What Ever Happened to Thanksgiving?
In September, 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers, most of them seeking a country where they could worship God freely and exercise their faith without government oppression and intimidation. Sixty-six days later, the ship landed near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Due to the harsh conditions, only half of these pilgrims survived the first winter.
November, 1621, brought a much-needed harvest, wherein these pilgrims and the native American Wampanoag shared a meal and thanked God for His protection and provision. This celebration became known as the first Thanksgiving.
Taking a day to remember God’s faithfulness and goodness to the people of America has become a mere blimp on our celebratory calendar. Halloween and its exaltation of evil takes the higher honor, the greater glory. The moment our front yards are cleared of skeletons, ghosts, cobwebs, and spiders, we begin our annual commercialization of Christmas.
Perhaps the near dismissal of Thanksgiving is another sign of our numbered days, another sign that the last days are upon us. The apostle Paul gave us the ugly on what those days would look like when he wrote his second letter to Timothy:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
We’ve heard the saying, don’t criticize the farmer with your mouth full. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. How much more ungrateful are we when we fail to acknowledge the One who causes the rain to fall, the sun to shine, and the ground to produce grain?
If we have food to eat November 24th, let’s be thankful for the harvest. If we are physically able to eat, let’s thank God for health. If family and friends are seated at our tables, let’s cherish our time together with hearts of gratitude. Let’s give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.