On Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I hope you're enjoying the holiday and time with family. I really am. I don't get to see all of my family very much, and I'm relishing the opportunity.

I'm also relishing the food. We always have a great spread on Thanksgiving Day. My mom is a great cook, and she, my grandmother (when she's able), and my aunt always do a wonderful job cooking up food for Thanksgiving. I always eat more than I need and less than I'd like, if that makes sense to you.

In the midst of all this feasting and merriment, though, a somber thought always hits me. There are a whole lot of families across this world who are not able to celebrate Thanksgiving like us. More specifically, there are thousands of poor people who would be happy just to eat a slice of bread on Thanksgiving Day.

Now I'm not trying to throw a guilt trip on you after you just finished eating your giant Thanksgiving meal; however, I am trying to tell you what I think God wants us to hear. Yes, we can enjoy a good meal, hang out with family, and relax for a couple of days. Yes, there is a time for feasting and for joy. But at the same time, we must bear in mind that not everyone has the luxury of carving up a big turkey for Thanksgiving. There are poor people everywhere who are forgotten on this day of celebration. They sit there and starve while we gorge ourselves as gluttons.

There's something wrong here. It's not Thanksgiving. There's nothing wrong with a holiday for giving thanks. It's not family. There's nothing wrong with spending time with those we love. It's not a feast. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of food for a lot of people.

It's our selfish nature. We drown ourselves in stuff we don't need while people starve. That's consumerism. That's America. That's what Thanksgiving has turned into.

So let's change things up. Instead of sitting around eating more than you ever needed, look for an opportunity to help someone today. Or even if it isn't today, look for someone in need tomorrow. There are broken, hungry people everywhere, and we as God's people have been called to help the poor.

Let's help them. Let's turn this day of gluttony into a day of giving. Let's turn a holiday of gorging into a holy day of showing love to one another. Let's turn a day of want into a day of meeting needs.

Let's make it a true day of thanks AND giving.