And so the Thanksgiving season is upon us.
Now is a time when we are called, encouraged, or otherwise inspired to consider the reasons why we are thankful. We do it individually. We do it in families and other small groups. We discuss it in larger groups. Presidents and other leaders make sweeping pronouncements of collective thankfulness.
There is a human tendency to prioritize thankfulness more when times are good. That is not to say that we are not thankful at other times, but it is easy to let adversity and frustrations distract us from thankfulness. Yet, some of our nation’s finest Thanksgiving proclamations have come during those difficult times. President Abraham Lincoln wrote one of the most powerful statements of thanksgiving on October 3, 1863, at arguably the darkest hour in our nation’s history. On November 2, 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt was tasked to proclaim a time of thanksgiving only two months after William McKinley’s death unexpectedly thrust him into the highest office in the land. Roosevelt acknowledged his predecessor’s assassination and wrote, “[y]et in spite of this great disaster, it is nevertheless true that no people on earth have such abundance cause for thanksgiving as we have.”
There are plenty of reasons to be dour if a person makes up their mind to be dour. There are wars and rumors of wars across the globe. Government statistics about “growth” and The Economy can offer pronouncements from on high as to whether the times should be classified as good or bad. If you cannot find a suitable reason to be angry, a manufactured social media outrage is always just around the corner. And yet, just like every other era in the arc of human history, there are ample reasons to be thankful and optimistic if a person only chooses to do so. In fact, I would say that opportunity abounds!
What is that opportunity? If one subscribes to a particular view of the world, then you know the two greatest commandments: love God and love your neighbor. Therein lies all the opportunity and the reasons to be thankful.
If we love God, then we must rightly love everything created by Him. The whole world is before us to be loved, cherished, and stewarded as if we are called by God to do so. Spoiler alert: we are! If we love our neighbor, then we must love people. That includes all people, no matter how much they do or do not think/look/act/live like us.
Living out these commandments is adequately and uncomfortably summed up by 20th century Christian social activist Dorothy Day, who said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” Read that one more time and let it sink in.
Rightly living out these commandments is a full-time, 24/7/365 pursuit. As it should be! None of us will ever master this art during our life. The success is in the journey, not in the competition of the race.
As I prepare myself for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am thankful to have the opportunity to live out these commandments. In turning my mental focus accordingly, the meaningless things of the world fall away and become just that, meaningless things. This is counterintuitive to so much of what has been thrust upon us in our lifetime, but it is a healthy and refreshing perspective to pursue.
I am thankful for you, readers! I appreciate that you join me on this weekly mental journey. I hope you will also join me in considering the two greatest commandments and being thankful for the opportunity to live them out.
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the Rural Church and State and West of 98 podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found.