God, Grace, and Gratitude

Christians may despair of the shape of the world today with all its problems and sin, but it would not have surprised the Apostle Paul. Even in his own day he could write that God had given men up “in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves … to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all manner of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Rom. 1:24, 28–31).

To what does Paul attribute this enormous wickedness of men? “Although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:21, 22). Men did not give thanks. This, in a nutshell, is the cause of evil in the world. Satan was not content to give thanks for the high position he had in the family of God. Adam and Eve were not satisfied with thanking God for his bountiful provision for them. They focused rather on what was not given to them and “became futile in their thinking.” We repeatedly prove our kinship to the first pair by neglecting to thank God for what we have and complaining over what we do not have. Not content with the lands and things they have, people covet what belongs to others, and so there are wars and thefts. Not content with the income they could earn if everyone were given a fair chance, people conspire to keep certain groups “in their place” by handicapping them, and so there is exploitation and, inevitably, strife. Not content with the genuine pleasures to be had in the enjoyment of marriage and recreation God has sanctioned, men seek the fleeting pleasures of illicit sex and chemically induced states of mind, and so there is heartbreak and an empty feeling of futility.

The biggest wonder should be not that men are so evil but that God is so patient and merciful. We ought to thank him repeatedly that he has not destroyed our planet and our race altogether for our ingratitude. Indeed, if it were not for his restraining hand, we would doubtless destroy ourselves.

Thanksgiving Day seems to be a time when many Americans pat themselves on the back and figure that we really can’t be too bad because God has showered us with blessings far beyond that of other nations. The holiday ought rather to be one of national humiliation because God is so merciful to us despite our gross misuse of the abundance he entrusted to us. The continuing stalemate—or defeat—in Viet Nam can at least have the value of deflating our national ego, and it can cause great soul-searching as to why our ideals cannot inspire the kind of sacrifices that Communist ideals can. The Viet Cong and their sympathizers have not experienced the failures of Communism; but they have experienced injustices at the hands of Westerners and Western-supported governments. Our country should give thanks that we have had this opportunity far from our shores to learn afresh that wealth and power are not all that counts.

Thanksgiving Day should have special meaning to American Christians. We have been allowed to share bountifully in the freedom and wealth of this land. We have not known the deprivation and discrimination that have hounded our brethren in many other countries and ages. Yet the proclamation of the Good News of God’s love to all men is often restricted because Christians seem to use a far greater portion of their earnings on themselves than the New Testament says they should. Rather than complain about inflation and taxes, we ought to thank God that we have so much more to live on than we deserve. As someone has said, “it is not the high cost of living that is our problem, but the cost of high living.” We should be thankful to God not only for our blessings but for his mercy in continuing to pour them upon us even though we have proved to be such poor stewards. When a man who is not a Christian spends all his earnings on himself it is understandable, for so often he lives only for what he can enjoy in this world. But when a Christian seems to adopt the same attitude, what excuse does he have?

Let us be thankful as inhabitants of this beautiful planet that God has not yet removed us from it for our wanton wickedness. Let us be thankful as citizens of this bountiful land that God has not yet sent us the way of the proud empires of former days. And let us be thankful as Christians in America that God has not yet removed the candlestick of testimony from this portion of his church. He is still mercifully giving us a chance to serve him mightily by the proper use of the resources he has entrusted to our care.

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