Deuteronomy 8:7-18 Gratitude...
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Deuteronomy 8:7-18
"Gratitude," said the Roman philosopher, Cicero, "is not only the greatest of virtues, but it is the parent of all others." But Cicero never lived in the wilderness.
The people of Israel know the wilderness. All throughout the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, they wander through the desert. It takes them a whole generation to complete their pilgrim's progress from the fleshpots of Egypt to the promised land. Only a handful of those who witness the parting of the Red Sea waters will ever get their feet wet crossing the Jordan. It is only their children who will enter the land God set out for them, the rich land "flowing with milk and honey."
It's possible to take today's reading from Deuteronomy 8 as something like the typical American Thanksgiving Day prayer: "For the bounty of this groaning table, O Lord, we give you hearty [and self-satisfied] thanks." But that would be a huge mistake. Deuteronomy's story of the land flowing with milk and honey is a cautionary tale: "Do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ... [the one who] made water flow for you from flint rock" (vv. 14-15).
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Every Thanksgiving, Dawn and Kevin will invite people from their church or community to share Thanksgiving dinner with them. They invited a woman from church whose husband died earlier in the year to spend the day with them. It would be her first Thanksgiving alone in many years. The thought of Thelma sitting at home all alone on Thanksgiving was all the motivation Dawn needed to include her in their family's celebration. Thelma could hardly believe that she was invited to their home on Thanksgiving.
Another year Kevin invited a young man he met at work, who was going through a painful divorce. His children would celebrate Thanksgiving with their mother and her family, leaving Ron all alone for the holiday. Ron appreciated being with Dawn, Kevin, and their children for the afternoon.
Last year Dawn invited a couple of exchange students from the local college to their home. She met them at church and knew they would not be returning to their native country for Thanksgiving break. All the other students would return home, the dorm would be closed for a couple of days, and they had no where to go. Dawn and Kevin opened their home to the girls who slept in the family room. They had wonderful conversations about different customs in their country. It was a great learning opportunity for Dawn and Kevin's children. Near the end of the semester, Kevin received a long-distance phone call from one of the girl's fathers, thanking him for opening their home for his daughter.
Dawn was asked why she invites others to her home on Thanksgiving. She replied that she was shown kindness from others throughout her life and wanted to welcome those who had nowhere to spend the holiday or who would be alone to her home. "I have been so blessed," Dawn replied, "and would want someone to welcome me if I were in that situation."
The writer of Deuteronomy reminded the people of God who brought them safely out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. "Do not say to yourself, 'My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' "
Thanksgiving is a time when we give thanks to God for our many blessings realizing that all blessings come from God.
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Melvin was a bachelor who lived near a small prairie town. He owned a great deal of land and hired several men to work for him. He lived simply in a small house, chose to fix his machinery rather than buy new ones, and enjoyed very few luxuries of life. Melvin, it was speculated, had a great deal of money. And, Melvin loudly proclaimed that he had no use for God.
Then things began to change for Melvin. His sister, who lived across the country, suffered a tragedy that killed her husband and two children and left her a paraplegic. She came to live with Melvin. That same year, hail came and pounded most of Melvin's crops into the ground. To top it all off, Melvin was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
One Sunday, Melvin and his sister turned up in church. At first he said it was because she wanted to come, but as the Sundays went by, Melvin confessed to his pastor that he abandoned the church when his father died many years ago. When he first purchased his farm he was too busy to give up his Sundays for church. Then he began to prosper and he just figured he didn't need God. It was the series of misfortunes that struck his life that made him realize the error of his ways.
Moses warned the people: When good times come, don't forget God and take the credit for things God has given.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Leonard and Dean hadn't seen one another much after graduating from college forty years before. Leonard (an attorney) visited Dean in late August. Their joy in Leonard's visiting included telling one another as much as they could about their lives and asking questions of each other.
Soon Dean was showing Leonard around his garden and could hardly wait to point, in the midst of the straight and well-hoed rows, to a nine-by-twelve-foot patch of randomly growing beans. Dean said, "What do you think?"
Leonard proved they'd shared a great deal about their current lives and also that he was a good trial attorney when he answered, "One of your grandchildren helped you plant this part of the garden!" The evidence of "broad sowing" becomes obvious.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
There was once a congregation of farmers suffering from a drought. The pastor said, "Go home, pray for rain, and believe; come back next week ready to thank God for the rain." The next week, his parishioners returned. "What are you doing?" their pastor asked. "You certainly aren't ready to worship." "Of course we are!" the farmers responded. "We've been praying and believing all week long." The pastor shook his head. "That's not belief, my friends. If you believed, you would have brought your umbrellas." You reap as much as you sow; surely farmers should have understood that! If you only put in a little faith, you will receive only a little benefit. If you put in a lot of faith, you will receive abundant returns!
