"Excuse Me and Thank You for the Meal..."

A Thanksgiving Blog? That’s kinda campy, corny or uninspiring – certainly there can be a more original display of divine gratitude…

Again this year there is so much to be thankful for: provision of the basic needs of life, health, friends and family. Victories, successes, sunsets and plans that worked provide the sustenance of what we count as our blessings. But what about the failures, sickness, storms and the plans that never got off the ground? Thanks in ALL things?

If there is one thing that I have learned this year is that each of those things I cannot accomplish myself – God can…and He can thru me. It’s not that “I” can do all things thru Christ who gives me strength, BUT it’s CHRIST in me who brings strength enabling me to do all things. I guess that would include giving thanks even in the toughest of circumstances. Now, that’s not where I find myself today. But I have friends who are there. I have to be thankful that the same Christ who gives support to my weakness will be allowed the chance to do the same for them.

I have seen this year more than ever that God’s ways are far beyond my understanding. My gratitude is given in full trust that He extends His grace to all and is benevolent enough to allow each of us a place in His great plan.

So thanks Lord for allowing me the opportunity to live the life You have called me to – I should want nothing else…oh yeah, and thanks too for that mess of leaves in the yard that needs to be moved this weekend.

FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY

Several weeks ago, I was reading an article regarding the role of evangelicals in our recent election. A statement in the article jumped off the page and hit me square in the face: “In this election, the economy has become a moral issue for evangelicals.”

My initial reaction was one of shock, denial and disbelief. There is no way that one’s finances equate with their moral character or ethical decisions. Only a world operating apart from absolutes would yield such a selfish perspective.

However, after some prayer, deep thought and Scriptural searching, I have begun to see how this might actually bear some truth. There are elements to our economic situation that DO hold moral value:

- The poverty-stricken who are struggling due to the loss of a job or a health issue. The Bible addresses helping the poor far more often than many of the moral standards we establish.
- How about the greed and avarice that lie behind a corrupt financial system built on false pretences and encouraging people to make bad decisions. Proverbs anyone?
- Speaking of which – how many of us are in direct conflict with Scripture simply by being in debt? (See, my hand is raised too)

Each of these is a moral issue operating as a direct result of our ‘amoral economy’. So do we as Evangelicals, as Christians face the economy as a moral issue?

From Habakkuk 3:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Picture the background of this verse: an agricultural based economy that has fallen on hard times…In agri-business, the recovery will take longer than tomorrow, next week or even next month…YET…I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

So even if the morals of money pollute our horizon, we find refuge in a God who cares about sparrows and hairs on our head, not to mention the dollar in our pocket.