Thanksgiving &Entitlement
“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Hitherto the Lord has helped us.’ ” – I Samuel 7:12
“Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by Thy great help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.” – Lyrics from “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson (c. 1758)
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning and thy faithfulness every night...” – Psalm 92:1-2
It seems the United States began with an attitude of Thanksgiving which has evolved into a posture of Entitlement in our day and time. Thanksgiving to God united Pilgrims and Native Indians in early America. Thanksgiving united them because the Indians shared agricultural knowledge and know-how that the Pilgrims needed to survive in the New World. The Pil- grims acknowledged their debt, worked hard and expressed gratitude by sharing the har- vest. Thanksgiving and sharing go hand-in-hand.
Entitlement divides because one group thinks they deserve something more than another, or that another group owes them something for reasons that may be both real and imagi- nary. However, entitlement goes hand-in-hand with division. Thanksgiving acknowledges God and others; entitlement excludes God and others. In the end, entitlement only focuses on one’s self – God is excluded.
God has established that thanksgiving is a precursor to blessing. Without thanksgiving, there is no acknowledgement of God, and therefore no further blessing. It was while Samuel was offering sacrifices to God that the Lord heard him and defeated the Philistines. In ancient Israel, Moses commanded a Feast of Thanksgiving called “First Fruits” when the people thanked God for the first crops of the year in anticipation of a good harvest season. And they later celebrated the harvest season at Pentecost, remembering it was God who had given the harvest.
When David the Psalmist used the word “lovingkindness,” he used a word that signifies not just kindnesses in general but covenant blessings. We are in a covenant relationship with God; and if we abide in that covenant with Him, He will bless us because that is what He has covenanted to do. He cannot deny Himself.
At World Missionary Evangelism, we want to sincerely thank God for blessings we received in 2014 and ones happening at the start of 2015. In spite of many national and international problems during 2014, God has been good to WME. We want to thank Him and acknowl- edge His goodness. As we look over the past year, we see many things have been ac- complished, for which we give all praise to God. We also feel that 2015 will be a year of special blessing and advancement for His Kingdom, and so we present past-views of 2014 and fore-views of 2015 in articles that follow. Praise be to God for His goodness!
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