autumnal table setting with "give thanks" written on tablecloth

Thanksgiving is Not a Duty

November 27, 2019

by Adam Andrews

Do you ever feel guilty at Thanksgiving because you’re not thankful enough? Do you ever evaluate your degree of thankfulness and find yourself wanting? Does it sometimes seem like thankfulness is a duty, just one more thing that is expected of you that you are failing to perform adequately?

Me, too, all the time.

To be perfectly honest, I often respond to this feeling of inadequacy with an irritable mental retort: “If the blessings in my life were really overwhelming, I wouldn’t have to try so hard to be thankful for them.” It’s kind of mercenary, but let’s admit it: a mind-boggling, over-the-top gift is easy to be thankful for, because a.) you didn’t deserve it in the first place, and b.) despite not deserving it, you need it badly.

Maybe my problem is not that I’m a failure at thankfulness; maybe I just don’t know a mind-boggling, over-the-top gift when I see one.

In Matthew chapter 17, Jesus was asked whether he paid the temple tax – that is, whether he observed all the moral and ethical requirements of his religion in order to stay right with God. He responded by pointing out that the sons of the king are exempt from the duties owed by foreigners, and he included all of his disciples in this “sonship” exemption. Then, instructing one of his disciples to go and catch a random fish, Jesus made a coin appear in the fish’s mouth, exactly enough for the temple tax. Having already been exempted, the disciple could now pay the tax anyway from Jesus’ miraculous gift.

The implications of this story, and of the Gospel it explains, are staggering – especially for those of us who realize how desperately we need what Jesus is giving away: approval, self-worth, reputation, identity, and peace with God.

The good news is that the obligations under which we labor, whether self-imposed or laid upon us by the tenets of our faith, are null and void. The King may require them of foreigners, but His own sons are exempt forever. As His sons by the work of Jesus, we have permanent peace with God, whether or not we ever perform another act of Christian charity, or selfless generosity, or faithful homeschooling.

Beyond that, God is pleased to meet the moral, ethical and religious obligations of our faith in us and for us, even though they are not required! By the miraculous, mysterious ways that only He commands, He will make us complete in his own time. As a result, all of our striving and self-evaluation is beside the point. The work has already been done in our behalf, and it is a work of God – a gift from God – from first to last.

Can this be true? Has everything you need for peace, joy, and fulfillment really been given to you absolutely free, with no strings attached? If it were true, and you could grasp it, thankfulness would not be a duty; I think it would pour out of you like water, and music, and joyful noise, and you would be too busy thanking God to wonder whether you were doing it well enough.

Here’s praying that this year, we can see God’s mind-boggling, over-the-top gift for what it really is!