Because of Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to take a break from the usual technical stuff and write a blog post about thankfulness. It’s not something you’ll find in any IRS publication, but it is a financial issue. As I Timothy 6:6-10 says, 

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (NIV)

Contentment is a powerful protective covering over our hearts and it originates in thankfulness. As such, thankfulness is the foundation of a God-honoring life, one that leaves us satisfied.

I was reminded of this recently when I saw some pictures from four years ago. My daughter has always been the last in the family to wake up, but one morning I came downstairs to find her writing a song. She had woken up with a worship song on her heart so she was writing it out. This is what she wrote:

The following morning, she did the exact same thing. As soon as she woke up, she went right to work writing. Here’s her second song:

What really struck me about her songs was not the creativity or even the fact that she was writing them, but that they were both centered on thankfulness. Her little 6-year-old heart woke up in the morning overflowing with thankfulness. How wonderful is that?

Don’t you wish we could all be that way? Just gushing with gratitude every step of the way on this journey called life?

But it’s hard. We are always cognizant of all the Lord has done for us and I think most of us are grateful on an intellectual level. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to get our feelings to match with what we know in our heads. 

I think God orchestrated things to have Thanksgiving right before Christmas as a way to prepare our hearts for the commercialized mayhem that the holiday has become. There is no other time of year when materialism rears its ugly head more strongly. 

Does the Christmas season ever leave you thinking…

I wish I could afford to get my son that virtual reality headset all of his friends are getting for Christmas. He’s going to feel so left out.

I wish I had a house with a beautiful staircase and banister to drape with Christmas garlands. I’m embarrassed to have people come and see my pathetic Christmas decorations in my little, old house.

I wish I could afford to buy my wife that diamond necklace in the catalog she’s had on the kitchen counter. Oh, how her eyes would light up to receive a little box on Christmas morning.

My kids are so excited for Christmas, I hope they’re not too disappointed that we can only afford one gift for each of them. 

The time leading up to Christmas (which keeps getting longer and longer) is when every retailer sets out to show you all the wonderful things that you never knew you needed or wanted. They are opening your eyes to everything you’re missing out on, much as the fruit of the tree of good and evil opened Adam and Eve’s eyes. In opening your eyes, they are also opening your heart to discontentment. 

Why are so many people sad over the holidays? Because they are focusing on everything they don’t have. The loved one that passed away; the newest iPhone; the normal, functional family that makes beautiful memories together instead of ending the night in cold silence; gifts overflowing from under the tree for their beloved children; a handsome sweetheart like in the Hallmark movies; a beautiful house covered in twinkling lights. 

It’s like the devil has tried to turn the beautiful message of Christmas, Emmanuel, God with us, to Look at all of the wonderful things that you don’t have and you’ll never be able to have.

Don’t fall for it. Fight against it. Even if you hardly have two pennies to rub against each other, you still have so much.

During this holiday season when ungratefulness and discontentment are crouching at the door, focus on what you do have instead of what the world is trying to sell you. Look for the silver lining even on things that you would never consider to be a blessing.

Are you broke? Jesus said that it’s harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. If you are completely self-sufficient, what use do you have for God? Thank the Lord for giving you a way to constantly draw near to Him and learn to depend more fully on him through your lack of finances. 

Are you missing a loved one? Thank God that they are in his presence, free of pain and sorrow, and you’ll get to see them again one day. If that’s not true, thank him for the motivation that their passing provides for you to share his love with others so that they don’t face the same fate. 

Are you far from your family? For some people, that in itself is a blessing. If you miss your family this holiday season, thank God for the extra time and attention that their absence provides that you can use to identify and reach out to others who are lonely and struggling.

Are you struggling with debilitating health problems like I am? (Yes, I still have long covid and no, it hasn’t really improved this year.) At least you’re still alive. As long as we’re still breathing, there’s hope for healing. Instead of focusing on what you can’t do anymore, focus on what you still have, whether it’s some physical capability, loved ones, or even just the technology you’re reading this on.

Are you envious of your friends who have nicer houses and more money to spend than you? Thank God you have friends and you’re welcome in their beautiful homes!

This holiday season, the world will try to get you to focus on everything you don’t have. 

DON’T DO IT. 

Stop what you’re doing right now and make a list of at least ten things that you’re grateful for. This is Thanksgiving week, it should be easy for you.

Don’t just think of them, though, you need to write them down. Write them down and print out your list. Put one next to your TV so that when the commercial comes on with the beautiful person with expensive jewelry having a great time at a holiday party, you can remind yourself of how blessed you are instead of longing for what they have.

Put a copy of your list by your computer so that when you get all of the spam from retailers, you can remind yourself that you have all you truly need. Put a copy in your purse or wallet, so that when you go to buy something, you are reminded of what really matters in life.

Instead of letting the commercialization of Christmas get you down this year, face the season with gratefulness and thanksgiving. If you need to, write a song like my daughter’s and start every day with it. Contentment is a shield that will protect your heart and right now is the time to gear up to defend it in the weeks to come.

And for any parents out there who feel bad that they can’t do more for their kids this Christmas, it’s going to be okay. My family didn’t even celebrate Christmas when I was young and when we started, there wasn’t much money for gifts. But that never affected my perception of my parents’ love for me or my security in them as providers. And I like to think that I turned out pretty well, in spite of it all. Your kids will too.