"Take inventory of your life: a Thanksgiving sermon."
Psalm 100
Robert Warren
November 18th, 2001
Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth
Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
During my college and high school days I worked at Toys R Us. Usually when I tell people that fact they think that working at Toys R Us must have been really cool. Folks usually have the idea that working at a toy store is like working in Santa’s workshop. They have visions of us playing with the toys, riding up and down the aisles on scooters, wearing dress-up costumes, and building giant Lego cities. Let me remove that notion from your mind; working there was anything but fun, especially during Christmas. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter what you’re selling in a store, it’s all boxes and price tags, whether you are selling car batteries or Matchbox cars. Christmas was a particularly bad time to be working there, if you can imagine. People can get pretty ugly when faced with the realization that they might not be able to get the Cabbage Patch Kid, Nintendo, or Mighty Morphin’ Power Ranger. I’ve literally seen grown women fighting each other for a toy: it’s an ugly sight. But still, no matter how bad the Christmas season might get, there was a worse time to be working there. Right after Christmas came "Return Time" when those same ladies would come back, furious that the Cabbage Patch kid was missing an arm. But even that wasn’t the worst time. The worst time, by far, was inventory week. Imagine a tornado going through a store, scattering merchandise in its wake. Now, imagine trying to go into the store after the storm and trying to identify and count each item in the store down to the last baseball card. That’s what inventory is like at Toys R Us, two weeks after Christmas. But it had to be done, because taking inventory is one of the most crucial things done in a store each year.
Why do stores take inventory? Because after a hectic year of sales things can get pretty confused. The people who add up the value of the merchandise in the store need to know exactly how much the store has on its shelves. In the midst of the daily shuffle of a store it is awfully easy to look track of how much you have. So, a week is taken where every employee in the store is charged with the task of stopping to take count of all the merchandise in the store. Every year you have to stop and take inventory of what assets you have.
This is exactly what we are doing this week. Our lives are busy and hectic; some of us feel like we are running a toy store in December all year. It’s hard to keep track of where we are in life with all of the coming and going that we do. We can lose sight of what assets we have in life. We need to take time at least once a year to take inventory of our life and ask ourselves, "What blessings have I been given and what am I doing with them?" We need to take time to stop and count the things in our life that have been given to us instead of complaining about the things that we don’t have. Whenever we feel the need to indulge in whining or self-pity we should stop and count the blessings in our life. This is what Thanksgiving is all about: taking an inventory of our life.
Thanksgiving should not just be a shallow time of giving generic thanks to God for the stuff that we possess. This isn’t just a time to nod our heads towards heaven in a cursory recognition that the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the homes we inhabit, and the possessions we own come from the hand of God. Instead, we need to sit down and do some talking to ourselves about all of the gifts and opportunities and challenges that God has given to each one of us. Like the poem says, "Count your blessings one by one, and you might be surprised at what the Lord has done."
This year might seem like a bad time for Thanksgiving. We have suffered a terrible blow as a nation. We have lost a great number of fellow citizens. Our security has been shaken, our anger has been provoked, our peace has been shattered, our fears have been awakened. As we speak we have soldiers at war and we have enemies planning our demise. The basic things that we take for granted have been compromised. Our economy is in shambles and locally we have seen a lot of people lose their jobs, perhaps even some here today. A lot of people have seen their investments and their retirement plans lose a lot of money. Many of us here today have lost loved ones or been faced with illnesses and injury. These hardships that all of us are facing to some degree or another might seem to take some of the joy out of Thanksgiving.
But I think it’s just the opposite. Thanksgiving is best appreciated in times of turmoil and want. A starving man will be much more thankful for a piece of hard bread than a person who has just gotten up from a banquet meal. A poor man will appreciate $100 a lot more than Bill Gates. An asthmatic appreciates a breath of air much more than a healthy person. People in time of war are more thankful for peace than those in tranquility. Thanksgiving has always been a time of recognizing the good things of life in the midst of the bad.
It is interesting that our national Thanksgiving holiday wasn’t instituted in a time of plenty but in a time of great want. We remember the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims of 1621 who celebrated a Thanksgiving meal on this day. But the story of these Pilgrims is one of want and starvation. After nearly dying off from starvation the Pilgrims rejoiced with Thanksgiving as they feasted with members of the Wam-pa-no-ag tribe who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. This feast and the friendship of the Native Americans reminded them of how close to perishing they had come, and thus the Thanksgiving was all the more sincere. Over 100 years later, in 1777 the continental congress proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving after the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga. The fledgling nation realized how much it had to be thankful for in light of the difficulties of gaining independence. However, 12 years later George Washington requested that Congress make Thanksgiving an annual holiday. They refused. Perhaps things were going too well. It would take another 100 years for the nation to once again realize their need to go to God with thanks for all of his blessings on this country.
It was during the bloody Civil War that the nation was driven to its knees in Thanksgiving to God. Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday in November would be a day of Thanksgiving. As long as there was a nation here, it should be a thankful nation, especially in light of the chance that the nation would be forever split in two. A people weary of war, who had lost many loved ones and saw their livelihoods threatened were much more appreciative and thankful to God for the blessings that they enjoyed. Yes, thanksgiving is much more sincere and fervent when we are faced with hard times and need. The more meager the harvest the more precious.
I’ve always like Thanksgiving. It’s not very commercialized, it emphasizes family, it is a time of rest and reflection. Yet, like most people, I have often taken Thanksgiving for granted. Most of us look at Thanksgiving as a mild-mannered holiday of food, football, and family, followed by a frenzy of shopping. But that’s not a very good atmosphere of Thanksgiving. In the midst of our eating and fellowshipping we need to spend some serious time in careful consideration of the blessings that we enjoy: we need to take inventory of our life. Perhaps this year will be a time when we will better appreciate all that we have been blessed with, not taking for granted anything.
