Lessons from Thanksgiving

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving, an American Holiday where we pause to give thanks.  Being thankful is something we should do every day of the year but it is good to take one day out of our busy schedules to pause and give thanks.  Unfortunately, it is becoming more difficult every year to see any displays in stores commemorating Thanksgiving.  For this reason I have decided to take a week off our study of the armor of God.  Instead we are going to focus on lessons we can learn from the history of Thanksgiving.

Our look at the history of Thanksgiving does not begin in America but in England where King James had established the Church of England.  The king would persecute anyone that did not recognize the absolute civil and spiritual authority of the church.  This led to many being hunted down, imprisoned, and even executed for exercising their religious beliefs.  (1) 

One such group calling themselves separatists fled to Holland to escape the persecution of the King of England.  After living in Holland for eleven years, 40 members of this group decided to seek religious freedom in the New World.  Under the leadership of William Bradford, this group set out on their perilous journey to the New World seeking religious freedom.  (1)

Their struggles, however, did not end upon their arrival in the New World for their first winter was perilous with half of the Pilgrims, including William Bradford’s wife, dying of starvation, sickness, or exposure.  This is where the Indians came in, teaching the Pilgrims to plant corn, fish for cod, and skin beavers for coats.  This is where history books stop and claim that the first Thanksgiving feast was a feast to thank the Indians for their help.  (1)

The real story of Thanksgiving is what occurred after the first winter.  Granted the help form the Indians did make life easier but it was not until the Pilgrims abandoned the socialistic contract they made with their merchant sponsors, which called for each of them to share equally by having everything they produced placed into a common store.  Lacking any incentive to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labors, the Pilgrims became lazy only producing just enough to survive.  (1)

William Bradford, knowing this would lead to more starvation, lack, and even death for more of the Pilgrims, instituted a new plan where everyone was assigned a plot of land.  Whatever was produced on that plot of land would belong to each individual.  With this incentive, the Pilgrims produced enough to meet their own needs and were even able to set up trading posts, trading their excess goods with the other Pilgrims and even the Indians.  (1)

The first Thanksgiving was actually the Pilgrims expressing their thanks and gratitude to God for providing them the wisdom to come up with an economic system that would sustain them.  This free-market system is what actually led to the prosperity of the future United States of America.  The Pilgrims invited the Indians to both thank them but to also share the rich blessings they had received from God. 

This practice of giving thanks to God did not end with the Pilgrims for we see it again in George Washington’s first Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789.  Here is the text of his proclamation,

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York

The third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.  (2)

George Washington, unlike many of our politicians today, understood the importance of leaders in Government seeking the wisdom of God when leading the people.  In making his proclamation, George Washington was calling upon the citizens of the newly formed nation to pause and give thanks to God for his protection, rich blessings, and most importantly, his forgiveness of sins.  However, Presidents pausing to give thanks to God did not end with George Washington.

Right in the middle of a bloody Civil War, the nation was suffering in a manner unlike it had ever suffered before.  It seemed like the very fabric holding the young nation together was coming apart and, no doubt, many might have believed the nation would not survive.  It is in the middle of this time of great suffering and trial that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that the last Thursday in November would be a day of thanksgiving.  In his proclamation Lincoln cited the importance of, “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come.”  (3)

Lincoln understood that even in the middle of a great Civil War, God was continuing to bless the nation.  His proclamation was to have the nation take one day each year to pause and reflect on the rich blessings God has bestowed on the nation. 

This Thanksgiving, our nation also finds itself in a time of great struggle.  Many are still out of work with many having given up even looking for work.  (4)  Since the October 1 roll out of Obamacare, millions have lost their health insurance.  (5)  Some of those losing their insurance have life threatening diseases and fear not being able to get the medical care they desperately need.  (6)  However, in spite of these struggles, we remain the best nation on earth in which to live as evidenced by the thousands trying to come to our country. 

It is even more important for us to pause and give thanks to God in these times of struggle.  So, I would like to encourage everyone to pause before waiting to fight the crowds on black Friday and give thanks to God.  Thank him for his mercy, his protection for our nation, and most importantly for sending his Son Jesus to die for our sins. 

1. Limbaugh, Rush. The Real Story of Thanksgiving. www.rushlimbaugh.com. [Online] The EIB Network, November 23, 2011. [Cited: November 26, 2013.] http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2011/11/23/the_real_story_of_thanksgiving.

2. —. George Washington's First Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789. www.rushlimbaugh.com. [Online] The EIB Network, November 24, 2004. [Cited: November 26, 2013.] http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2004/11/24/george_washington_s_first_thanksgiving_proclamation_1789.

3. Payne, Amy. Morning Bell: Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation. blog.heritage.org. [Online] The heritage Foundation, November 22, 2012. [Cited: November 26, 2013.] http://blog.heritage.org/2012/11/22/morning-bell-abraham-lincolns-thanksgiving-proclamation-2/.

4. Jeffrey, Terence P. 90,473,000: Record Number Not in Labor Force--Up Almost 10M Under Obama. www.cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/90473000-record-number-not-labor-force-almost-10m-under-obama.

5. Foundation, The Heritage. Losing Health Insurance Due to Obamacare. www.heritage.org. [Online] The Heritage Foundation, November 15, 2013. [Cited: November 26, 2013.] http://www.heritage.org/research/factsheets/2013/11/losing-health-insurance-due-to-obamacare.

6. CBS DC. Woman Battling Kidney Cancer Losing Company Health Plan Due To Obamacare. washington.cbslocal.com. [Online] CBS DC, November 25, 2013. [Cited: November 27, 2013.] http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/11/25/woman-battling-kidney-cancer-losing-company-health-plan-due-to-obamacare/.