WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM CHILDREN ABOUT THANKSGIVING
Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.
INTRODUCTION:
Once again, we are on a very special holiday season called Thanksgiving.
And after thanksgiving, we will celebrate Christmas and after that, the New year.
Soon, it will be 2017.
It seems that time runs so fast.
People are saying, “Where did the year go?”
Already the stores are filled with Christmas decorations, and Christmas carols are being sung almost every day.
We all know that Thanksgiving is basically a pre-season holiday, something you do to get in shape for Christmas.
We usually set up the Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving that will last after the new year.
We will be seeing and tasting lots of food until January when we will prepare for our yearly fasting.
So, whatever weight we have gained must be shredded out right away.
So, happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all.
Do you know that the art of giving thanks is one thing that separates man from the animals?
Yes, indeed.
Only humans give thanks.
Animals don't.
For instance, when we receive a gift, we automatically say, “Thank you!”
This is one of the noblest things a man can do.
There is nothing small or trivial about it.
To say “Thank you” is to acknowledge that we have been given something very precious.
Something we did not earn and do not deserve.
Happy is the man who understands that all of life is a gift of God and that life itself is the ultimate gift from God.
That is why the Bible says, “In everything give thanks.” (I Thessalonians 5:18).
Or "Give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus."
That means everything. No exception.
We express our gratitude to God for all the many things He had done.
When we can’t do anything else, we can always be grateful.
As someone has said, “If you can’t be thankful for what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.”
Either way, you are thankful.
With that in mind, I’d like to bring a special Thanksgiving message from Psalm 131.
As you know, David is the author. He was a poet and a musician—"The Sweet Singer of Israel.”
If you read through the Psalms sometime, you’ll notice that nearly half of them were written by David.
Psalm 131 is one of the Pilgrim Psalms.
The heading calls it “A Song of Ascents.”
That means it was part of a group of Psalms which were sung as the Hebrew pilgrims made their way up the mountains toward the city of Jerusalem for one of the annual festivals.
They were ascending as they go higher the mountain and building excitement and enthusiasm along the way.
Fifteen of these Psalms are grouped together—Psalms 120-134.
All except one are fairly short, exactly the kind of songs you would expect a group of travelers to sing as they marched along.
The Pilgrim Psalms are like the choruses of praise songs we usually sing in church.
Their purpose is the same—to prepare the heart for worship.
It’s possible that you’ve never noticed Psalm 131 before.
It only has three verses, so you might tend to overlook it as being not very important.
But that would be a mistake because this little hymn by David is really a little jewel.
Charles Spurgeon said that this Psalm is “one of the shortest to read, but one of the longest to learn.”
Because it has a lot of spiritual insights in it that we must dig deeper to study.
One time, Jesus called on a small child and asked him to stand in front of them.
And then, he declared: "Truly, I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
That is found in Matthew 18:3.
He said that we could learn a lot of things from the little children especially from their childlike character and their pure attitudes.
There are three verses in Psalm 131 and each one reveals an important quality for us to consider as we approach and celebrate the Thanksgiving season.
There are many more, but we can start with these three character traits that we could learn from these children.
I. HUMILITY AND PURITY
The Psalm begins with these words, “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me."
It seems that the Psalmist David is bragging about his humility.
Actually, the Psalmist is evaluating and checking his heart and making sure that it is not proud and arrogant.
He is aiming at nothing high or great, but to be grateful in every condition or situation that God allotted him.
You see, when a person is humble, he cannot think so much of himself because he is so engrossed in thinking about others.
That is the first attitude we need to learn from the children.
We all know that children's hearts are not proud.
Their eyes are not haughty.
They do not concern themselves with great matters that they could not understand or comprehend.
They do not concern themselves with things that are too difficult for them to comprehend.
They are just content with those toys that they could play with.
That is what humility is all about.
That is why it is connected with purity of heart.
We need to approach our thanks giving with humility like the heart of a child.
When we do that, we will be the happiest people on earth.
Because we live in a culture that puts a very low value on humility and meekness.
People nowadays don't realize the importance of such virtue.
Have you noticed that from the moment we enter the world we are urged to get ahead and to climb the ladder?
People are always looking for number one who could reach the top through intimidation and crab mentality.
They look at successful people by the car they drive and by the home they buy.