There is an email that has been making the rounds that is especially meaningful this year, following the events of September 11th. It says:
On Monday we e-mailed jokes. On Tuesday we did not.
On Monday we were fussing about praying in school. On Tuesday we would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying.
On Monday our heroes were athletes. On Tuesday we re-learned who heroes are.
On Monday there were people trying to separate us by race, sex, color and creed. On Tuesday we were all holding hands.
On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived. On Tuesday we gave money away gladly to people we had never met.
On Monday we were upset that we had to wait 5 minutes in a fast food line. On Tuesday we stood in line for 3 to 5 hours to give blood for the dying.
On Monday we argued with our kids to clean up their rooms. On Tuesday we couldn’t get home fast enough to hug our kids.
On Monday we went to work as usual. On Tuesday we went to work, but some of us didn’t come home.
On Monday we had families. On Tuesday we had orphans.
On Monday September 10th life felt routine.
On Tuesday September 11th, it did not.
What a difference a day makes.
What a difference our perspective makes on the thanks we give. If this is a year of increased hardship, let this be a year of increased Thanksgiving. The further we seem to be from the light of God’s love the more we should be thankful for the light which he has given us. The further we seem to be from the protection of God’s hand, the more we should be thankful when we feel his warm embrace. The more silent God seems to be, the more we should be thankful for the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s most thankful letter is the letter to the Philippians. It is in this book that he says, "I give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This confident and joyful letter was written from a jail cell at a time when Paul was facing his death at the hands of the Romans. Even though he knew he was at the end of his life, he still gave thanks to God. He knew in the light of his losses and chains the many blessings that God have given him. God’s people have frequently been driven to their knees in gratitude not in times of plenty but in times of great need and hardship. So, in light of our failing economy, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, anthrax and trouble of all kinds, I urge us as God’s people to be people of Thanksgiving.
How should we approach our God during this time of Thanksgiving?
First, we should come with joy, recognizing what joy is— and what it is not. Joy is not just being happy with our circumstances. Joy is knowing that we have much to be thankful for no matter what our circumstances happen to be. The believer knows that no matter what is going on in life that God is still ultimately in control. Joy is what allows the believer to be thankful whether the plate is full or empty, whether sick or well, whether better or worse.
Second, we should be humble people. Humility does not mean that we are downtrodden or long in the face. It does not mean that we downplay the blessings that we have received. Humility means that we recognize where our blessings come from. The believer should never deny the blessings that he has been given, rather, he should give due credit to the hands of God which have provided them. There is no greater testimony than that of a person who is rich who confesses to the world that his riches are not of his own doing but have come only from God, whether that person is rich in possessions, family, gifts, or talent. Thanksgiving is a time when we should renounce any claims that we have on our blessings and ascribe their possession to God. All that we have belongs ultimately to God, who has given to us with great generosity.
Third, our thankfulness should include a recognition of the goodness of God. Thanksgiving is not just a time to count up our blessings, it is also a time to spend time meditating on the character of our God who is full of mercy and grace. We know that God’s love and mercy will endure forever. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive. He has given us life and has promised us life eternal. Many a mother has received a birthday card written on construction paper and covered with glue and glitter. This is the most precious and valuable gift a mother could receive, not because of the value of the gift but the value of the giver. Because the card has come from a child it is priceless. When we count our blessings we should not just add up the value of what we have but the value of the God who has given them to us. We need to be thankful not just for the gift but also for the giver.
Finally, thanksgiving should be a time of remembrance. I guarantee you that the first thanksgiving feast was a time of remembrance. There with a table filled with food many people remembered a time of starving. Looking at their stout log homes many remembered cold winters when they thought they would freeze to death. Looking at their young children running around reminded them of the many children who did not make it. As they thanked God for the life that they had, they remembered the nearness of death in the early days.
Those who are most thankful for peace are those who best remember war. Those who are most thankful for life are those who have been the closest to death. Those who are most thankful for freedom are those who have been imprisoned. Those who are most thankful for plenty are those who have suffered from want. Those who are most thankful for forgiveness are those who have had the most to be forgiven from. We must remember the bad to be grateful for the good.
This is why we come together today around this communion table, set for a Thanksgiving meal. Compared to the spreads that we will enjoy later in the week you might not think that this is much of a meal. But when you stop to consider what this meal remembers you might wonder how you ever enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal before without first coming to this table. What is remembered here? A horrible death. A miscarriage of justice. An unloving world. A hopeless situation. A dark time. A heavy burden of sin. An occasion when God seemed to have forsaken his own son.
But in this meal of remembrance comes a time of overwhelming thanksgiving. What are we thankful for in this meal? A glorious resurrection. An unimaginable grace. An outpouring of love. Hope unshakeable. The light of the world. The removal of sins once for all. We remember a savior who was willing to sacrifice all so that we could have life eternal. No matter what the world may throw at us, we know that we have a savior who is even now preparing Paradise for our eternal home.
I pray that we will be people of Thanksgiving. I hope that you have a wonderful meal with your family, but remember that this Communion meal and your family of Christian brothers and sisters is the source of your joy and Thanksgiving. We do this in remembrance of Christ, we do this in Thanksgiving. This cup is the new covenant of his blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of him. For whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Thank you Father, thank you Son, thank you Holy Spirit. Help us, we pray, to take inventory of our lives, counting the blessings from your hand.
