| NOVEMBER 5, 2020 -- Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness, And for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.
Psalm 107:21-22
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Proverbs 19:17
My November column usually has some sort of Thanksgiving theme, and this one is no different, except for the emphasis on giving. Early on, God commanded Moses that the Israelites should not only thank God for his blessings upon them but that words of thanks should be accompanied by a sacrificial Thank Offering. Note that this should be a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, meaning that when we give we should be giving enough of something that it becomes an act of sacrifice on our part. As an extreme example of what is definitely NOT an act of sacrifice, imagine that we have a bumper crop of Zucchini, more than we can possibly eat, and we take the surplus down to the local soup kitchen. While this is certainly a good thing to do, it is NOT an act of sacrifice on our part to do so. Giving of one’s abundance is something that God expects us to do, but we get no grace points for it; we have merely done our duty. However, if the soup kitchen in the above example is in the next Town, and you have had to give up watching a favorite show in order to find time to make the delivery, then you have sacrificed something to make your offering.
Mother Teresa once said: “This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts – with a smile.” This should remind us of what St. Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. So, one should give until one feels the pain of sacrifice, but one should at the same time be cheerful about it, because in reality it is only then that we know we have truly given thanks to God by giving to others. Let us all offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of God’s works with joyful singing.
Wishing every one of my readers a truly joyful Thanksgiving. |
