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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November, 1934
The LACK and the KNACK o f Thanksgiving B y JAMES K. MOORHEAD Boston, Massachusetts
I t is an odd thing that Thanksgiving Day as an annual observance comes to us by executive decree when, especially with reference to Christians, the entire Word of God is so emphatic in its teaching regarding continual thanksgiving. Among people who are not spiritually sen sitive, thanksgiving may very easily lapse into disuse, but where the Christian is concerned, and his attitude toward God and His Son is affected, thanksgiving ought to be a never-failing spring o f appreciation. But as we observe American life, it appears that men and women are thankless for what they receive— and indignant for what they don’t ! W e boast o f our recog nized superiority in such privileges as education, cultural program, and civic and federal administration, but we are seldom thankful; and our lack o f appreciation, amount ing to indifference, degrades our priceless heritage to the level o f ridicule from outsiders and betrayal from in siders. The cynic may look with pity on the man who says he is self-made, but that all-too-prevalent malady— that o f being afflicted with the belief that our success is the work o f our own right hand— needs instant correction. To be sure, he who honorably and brilliantly succeeds is to be admired and commended. He deserves credit and praise, especially if he has overcome a serious handicap. But lest he become a prey to the ravages o f human fallibility, he needs to be shown that he did not achieve in his own strength. The Bible puts this matter o f gratitude on a basis, not o f piety, but o f common sense. He is a fool who is not appreciative o f the divine Hand. Every ex perience in life is intended to teach us humility. But how we love to be flattered! How we long for the feathery praise o f the envious! There is even a well-substantiated report that once upon a time an angel o f heaven suc cumbed most ingloriously to that desire! Pride is not the only explanation of the lack of the spirit o f thanksgiving. The practical nature of our times, with the stress upon science, is another cause. And the more we give way to the arrogance o f unstable science, the more we drift away from God. W e have become so practical minded as to be contrary minded, assigning the cause o f our progress to secondary processes rather than to the patient God o f all being. “ In every thing give thanks,” Paul directs. Yet we do not. W e flood our prayers and opinions with anything but thanks—with self-sympathy, wants and woes, pessi mistic views, and optimistic ideals. W e remind God of the heartlessness of the irreligious, o f the indifference of the sophisticated, and o f the waywardness o f the worldly. Very faithfully, day and night, we tell Him all about it, often forgetting our thanks for grace received. There is a knack in giving thanks— a hidden secret not easily learned. Thanksgiving is more than a duty; it is an art, artistically executed only by those who are thought ful enough to be thankful. It requires apostolic stamina, apostolic inconquerability, to reach that large and roomy place where we may be truly thankful in everything. But God has made very plain His will for us. And He has made provision for every human need. He will not suffer
us to be tempted above that we are able, but along with the temptation has provided a means o f escape. Nothing takes God by surprise. The Captain o f our salvation is awake and aware. He has known all about our circum stances before they shaped. Take heart, and thank God. There is a place in the praising crowd about the throne of God for each o f us. as a Christian nation under the sun. I did not expect to see Christian America, but I did expect to see American Christians. Thank God, I have met many good Christians, possessing the same precious faith and the same blessed hope that we cherish. But I have seen also some apostate churches with costly buildings. Some of them looked to me like theaters. One modernist church in New York City is like an idol temple. Would to God that no more of the modernist preachers would go to China, for China has troubles enough of her own. What we need are those who believe the gospel and are willing to spend and be spent for the gospel’s sake. In Mr. and Mrs. Wang there is represented and devel oped to a high degree the type of Christian leadership needed on the mission fields o f the world—men and women who are educated, sound in the faith, consecrated to the Lord. Martin Luther and the German Bible P rotestant Christians cannot measure their obligation to the great Reformation leader whose birthday we commemorate this month. Born November 10, 1483, Mar tin Luther through years o f strenuous conflict gave voice to the yearning o f many hearts for an open Bible and a direct approach to God. Confined for three years in the Wart- burg for refuge after the passage o f the edict at Worms, Luther was enabled, in the gracious providence o f God, to do a work which had a most powerful influence in uniting the reform movement in Germany. Concerning Luther’s translation o f the Word o f God, a labor which engaged his effort during these hidden years, George William Brown, General Secretary o f the American Bible Society, writes: An Oriental Views America [Continued from page 379] Among Luther’s many noteworthy achievements it is difficult to determine what was his greatest contribution to the development of Protestant Christianity. Certainly his scholarly translation o f the Bible stands out as one of his great works. It is still largely used by all German speaking people of whatever faith throughout the world as the popular translation and interpretation o f the origi nal, and it will probably continue to be used throughout the future. In choosing the theme for Universal Bible Sunday, which will be observed December .9, the American Bible Society has appropriately given recognition to the four hundredth anniversary o f the publication o f Martin Luther’s translation o f the Bible, completed in 1534 after more than a dozen years o f labor. |As an aid to pastors, the Bible Society, from its headquarters at the Bible House, Astor Place, New York City, is making available material which may be used in anticipating and observing Universal Bible Sunday.
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