BARRIERS TO THANKSGIVING
(The original author unknown; reworked by David Riggs)
Intro.
A. 1 Thess. 5:18; Eph. 5:20; Heb. 13:15
B. A young man shared an apartment with three other graduate
students who also had part-time jobs while in college. Each
took turns preparing the meals, which usually consisted of
canned vegetables, hamburger meat, baked potato, and was barely
edible. No matter how poor the meal was, Joe always said, "THAT
WAS A MIGHTY FINE DINNER." One evening the meal was
worse than usual, and Joe made his regular comment. One said,
"Why do you always say that when this was hardly fit for human
consumption?" Joe answered, "I come from a family of 11
children. My mother would spend all afternoon in the kitchen
preparing dinner. One night when she called us to the table,
there was only a plate and straw on each plate. My father
looked at it and asked, "What is this straw doing on my plate?"
Mother said, "Oh! you noticed. This is the first time you have
given any indication that you noticed what was on your plate."
Joe then said, "I vowed that I would always express my
appreciation to the person who had prepared my meal." (From
"Dear Abby" 11/21/96)
C. We often take for granted things for which we should be
grateful.
1. Let's consider some barriers to thanksgiving, with a view of
breaking down those barriers.
I. Barrier #1 - Thoughtlessness
A. It's interesting that "think" and "thank" come from the same
Anglo-Saxon root word.
1. Often we are not grateful because we just don't think.
2. We don't think of what God has done for us.
3. We don't think of God's love and care for us.
4. Many are like hogs feeding at the trough, eating, and never
looking up to see where their food is coming from.
B. Many of the Psalms are beautiful songs of thanksgiving. Psalm
30:1-12; 103:1-5; 105:1-3; 106:1-3
1. Thus, the Psalmist enumerates the ways in which he had
been blessed.
2. In what ways are we blessed?
a. We need to give thanks for Bibles, this building we
meet in, our teachers, song leaders, and our fellow
church members.
b. We need to give thanks for forgiveness, redemption,
knowledge of truth, and God's mercy and grace.
c. We might give thanks for the big things, but often
forget the small things.
3. Dr. Paul Rees tells the true story of a man whose job was to
transport people who had been committed to a mental
hospital. After delivering a patient one day, he was walking
back to his car when he heard a voice call out, "Hey you!"
It came from one of the upper floors. Looking up, the man
called back, "Are you speaking to me?" "Yes, I am," came
the reply, "I want to ask you a question. Have you ever
thanked God that you have a healthy mind?" To say the
least, the driver was stunned. He said, "I suddenly realized
that I had been bringing people to this facility for some
fifteen years; yet, I had never once thanked God for a good
mind!" Truly, let us learn to give thanks for the things we
so often take for granted.
II. Barrier #2 - Faithlessness
A. Giving thanks is the spontaneous expression of those who have a
genuine faith in God.
B. People who refuse to believe can never really be thankful.
Rom. 1:20-21
C. All gifts come from God. James 1:17
1. If you don't give thanks, do you really believe all things
come from God?
2. Poor response to God is due to poor faith in God.
3. Ted Malone, whose radio show came on early in the
morning, told of the Idaho shepherd who wrote: "Will you,
on your broadcast, strike the note 'A'? I'm a sheepherder
way out here on a ranch, far away from a piano. The only
comfort I have is my old violin. It's all out of tune. Would
you strike 'A' so that I might get in tune?" Malone honored
the request. Later he received a "thank you" note from the
distant shepherd saying, "Now I'm in tune."
4. One of the most tragic situations in life is when a
Christian, through his unfaithfulness, becomes "out of tune"
with God.
a. Through repentance and prayer we can be restored to
our former relationship and be "in tune" once again.
III. Barrier #3 - Discontentment
A. Before we can genuinely be thankful, we must develop
contentment. Phil. 4:11-12; 1 Tim. 6:6-8
1. Too many suffer from the "thanks...but" syndrome.
a. They are grateful, but are not satisfied.
b. They say "thanks," but ask, "how can I receive more?"
c. They say "thanks," but ask "why didn't I receive
something else?"
B. Consider how the early pilgrims were grateful.
1. Of the 102 who started on the voyage of the Mayflower, 46
had died in the first year.
2. Only 3 couples escaped death of one of their partners.
3. They had only a few personal possessions, and lived in crude
log huts.
4. After those first hard years, they had a custom that at
their Thanksgiving Day dinner there would be five kernels of
corn on each plate. Before the meal each person would be
required to mention five things for which to be thankful.
The five kernels reminded them that at one time it was the
daily allotment of corn - five kernels per person per day.
5. Instead of complaining about our hardships and problems,
let us enumerate the things for which we can be thankful.
IV. Barrier #4 - Selfishness
A. Those who have been blessed by God must learn to be a blessing.
B. Matt. 18:23-35
1. The servant owed his master an enormous sum. Each talent
equaled 91 pounds. There are 16 oz. in a pound. He owed
10,000 talents, and when multiplied, equaled about 16
million dollars. It took about 15 years of labor to earn one
talent; thus, it would take 150,000 years of labor to pay
his debt.
2. His fellow servant owed him 100 denari, which was the
common day's wages; thus, it would take about 100 days of
labor to pay his debt.
3. Not showing mercy to others indicates that we are not
thankful for the mercy God has shown to us. Matt. 18:35
C. Selfishness says:
1. "Why should I be thankful? I earned it myself."
2. "I deserved more than I received."
3. "Why help others, they haven't helped me."
D. Those who receive the letters written to Santa Clause say that
they receive thousands of letters from Children requesting
things at Christmas, but, so far as they know, they have only
received one letter from a child thanking Santa Clause for the
gifts.
1. I mention this only to show that selfishness, without
thanksgiving, is in the hearts of many from an early age.
V. Barrier #5 - Failure Through Neglect
A. Luke 17:11-19
1. No doubt, the other nine lepers were thankful for their
healing, but they failed to show their appreciation.
2. Most of us are thankful for God's blessings, but through
neglect we fail to express our appreciation.
Concl.
A. Let's resolve to be thankful people.
B. In Africa there is a fruit called the "taste berry." It is so
called because it changes a person's taste so that everything
eaten tastes sweet and pleasant. Sour fruit, even if eaten
several hours after the taste berry, becomes sweet and
delicious.
1. Thanksgiving is the "taste berry" of Christianity. When our
hearts are filled with gratitude, nothing seems unpleasantor
overbearing to us.
2. Sorrowing heart, sweeten your grief with gratitude.
Burdened soul, lighten your burden by singing God's praises.
Disappointed one, dispel your heartache by making others
grateful. Sick one, grow strong in your soul, thanking God
that you are healthy and strong spiritually.
C. Have we shown our appreciation to God for what He has done
for us?
1. We need to be thankful for the salvation God had provided.
2. We should show our appreciation by obeying Him.
Chart:
Barriers To Thanksgiving
Barrier #1 - Thoughtlessness
Barrier #2 - Faithlessness
Barrier #3 - Discontentment
Barrier #4 - Selfishness
Barrier #5 - Failure Through Neglect