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
It is a strange paradox that we admire generosity a great deal, while hesitating to be generous, ourselves. Few things in life give us more joy than giving, but we hold back for reasons we do not always understand. By giving, we feel stronger, better, and a part of something larger than ourselves. We love to give, but something in us is also loathe to give. We're basically generous, we say, but we have to take care of ourselves first.
John Eliot, a seventeenth-century missionary, was noted for his generosity. His yearly salary of fifty pounds was given almost entirely to charity. Once the secretary of the missionary society tried to protect him from his own generosity. The secretary took Eliot's pay and tied a portion of it into each of the four corners of a handkerchief. Then he pulled the knots and tightened them as much as he could before handing the handkerchief to Eliot.
On his way home, Eliot met a woman whose appearance indicated dire poverty. He stopped to speak to her, and soon his heart was so touched that he reached into his pocket to get a coin for her. For some time he pulled and pulled at those knots, but could not access his money. Finally he rolled the handkerchief into a ball and handed it to her saying, "My dear woman, I think the Lord meant for you to have it all." Eliot had learned what many Christians need to learn: "God loves a cheerful giver."
Luke 17:11-19
Some years ago, police officers in Oklahoma City discovered several drivers who were carrying around in their glove compartments a piece of paper called "God's Insurance Policy." These people were convinced that this so-called "policy" -- for which they had paid a fast-talking salesman some $285 -- met the state's motor-vehicle laws. The "policy" was no more than a collection of verses from the Bible, with a statement at the bottom indicating that it had been "issued by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." It also noted that, since fear causes accidents, this policy would protect its holders even better than commercial insurance.
There are always some people who would like nothing better than to sit back passively and let God take all life's problems off their hands -- even, it would seem, obtaining auto insurance. It's people like these for whom the saying was written: "God helps those who help themselves" -- or, in its more colorful variation: "Pray to God, but row toward shore."
Luke 17:11-19
Hurrying to catch a plane, Don had a few minutes to spare so he stopped to buy a newspaper and a box of mints. The cashier silently mouthed the amount, punched keys on her computer, and handed him his change -- all the while carrying on a telephone conversation. Don claims that he was a little irritated at her rudeness and normally would not have thought much about it except that she gave him the wrong amount of change -- she owed him a couple of dollars.
The scene is all too familiar in our world, the distressing loss of courtesy in American life. When informed of her mistake she said, "I'm sorry" and continued talking on the phone. This pushed Don over the edge as he began lecturing her that she would not have short-changed him had she not been distracted by talking on the phone. "Look," she said, "I told you I'm sorry." Don had a few more things to say to her before he left.
Later, on the plane, Don realized that he had been rude as well as the clerk. "My own lack of courtesy was showing," he reflected.
Jesus cleansed ten lepers of their dreadful disease. Only one returned to personally thank Jesus. The one who took the time to thank Jesus received more than physical healing that day. Jesus told him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:11-19
Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who lived 1768-1813 once said, "When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself." All ten lepers were cleansed by Jesus yet only one returned to give thanks. What fault resided within the nine others that caused them to accept the healing without giving thanks?
Luke 17:11-19
My wife and I were once invited to a party in the home of a successful businessman. At the party, he offered to give us a tour of his home. As we toured the house, he kept telling us of all he had done in order to achieve what he had. He spoke of himself as a "self-made man, who got where he got on his own."
As we drove home, my wife and I talked. We asked ourselves, "Didn't he realize the role others had played in his life? He didn't get where he had gotten on his own. His parents worked hard so he could receive a college education. They raised him well. He was influenced by teachers, who shared their knowledge with him. He landed a job with a large corporation that sent him to school and allowed him to use their resources. And God has blessed him with great talents and good health." We could not help but wonder if he had forgotten this.
Do you remember others who played a role in your life? And what about God? Do you realize how God has blessed your life? And have you thanked him?
Luke 17:11-19
Ezra Goodman, in his book, The Fifty-Year Decline and Fall of Hollywood, speaks frankly about prima donna movie stars. He writes of the fantastic, though often non-factual, publicity that goes into the creation of a star. He adds, "True or not, the stars all believe the publicity after a while." Mr. Goodman states, "I have never met a grateful performer in the picture business."
In 1850, Edward Spencer was a student at Northwestern University. One day, while walking along the shore of one of the Great Lakes, he noticed a boat sinking. For the next several hours, he swam to rescue those who were drowning. He saved seventeen people from dying. His efforts broke his health. He was unable to pursue his intended career. As an old man, he acknowledged that not one of those seventeen had ever thanked him.
