Stealing Thanks

(2 Minute Read)

Are you alert to the pagan/secularist practice of deflecting attention and focus away from the Great Creator? One example is the use of the term “Mother Earth.”

In the lower left-hand corner of last Sunday’s Parade Magazine cover it says,
“We celebrate all who come to our rescue — from first responders and comfort dogs to shelters and protectors of Mother Earth.”

The earth is not anybody’s mother. It was created by the Great Creator on the First Day of Creation Week as a habitation for mankind. It is man’s place to live, work, and play. It is where man glorifies his Creator through his life and worship.

The earth is not a giver of anything. The earth is a gift from God. It is an inanimate entity; it has no life, personality, or character. Any thanks, praise, or credit given to “Mother Earth” is robbing the Great Creator of the honor He is due.

The recent Thanksgiving season reminded me of another example of secular attempts to deflect credit away from the Great Creator. For example, for decades at Thanksgiving people have wished me “Happy Turkey Day.” I always reply by saying, “Have a Blessed Thanksgiving.”

This year there’s a new term for the Thanksgiving holiday that I’ve been seeing. It’s included here in the GEICO ad in the lower right corner of the Parade Magazine cover. Many people are now calling the holiday “Friendsgiving.”

Referring to the season as “Turkey Day” or “Friendsgiving” deliberately avoids the meaning and reason for the season. The original meaning and long-standing purpose of the day was to give thanks to the Creator for His many blessings showered upon us during the preceding year. Calling the occasion “Turkey Day” or “Friendsgiving” completely obfuscates the occasion’s purpose.

Thankfully, not everyone avoids the meaning of the day. Here is a picture of a Wendy’s marquee in Statesville, North Carolina. It has precisely the right idea for Thanksgiving: “We Give Thanks to God.” This was on both sides of the marquee.

Another example is Christmas. For decades secularists have been trying to remove Christ (who is the reason for the season) from Christmas. A major mall near my house has long avoided the word Christmas. Instead they use “Giving Season.” Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ (Anointed One) sent to redeem His people from their sins.

When store clerks wish me “Happy Holidays” or some such empty phrase, I always reply, “Merry Christmas.” They almost always then say “Merry Christmas” back to me.

Be sure to wish people a “Merry Christmas” this year whenever the opportunity arises. And be prepared to explain the true reason why Christmas is a merry time.

Questions to Ponder

1. Do you consciously thank the Great Creator for His blessings on a daily basis?
2. What simple phrase can you use that credits the Great Creator in the presence of others?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.

Soli Deo Gloria.

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©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
“for the defense of the gospel”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 1:16)
Wednesday November 29, 2017 A.D.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:4 NASB)