Giving Thanks

There's an interesting Thanksgiving prayer in the classis movie "Shenandoah"when the family patriarch, played by Jimmy Stewart, says the blessing over the dinner.



The prayer does a lot to establish Stewart's character who is a proud, self-relaint, and pig-headed. He believes in himself and his family and not much of anything else. Bhy the end of the movie the tragedies he experiences in the Civil War have opened his heard and broadened his world at least a little.

I thought of this prayer on this Thanksgiving day because it reflects other things I've heard about thanking not thanking God. It's been a trend for a few years now for celebrities to thank God first when they win a Grammy, an Oscar, or some similar award. It's also become routime for comedians to mock this because it seems to suggest that this person winning is a priority for God.

Sports figures who thank God for a victory, a championship, etc. are also mocked by comedians. they point out that, if God has miraculously helped one team win he has also caused the other team to lose. Some also chide the athletes for failing to take responsibility for their own victories.

Finally, I've seen some people mock celebrities who thank God for healing. When Magic Johnson's HIV went into remission he and his wife publically thanked God, and I saw an on-line column blasting them for it. The article suggested that it would have been appropriate to thank his doctors, or the researchers who came up with AZT and other medicines that helped. Thanking God, the article suggested, was stupid and showed a lack of appreciation for the people who really helped.

There are things here that I agree with. I can't see God caring that much who wins"Best Album" at the Grammies, or intervening in the Superbowl. Also, if someone blows off the contributions of doctors and researchers when they thank God for a healing, I don't think that's right. (BTW, I don't thing that was Magic's attitude, or the attitude of many people who experience that kind of recovery. I don't think I've ever seen a case where thanking God made the recovering person any less grateful to all the people involved. It's not as if someone who's just gotten their life back has a shortage of gratitude.

As for "taking responsibility" for our acievements... that seems like a strange argument. It sounds like they are suggesting that superstars and celebrities suffer from tiny egos and that an excess of humility is going to sweep through them like a plague. (Wouldn't that be awful?)

The critics of thanking God have got some fair points, but I think they've missed the point. It's not about imagining that God likes me better then the next guy, or that every little success I have is thanks to supernatural intercession. Thanking God is realizing that we don't accomplish anything all by ourselves. We are connected to others, to family, to friends, to teammates and opponents, to docrtors and nurses and scientists, to producers, and backup singers, and directors, and to so many other people whose contributions to our lives we may not even be aware of. And as we are connected to each other, we are also connected to God. When we feel joy, success, elation, we are feeling our connection to God in that moment and thanksgiving is the most natural response in the world.

Thanksgiving shouldn't be just about the victories in our lives, because God is always with us. When we realize that, we find ourselves seeing blessings in every little thing, and feeling thankful every moment.

It's a better way to live, celebrating your blessings and feeling thankful for them. To go back to the movies, it's the difference between living like the stern and angry Jimmy Stewart from the beginning of "Shenandoah" and the thankful, joyful Jimmy Stewart at the end of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Which Jimmy Stewart would you rather be?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!