Since When?! November 23, 2015
A little archived blog still applicable this Thanksgiving:
Since When??
I was watching TV with the family yesterday, enjoying the Cowboys game. This is one of the few times we actually watch network TV and not Netflix or Amazon. I like the control these bring me and not being forced to sit through ads or subjecting my children to some commercial for a new show about something shockingly scary while they stare at the TV, being scarred for life.
It kind of shocks the system to be exposed to all of the advertising. All the boom-chicka-booming music and the ads that are supposed to be silly and you wonder what on earth they’re advertising (even though its probably a tablet, its almost always a tablet) and the artists and trends I’ve never heard of because I’m a prude and I’m getting old.
Now, I understand the purpose of commercials. They’re to get you to buy stuff. I get it. If I produced, well, anything I’d want to profit from it. That’s business. These companies want you to spend your hard earned money on something they produce. With the exception of a commercial that some fool is so touched by they cry or laugh hysterically (this fool) they’re mostly annoying.
It’s not like I blame the companies trying to make money but honestly, I’m not running to the store because the TV tells me that the clothes I need to look hip are now 2% percent off if I hurry. And, I’m already sitting on a comfy couch, why do I need a flooflier one? This comes from years of trying to break the habit of caring too much about what people think. It’s not like I fall for each one, running to the car lot ready to sign up for a great new Lexus with a bow on it with zero percent interest until New Year’s and no money down because that will, in fact, complete my awesomeness and make me uber sexy and cool.
I’d just love a Lexus SUV so that my kids could smear cheeto residue all over it and saturate it with a weird smell that I can’t find. Sorry…rabbit trail…
This morning, however, I woke up irritated with the hook-line in one particular commercial. It was telling me that on Thanksgiving, I DESERVE something. “Thanks-getting”. I should get something for ME! Because I deserve it. Actually, this is kind of a theme. Buy it because I deserve it. Because your family deserves it. Because you deserve a luxury vehicle, or phone that takes amazing pictures, or some tablet that unites us all in a beautifully technology driven world, or another tablet, or a far superior tablet, or a sweater, or a floofy couch…
Let’s pluck ourselves out of the present for a moment and place us in the day of the pilgrims. You know, the Mayflower ones.
“Hey, neighbor, I’d like to proclaim that instead of thanking God for this bountiful harvest and the crucial assistance of the friendly neighboring Native American tribes that has allowed us to survive and even thrive in this harsh new environment, I really think I’m going to do something for me during this festive time of celebration. I mean, isn’t it about time to think about myself? I am pretty awesome. I know I eat the food that we’ve mutually harvested and been blessed with and stay in the shelters built by the teamwork of my neighbors but really, to holy heck with this Thankfulness business. I’m just going to concentrate on myself today. Maybe I’ll make myself a gourd pie, or have a whole wild turkey to myself while you massage my dirty pilgrim feet. How luxurious!”
AND THEN WE’D BE DEAD.
Hung from the gallows or scalped or something. Seriously.
Thanksgiving is an awesome, stunning and moving holiday because it’s not about me! Thanksgiving illuminates and has its own glitter and beauty all on its own. While Thanksgiving is something required daily, it is a whole holiday to gather those we love and ENJOY our blessings; to praise God for them!
I have to say, we don’t deserve jack-diddly-squat. We are sinners. We are broken. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE OF US. We would be all but hopeless if it weren’t for God’s grace and mercy and his son, Jesus Christ.
Since when is anything about GETTING?
This is why I don’t do Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving is over and digested. (personal preference, don’t want to tick anyone off). This is why I like our Christmas to be modest in the gift department and high in the quality time department with a big dose of service and stillness in the presence of God.
Let’s fast forward a few hundred years from our Pilgrim and Native American ancestors to our family Thanksgiving. If we can get all the kid cousins to stop sword fighting and screaming for 15 minutes to sit down, say a prayer of thanks, and enjoy a wonderful meal together, THIS IS HUGE! Imagine the implications. Because it’s not about what I can get. It’s about what I have been graciously given.