"Gratitude," said the Roman philosopher, Cicero, "is not only the greatest of virtues, but it is the parent of all others." But Cicero never lived in the wilderness.
The people of Israel know the wilderness. All throughout the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, they wander through the desert. It takes them a whole generation to complete their pilgrim's progress from the fleshpots of Egypt to the promised land. Only a handful of those who witness the parting of the Red Sea waters will ever get their feet wet crossing the Jordan. It is only their children who will enter the land God set out for them, the rich land "flowing with milk and honey."
It's possible to take today's reading from Deuteronomy 8 as something like the typical American Thanksgiving Day prayer: "For the bounty of this groaning table, O Lord, we give you hearty [and self-satisfied] thanks." But that would be a huge mistake. Deuteronomy's story of the land flowing with milk and honey is a cautionary tale: "Do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery ... [the one who] made water flow for you from flint rock" (vv. 14-15).
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Every Thanksgiving, Dawn and Kevin will invite people from their church or community to share Thanksgiving dinner with them. They invited a woman from church whose husband died earlier in the year to spend the day with them. It would be her first Thanksgiving alone in many years. The thought of Thelma sitting at home all alone on Thanksgiving was all the motivation Dawn needed to include her in their family's celebration. Thelma could hardly believe that she was invited to their home on Thanksgiving.
Another year Kevin invited a young man he met at work, who was going through a painful divorce. His children would celebrate Thanksgiving with their mother and her family, leaving Ron all alone for the holiday. Ron appreciated being with Dawn, Kevin, and their children for the afternoon.
Last year Dawn invited a couple of exchange students from the local college to their home. She met them at church and knew they would not be returning to their native country for Thanksgiving break. All the other students would return home, the dorm would be closed for a couple of days, and they had no where to go. Dawn and Kevin opened their home to the girls who slept in the family room. They had wonderful conversations about different customs in their country. It was a great learning opportunity for Dawn and Kevin's children. Near the end of the semester, Kevin received a long-distance phone call from one of the girl's fathers, thanking him for opening their home for his daughter.
Dawn was asked why she invites others to her home on Thanksgiving. She replied that she was shown kindness from others throughout her life and wanted to welcome those who had nowhere to spend the holiday or who would be alone to her home. "I have been so blessed," Dawn replied, "and would want someone to welcome me if I were in that situation."
The writer of Deuteronomy reminded the people of God who brought them safely out of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. "Do not say to yourself, 'My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' "
Thanksgiving is a time when we give thanks to God for our many blessings realizing that all blessings come from God.
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
Melvin was a bachelor who lived near a small prairie town. He owned a great deal of land and hired several men to work for him. He lived simply in a small house, chose to fix his machinery rather than buy new ones, and enjoyed very few luxuries of life. Melvin, it was speculated, had a great deal of money. And, Melvin loudly proclaimed that he had no use for God.
Then things began to change for Melvin. His sister, who lived across the country, suffered a tragedy that killed her husband and two children and left her a paraplegic. She came to live with Melvin. That same year, hail came and pounded most of Melvin's crops into the ground. To top it all off, Melvin was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
One Sunday, Melvin and his sister turned up in church. At first he said it was because she wanted to come, but as the Sundays went by, Melvin confessed to his pastor that he abandoned the church when his father died many years ago. When he first purchased his farm he was too busy to give up his Sundays for church. Then he began to prosper and he just figured he didn't need God. It was the series of misfortunes that struck his life that made him realize the error of his ways.
Moses warned the people: When good times come, don't forget God and take the credit for things God has given.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Leonard and Dean hadn't seen one another much after graduating from college forty years before. Leonard (an attorney) visited Dean in late August. Their joy in Leonard's visiting included telling one another as much as they could about their lives and asking questions of each other.
Soon Dean was showing Leonard around his garden and could hardly wait to point, in the midst of the straight and well-hoed rows, to a nine-by-twelve-foot patch of randomly growing beans. Dean said, "What do you think?"
Leonard proved they'd shared a great deal about their current lives and also that he was a good trial attorney when he answered, "One of your grandchildren helped you plant this part of the garden!" The evidence of "broad sowing" becomes obvious.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
There was once a congregation of farmers suffering from a drought. The pastor said, "Go home, pray for rain, and believe; come back next week ready to thank God for the rain." The next week, his parishioners returned. "What are you doing?" their pastor asked. "You certainly aren't ready to worship." "Of course we are!" the farmers responded. "We've been praying and believing all week long." The pastor shook his head. "That's not belief, my friends. If you believed, you would have brought your umbrellas." You reap as much as you sow; surely farmers should have understood that! If you only put in a little faith, you will receive only a little benefit. If you put in a lot of faith, you will receive abundant returns!
