Chuck Bridges Blog

I don’t know about you but it gets harder every year for me to really enjoy the Thanksgiving season because of the bombardment of Christmas “marketing.” I know it is a tired old argument but I still can’t help commenting about my disdain for the way the retailers force us to think about Christmas early in November. Now, I know Christmas is a wonderful holiday and I can’t wait to celebrate the “tireless” story of Christ’s birth with my family. But, it just doesn’t seem like Christmas to me yet!!

The main reason I get uptight about the marketing ploys of those who can’t wait for people to spend money they don’t have is this: the earlier the focus is on Christmas “shopping” the less time people spend thinking about the season of Thanksgiving. Just this week I heard one of the great stories about how the early pilgrims risked their lives to come to the “new land” so that they could worship Jesus Christ without interference from King James! (Yes this is the dude that has his name on the King James version of the Bible — he wasn’t a very nice guy!)

Thanksgiving is not only a special time in the history of our great nation, it is also one of the most important disciplines in the Christian faith. The Bible says that we cannot even get close to the presence of God without being thankful! (Psalm 100:4) It is the attitude of Thanksgiving (you thought I was going to say gratitude didn’t you) that keeps us from being consumed by the negatives in our lives. When we stop to focus on all the reasons we have to be thankful, it should cause us to slow our pace a little and spend some quality time with people who really count!

This Thanksgiving season I want to take the time to not only tell my family and friends how special they are to me but to show them! The best thing we can do for those who are special to us is spend time with them. Find time for the ones who will be standing over your casket when you die. It seems like we spend too much time worrying about the opinion of others who will not even lose their appetite when we die!

If you can’t find anything else to be thankful for think about this: You can be thankful that you have eyes to read and a mind to understand this article; also, if you are reading this article that means you probably have a computer and the internet (and electricity). So, BE THANKFUL! Finally, if you want to truly experience the wonders of the Christmas season, preface it with a season of being genuinely thankful for Jesus Christ! If He lives in your heart then you certainly have plenty to be thankful for. If not, He would love to enter your heart!

THANK YOU!