There is a passage in Luke (18:9-24) about thankfulness. It is the story of two men in the Temple, the Publican who prays only for God’s mercy, and the Pharisee, who, filled with self- righteousness, thanks God that he is not like the miserable Publican. It was the Publican who was justified in God’s eyes,
In this season of Thanksgiving, there are thousands in the world who live in misery and fear. They include refugees in camps in the Balkans, families living in bombed out buildings in Syria, terrorized Christians in Occupied Iraq and India, homeless sleeping on the street or in shelters right here in Dallas; the lonely, the hungry, the abandoned.
How easy it is to be like the Pharisee and thank God that we are not Ike those miserable people, and pray for them. The scriptures have something to say about that. “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16)
Of course we should be thankful for our family and friends, our home and our job, but we should be especially thankful that His blessings are given to us as stewards not to be splurged on ourselves but to enable us reach out to the impoverished, whom He loves. We must constantly guard against the self-righteousness and indifference of the Pharisee.
This Thanksgiving let us be thankful for the blessings of family and community and the blessings that enable us to be the vehicle of Jesus’ mercy, healing and forgiving love.
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Image credit: Don McCullough on Flickr
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