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
It is a strange paradox that we admire generosity a great deal, while hesitating to be generous, ourselves. Few things in life give us more joy than giving, but we hold back for reasons we do not always understand. By giving, we feel stronger, better, and a part of something larger than ourselves. We love to give, but something in us is also loathe to give. We're basically generous, we say, but we have to take care of ourselves first.
John Eliot, a seventeenth-century missionary, was noted for his generosity. His yearly salary of fifty pounds was given almost entirely to charity. Once the secretary of the missionary society tried to protect him from his own generosity. The secretary took Eliot's pay and tied a portion of it into each of the four corners of a handkerchief. Then he pulled the knots and tightened them as much as he could before handing the handkerchief to Eliot.
On his way home, Eliot met a woman whose appearance indicated dire poverty. He stopped to speak to her, and soon his heart was so touched that he reached into his pocket to get a coin for her. For some time he pulled and pulled at those knots, but could not access his money. Finally he rolled the handkerchief into a ball and handed it to her saying, "My dear woman, I think the Lord meant for you to have it all." Eliot had learned what many Christians need to learn: "God loves a cheerful giver."
Luke 17:11-19
Some years ago, police officers in Oklahoma City discovered several drivers who were carrying around in their glove compartments a piece of paper called "God's Insurance Policy." These people were convinced that this so-called "policy" -- for which they had paid a fast-talking salesman some $285 -- met the state's motor-vehicle laws. The "policy" was no more than a collection of verses from the Bible, with a statement at the bottom indicating that it had been "issued by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." It also noted that, since fear causes accidents, this policy would protect its holders even better than commercial insurance.
There are always some people who would like nothing better than to sit back passively and let God take all life's problems off their hands -- even, it would seem, obtaining auto insurance. It's people like these for whom the saying was written: "God helps those who help themselves" -- or, in its more colorful variation: "Pray to God, but row toward shore."
Luke 17:11-19
Hurrying to catch a plane, Don had a few minutes to spare so he stopped to buy a newspaper and a box of mints. The cashier silently mouthed the amount, punched keys on her computer, and handed him his change -- all the while carrying on a telephone conversation. Don claims that he was a little irritated at her rudeness and normally would not have thought much about it except that she gave him the wrong amount of change -- she owed him a couple of dollars.
The scene is all too familiar in our world, the distressing loss of courtesy in American life. When informed of her mistake she said, "I'm sorry" and continued talking on the phone. This pushed Don over the edge as he began lecturing her that she would not have short-changed him had she not been distracted by talking on the phone. "Look," she said, "I told you I'm sorry." Don had a few more things to say to her before he left.
Later, on the plane, Don realized that he had been rude as well as the clerk. "My own lack of courtesy was showing," he reflected.
Jesus cleansed ten lepers of their dreadful disease. Only one returned to personally thank Jesus. The one who took the time to thank Jesus received more than physical healing that day. Jesus told him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:11-19
Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief who lived 1768-1813 once said, "When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself." All ten lepers were cleansed by Jesus yet only one returned to give thanks. What fault resided within the nine others that caused them to accept the healing without giving thanks?
Luke 17:11-19
My wife and I were once invited to a party in the home of a successful businessman. At the party, he offered to give us a tour of his home. As we toured the house, he kept telling us of all he had done in order to achieve what he had. He spoke of himself as a "self-made man, who got where he got on his own."
As we drove home, my wife and I talked. We asked ourselves, "Didn't he realize the role others had played in his life? He didn't get where he had gotten on his own. His parents worked hard so he could receive a college education. They raised him well. He was influenced by teachers, who shared their knowledge with him. He landed a job with a large corporation that sent him to school and allowed him to use their resources. And God has blessed him with great talents and good health." We could not help but wonder if he had forgotten this.
Do you remember others who played a role in your life? And what about God? Do you realize how God has blessed your life? And have you thanked him?
Luke 17:11-19
Ezra Goodman, in his book, The Fifty-Year Decline and Fall of Hollywood, speaks frankly about prima donna movie stars. He writes of the fantastic, though often non-factual, publicity that goes into the creation of a star. He adds, "True or not, the stars all believe the publicity after a while." Mr. Goodman states, "I have never met a grateful performer in the picture business."
In 1850, Edward Spencer was a student at Northwestern University. One day, while walking along the shore of one of the Great Lakes, he noticed a boat sinking. For the next several hours, he swam to rescue those who were drowning. He saved seventeen people from dying. His efforts broke his health. He was unable to pursue his intended career. As an old man, he acknowledged that not one of those seventeen had ever thanked him.
