Give Thanks part 4
When you give thanks for something (or TO someone) you bless it (or them). And that's important. Because a lot of times we take things (and people) for granted. We have somehow developed this kind of ridiculous sense of entitlement. We think the world owes us everything. When all the world will ever try to do is knock you down and take what you've got. And the truth of the matter is, well, let me quote Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Nobody owes anybody anything except love. And the only reason we owe love to each other is because Jesus gave all of His love to us. That's the New Commandment. The perfect law of liberty that we fulfill when we love each other as He has loved us. And that's something to give thanks for. Not something to try to get. Something to experience. By giving it away. By sharing it. That's what the gift of God is all about. That's why He gave us that gift; so we could receive it and release it. That's HOW we experience it. We experience life... by living. And to live is to love. To love is to live. That attitude of gratitude is not about trying to trick God into giving us something. You've probably heard the idea that PUSH means, "Pray Until Something Happens." But I don't think that's really what prayer is all about. I don't think we should be trying to get God to move. I think we should realize that He has already moved, on the cross, and we should thank Him for that movement. Thank Him for what He gave us instead of begging Him for stuff we think we don't have, or stuff we really don't need. What's that old Beatles song? All you need is love. So we already have what we need. We don't need to be out there chasing stuff. And, as always, I'm not saying you shouldn't take care of business. Paul wrote to a church and said, "If you don't work, you don't eat." My pastor always says, "Call up the energy company and tell them how much you love Jesus. See how far that gets you." Point being: You absolutely need to take care of business. But one of my favorite lines in one of my favorite movies asks the question: If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working? Winning the rat race only makes you king rat. There are more important things than just material "stuff." And while you absolutely should give thanks for the stuff you have, you shouldn't take it for granted, because there are people who would kill for the stuff you have but don't really care about, the most important thing to give thanks for... is love. That connection that we have with each other. Giving thanks for each other blesses each other. And that's important. So important. Knowing that someone cares, that you aren't all alone (especially when you feel like you are all alone), can make all the difference in the world. If you come at life from a place of lack, nothing you ever get will be enough. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. And if you're giving something, it means you have something. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. And that's something to be thankful for. To give thanks for!