Daily Devotional

It has always struck me as odd that the day after Thanksgiving, a day set aside to be thankful for all the things we do have, is regarded as the biggest shopping day of the year. We spend a day reflecting on all that we have, only to go out the next day and get as much more stuff as we possibly can. It is sad really, made even more so by the fact that over the years, the deals and offers and early openings have slowly crept into the day of Thanksgiving itself. If there is a silver lining from COVID, maybe it’s that it has curtailed this push if only by a little bit.

The Bible calls us to not be covetousness, which at its basic definition is wanting that which you do not have. I know I almost always thought of it as wanting what someone else has, and while this is true, it is not that limited in its scope. Every year around Thanksgiving we ask ourselves and those around us to “be thankful” for what we have, our circumstances, our family, etc. It is good to be thankful, we are called to be thankful for what God has given us, but it goes further than that. See I can be thankful for what I have while still desiring more, while still covetting that which I do not yet have to be thankful for.

This passage calls us to be content. In our capitalistic society that’s not really a good word. See what drives our society is the ability to never be content, to always want more, to want better, to want bigger. Not a bad thing when it drives us to do better, to be better. But often our discontent leads us to invest in things that supposedly will make us happy, to fill a void or hole in our life. But as Christians we have all we will ever need and that is Christ. Jesus is much more than just the reason for the season, He is THE reason, for anything, everything. As Christians we are called to be content in Christ, not chasing after the things of this world, but chasing after Him.

So my challenge for you this Thanksgiving is this: If the Christmas holiday season were cancelled suddenly, and there were no more parties, gifts, or family gatherings, could you be content? Could you still be thankful? Would knowing Christ really be enough? I hope that question cuts to your core as much as it cuts to mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved."