A Forgotten Sin
In Romans 1, Paul powerfully and penetratingly indicts humanity for suppressing the truth of God and for failing to worship and serve Him as they ought. Among the many sins and transgressions Paul lists, one that’s easy to overlook is this simple charge:
“They did not…give thanks.”
At first glance, that may seem like an odd addition to a passage describing the universal sinfulness of mankind. But if we reflect a bit, it becomes clear that thanksgiving lies at the very core of our relationship with God.
We are completely dependent on God for everything we are and everything we have. Therefore, the only proper response to His goodness is gratitude. Unfortunately, as Paul says, we do exactly the opposite.
Ungratefulness at the Core
Throughout our series on Genesis, I’ve reminded you that we all try to be “god” to ourselves. This was the sin of our first parents, and it remains the principle at work in every sin we commit.
This desire to be our own god is, at its heart, ungratefulness. It is our attempt to repudiate our dependence on God and to proclaim our own self-sufficiency. But that is an outrageous lie.
We can no more escape our dependence on God than we can our need for water, food, or oxygen. Pretending not to need those things doesn’t make it true.
The same is true of our daily dependence on God. In Him we live and move and have our being. Without Him there is no life, no hope, no existence. This is why Paul singles out a lack of thanksgiving as clear evidence of our futile thinking and foolish hearts.
The Antidote to Ungratefulness
So what is the cure for ungratefulness?
It begins with an honest assessment of who God is and what He has done.
In Acts 14:15–17, when the people of Lystra attempt to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods, Paul reminds them of this very truth:
“We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”
What does Paul say?
We are but mere men.
God alone is the Creator, Provider, Savior, and Sustainer.
Honor Him.
A Nation’s Call to Gratitude
As I was doing a bit of research on the Thanksgiving holiday for this month’s article, I came across the proclamation of the First Continental Congress, issued on November 1, 1777 — the first national proclamation for a Thanksgiving Day.
In it, the Continental Congress called upon the governing bodies of the United States to set aside Thursday, December 18, 1777, as a day of thanksgiving and praise.
This proclamation reflects the very themes we’ve just considered. Throughout our nation’s history, the date of Thanksgiving has shifted, but even in the earliest days of our republic there was a clear and unmistakable call for the people to acknowledge their dependence upon God and His gracious provision.
A Call for Us Today
I thought it would be both encouraging and challenging for you to read that proclamation. It reminds us of the Christian heritage of our nation and convicts us to recognize how many today have forgotten the God our founders were so diligent to honor and remember.
Let us remember Thanksgiving not only as a day to praise our Lord for His grace, love, and blessings, but also as a call to bring our nation and our world back to the God who has so graciously given us witnesses of His goodness, not only in this life but in the one to come through Jesus Christ our Lord.
FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:
It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.”
