chances are, there are many people in the world that have it worse than you do today. There are millions of people who lack clean water, good food, safe sanitation. Yes, there are millions of people living in severe poverty. Yes, there are millions of people who are fleeing violence from their homes becoming refugees. It is hard to not feel a sense of thankfulness when we see people living in poverty. Often times this type of thankfulness is comparative. We are comparing our life circumstances with someone else’s based on their materialistic needs. But this should not be the motivation of our thankfulness. Let us not be thankful for our lives as the result of someone else’s lot in life. Some of the most thankful people I have ever met are those that have less in the world’s eyes. These people understand something that I wish I could more fully understand about life and thankfulness.
I am reminded of these two verses today:
“Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” – Psalm 107:1
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights…” – James 1:17
“Be thankful because the Lord is good!”
What good is in our lives today, this year (friends, family, health, growth)? What has God done to reveal His goodness to us? Let us be thankful that, “His love (for you, no matter your belief in him or not, no matter of what you may feel or think about your self, no matter your failures) endures forever!” The. Lord. Is. Good!
“Every good and perfect gift is from above.”
Anything good that has happened in your life is directly from Him. I believe that God does not cause evil (nor another blog), but he does cause the good things in your life to remind you of His deep, passionate, love for you.
Let us be thankful for our lives because of who God is (good) and what He has done in our lives without comparison, without looking down, but looking around, in, and above.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Phil Steiner 