They look at their status quo symbol by the branded clothes they wear and by the high profile friends they keep.
This is what the society we live in believe.
It is completely opposite to what the Bible says as the meek and the lowly shall inherit the earth.
To God, the status quo symbol is humility and the purity of heart.
But to this world, the status quo are the arrogant and the proud.
Brothers and sister, we need to make the right choice because this is not our home.
Our home is in heaven.
Therefore, we need a heart that is submissive and dedicated to the Lordship of Christ.
We meed a heart that is pure and holy before his sight and uncontaminated by this world's wickedness.
A heart not proud or arrogant.
This reminds me of a story of a man who owns a mountain cabin in western Carolina.
In his farm flows refreshing spring of clean and cool water and good for drinking.
The water flows constantly at all times of the year.
But one day, the spring was contaminated and no longer desirable for drinking.
This happened because he allowed his cattle to pass through the spring of waters and mud appears.
For days, he waited for the spring to be clean again to become drinkable.
He learned his lesson, he became vigilant from then on.
For the sake of his health and the health of those who would drink from this spring, this spring must be kept pure at all times.
The same is true with our hearts.
We must be vigilant to keep it pure and humble at all times.
This brings us to the first life lesson:
Lesson No. 1 BE THANKFUL WITH A HUMBLE HEART.
Psalms 9:1: "I will give thanks to you, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds."
Check your heart this Thanksgiving.
In order to enjoy the season, keep it humble and pure at all times.
Dont' allow dirt and sin to enter.
II. SIMPLICITY AND CONTENTMENT
Verse 2 brings before us a second quality that is very useful as we approach Thanksgiving.
It is the quality of simplicity and contentment.
It reads: “But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. .”
The picture is one only a mother can fully understand.
When a a child is born, he looks to his mother’s breast as the source of his nourishment for a long time.
Breakfast, lunch and supper all come from the same place.
When he is hungry, he cries and Mom knows exactly what to do.
Her milk satisfies him and back to sleep he goes.
But the day comes when he has to learn how to take a bottle.
This is what we call weaning time - That’s not a happy day.
He cries, big tears roll down his face, his arms reach out but his mother pushes them away.
He fights, he pouts, he screams, all to no avail.
What has happened to Mom?
She who used to be his friend has now become his enemy.
And if Mom has a heart at all, she cries too because from now on things will be different.
She will feed him but never again in the same way because the bottle is over and the child has to grow.
Here is the truth: Unless a mother weans her child, he will never grow up.
He’ll be a baby all the days of his life.
Though it may seem hard, and though the child misunderstands, if a mother truly loves her child, she will not stop until the job is fully done. When the job is finally done, the child no longer begs for that which it once found indispensable.
Once he could not live without his mother’s milk; now he no longer needs it.
The Psalmist David is saying: “I’ve come to the place where the things I thought I had to have, I don’t need anymore.
Now my soul is quiet and content.”
That is what the character of simplicity is all about.
That is what we can learn from the little child.
Contentment with what little we have.
Because the standard of this world is never content.
You’ve all heard the story of the billionaire who was asked when he was going to stop working.
“When I make enough money,” was his reply.
“How much money is enough?” The answer came back, “Just a little bit more."
That’s the way most of us figure contentment.
In our hearts we think, “I would be happy if only I had a new car or a new job or a new dress or a new husband or a new wife.”
Just a little bit more.
Since life is hardly ever that simple, we stay frustrated when we ought to be happy.
No wonder, there are people who do not appreciate what Thanksgiving and Christmas is all about.
Because both Thanksgiving and Christmas can only be enjoyed in the spirit of generosity and contentment.
This brings us to the next lesson:
Lesson No. 2 BE THANKFUL WITH ABUNDANT GENEROSITY TO OTHERS.
2 Corinthians 9:11-12 "You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in Thanksgiving to God."
Notice what the verses says:
The only way for you to be enriched or enchanced with more blessings is when you are generous to people.
The more you give, the more you will receive.
Because when you are generous to people, you will always have a heart of contentment and thanksgiving to God.
Let me read to you a poem regarding this truth.
Thanksgiving Observance:
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes;
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean years;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean deeds,
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Author unknown
Look at all your blessings and you will always be happy.
