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ROKU AppCelebrating the Day of Entitlement—I Mean, Thanksgiving
Written by Adam Sanders
Has the attitude of Thanksgiving become a lost cause?
American Thanksgiving is coming up Nov. 24, though it seems to get less attention every year. It’s the national holiday that is tucked in between the ghoulish and increasingly lucrative holiday of Halloween and the shopping extravaganza called Christmas. (For more about the attitudes and customs behind these celebrations, see our booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.)
Thanksgiving is less of a moneymaker for retailers, so it has become less prominent in advertisements and in people’s minds. It has become more about football and overeating instead of being thankful for what we have been blessed with in the United States and in our families.
Or maybe the decline in Thanksgiving is because the national sentiment has drifted toward the entitlement mentality instead of being thankful. Have we become a nation of people who believe we are owed this or entitled to that?
But really, nothing is guaranteed in life except that if you are born, you will die. The U.S. founding fathers wrote that our unalienable rights include “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In recent times it seems as if we want to continually add to the list of rights, without considering the corresponding responsibilities.
The problem with entitlement thinking
The problem with the entitlement road is that it leads to nowhere. It continues on and on with no end in sight. Entitlement just creates the attitude that I am owed something, but once I get that, I move on to wanting the next thing. Like greed, entitlement’s appetite is insatiable. We never become truly content or thankful for what we have.
If you look through the Bible, you can see examples of entitlement thinking, and they lead to very bad consequences. You can read about:
- King Ahab and Queen Jezebel’s evil plot to get Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21).
- Gehazi’s lies to get some of Naaman’s wealth (2 Kings 5:20-27).
- The people of Judah, who thought God would bless them in spite of their sins just because His temple was in their land (Jeremiah 7).
Entitlement thinking can destroy our work ethic, our drive to work hard to better ourselves and our thankfulness.
God wants us instead to learn contentment. He tells us, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
If we are never thankful, then we are never content. Contentment derives from the attitude of being happy and appreciative for what we have. We need to learn through life that we will not get everything, no matter what status we hold or what we have done or whom we know. Life is about being thankful for the blessings God has given us and being content in whatever state we are in. This is especially so if we have enough that we can share our blessings and gifts with others.
Life is not about always wanting and needing to be granted more things.
Whom do we give thanks to?
Thanksgiving should be a day to be thankful for all that we have been granted and blessed with. God is the author of everything, and everything is His. He just loans it to us while we are here on earth. We cannot take anything with us when we die.
Life itself can be one of the biggest blessings we have. Although some people’s lives are extremely difficult because of health problems or other trials, people who struggle through life have told me they are thankful for the more important things we all take for granted: for family and friends, for the chance to have a relationship with our Creator and the chance to learn and prepare for eternal life in God’s Kingdom.
Let’s not fall into the vicious cycle of entitlement, and let’s remember what the true meaning of Thanksgiving was, is and should be.
Adam Sanders is a member of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, and attends the Columbus/Cambridge, Ohio, congregation with his wife and four children.
For more about thankfulness and Thanksgiving, see:
