The greatest profit of all…
Holidays in this country can be a bit confusing. Especially Thanksgiving. Retailers move from Halloween to Christmas with their advertisements and decorative displays. Except for a few parades and the mention of turkey dinner and football (where that fits in with the spirit of thanksgiving, I’ve yet to figure out!), I wonder how much we really dwell on the idea of giving thanks. Or better yet, giving thanks to whom?
Most of us would say giving thanks to God, but honestly, which god? In our pluralistic society there are so many choices. Does it really matter as long as we are grateful?
I would contend that yes, it would do society good to have each of us develop a grateful spirit, rather than a critical one. Imagine if people in general were patient and gracious and thankful even when they feel angry and frustrated or are in a hurry. And yet, all the gratitude in the world does us no good if we do not have the right focus, and the right object for our gratitude.
So what makes a truly grateful spirit? The answer lies in the gospel of Luke:
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
True gratitude comes when we recognize who we are compared to who He is and what He has done for us. For he who has been forgiven much, loves much. But forgiveness is a gift from God that can’t be bought or sold. Maybe that is why the retailers skip over the holiday. Gratitude produces little profit.
And yet, in light of eternity, it garners the greatest profit of all.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