And after you have counted all these good things from God, you feel happy and thankful.
There was this story of Dr. Robert Hill, the author of over fifty books when he visited Bangkok, Thailand.
He was invited to a special celebration given by the King and Queen.
His Thai guide, a young man named Joseph, asked several questions as he drove them to the pavilion.
When he asked where the Hills lived, they told him Richmond, Virginia.
"Oh, you are a rich man?" asked the boy.
Bob laughed and told him, no, he was not rich.
Bob recalled, "Then he asked if he owned an automobile and I told him we have two cars in our family.
His next question was about the house we lived.
I told him it was rather simple house with ten rooms.
He was amazed at its size, especially when he related his family lived in just two small rooms.
Then, he asked about our family.
We told him we had four healthy children, two in college and two still at home.
Joseph was silent for a moment or so, then he replied, "You are a rich man."
We laughed, but deep in our hearts, we knew he was right, although we have never thought of it in those terms.
We are rich, but are we thankful?"
You see, if you are living here in America, we are more rich than many people in other third world nations.
But are we thankful?
Let me say this again: Are you thankful?
Are you content with what you have and feel grateful?
First, thankfulness means humility and purity.
Second, thankfulness means simplicity and contentment.
III. INTEGRITY AND FAITH
There is a third principle to be added to humility and simplicity.
It is the principle of integrity and faith.
Verse 3 says, “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”
The word “hope” in Hebrew means first to wait, then to wait expectantly.
The concept is very close to our English word “confidence.”
An expanded definition would be “to wait on something because you know the thing you are waiting for will happen because the person you are waiting on is trustworthy.”
Our full confidence is on God.
We believe with all our hearts that what He says will happen.
He is a trustworthy God.
David says, “You have a choice to make. Either you choose to live like everyone else or you choose to wait on the Lord.”
Once a child is weaned, the apron strings have been cut.
The child comes to rest on his mother’s lap not because he wants something but because he wants to be near his mother.
In the same way, God weans us from our dependence on the things of this world so that we will not be bribed into trusting him.
What credit is it if you trust God because you have a mate, a house, a job, a happy home, a secure future, and good health?
What will you do when you lose your mate, your job, your home, your family, your security, your reputation, your con-nections, and your health? When life tumbles in, what then?
That’s what integrity and faith is all about.
It’s choosing to put our confidence in God alone.
And that kind of integrity will always generate faith in God because it’s believing that he has answers to questions we can barely understand.
It’s coming to the place where we don’t measure our spirituality by our prosperity.
It’s finding rest in our soul because we discover that the things we used to crave aren’t so important anymore.
This brings us to the next lesson:
Lesson No. 3 BE THANKFUL WITH OVERFLOWING JOY TO GOD.
2 Corinthians 4:15(NIV) 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God."
Notice what the verses says:
It says that the grace we receive from God reaches more and more people every single day.
And when we express our thanksgiving to God, the glory is given to Him.
And so, let us keep on thanking God so that he receives the glory and not us.
With that, I will end with this simple reflection of thanksgiving from the writings of the apostle Paul.
Remember his prison epistles?
When he wrote those epistles, the conditions he went through are beyond our comprehension.
Here is the picture of the replica of Paul's prison cell.
Picture in your mind: the damp and dark jail cells.
Not only that, there were rats all over running at his feet.
And worse, he was hungry most of the time.
He was alone, he was isolated and far from his friends.
He was often beaten, whipped and suffered greatly from the jail guards.
You thought that your world is tough.
Oh No. His world was unbearable.
Here is a picture of the apostle Paul in his prison cell.
Yet he would write:
· “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you…” (Romans 1:8)
· “I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus.” (First Corinthians 1:4)
· “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” (Ephesians 1:16)
· “I thank my God every time I remember you.” (Philippians 1:3)
· “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” (Colossians 1:3)
· “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.” (First Thessalonians 1:2)
· “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters…” (Second Thessalonians 1:3)
· “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength…” (First Timothy 1:13)
· “I thank God, whom I serve… day and night I constantly remember you in my prayers.” (Second Timothy 1:3)
· “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers.” (Philemon 1:4)
His entire situation changes because of his attitude of gratitude.
Come to Christ.
Receive Him as your Lord and Savior.
Surrender your life to Him.
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