Things I Should Not Be Thankful For
Dear Friends and Family of Hilton Baptist Church,
There has been a sermon idea floating around in my head for a little while now. I just have not been able to figure out how to transfer the idea from my brain into a spoken Sunday morning message. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to share the idea with you.
We will soon be entering the holiday season. It is a time when we reflect on all the blessings and good things we have in our lives. It is a time when we pause to consider how good God has been to us and to say “Thank You”. In November we give thanks for the many gifts we take for granted while in December we recognize the gift of the Christ child coming to Bethlehem for us.
However, I’ve had this sermon idea called “Things I should not be thankful for”. The spark that generated this idea came from an article someone gave me. In the article an unknown author lists all the annoying events and things that happen in their life. Things such as taxes, clothes that don’t fit, the annoying person who sings off key at church, and piles of dirty laundry.
The author then goes on to say they are thankful for these things. “I am thankful for taxes, because it means I have a job. I am thankful for clothes that don’t fit because it means I have enough to eat. I am thankful for hearing an off key singer because it means I can hear. I am thankful for piles of dirty laundry because it means I have family”.
I wonder if Calvin, in the cartoon above, would say he is thankful for rain because he can play in a puddle?! There is nothing wrong with being thankful for the good things in our lives but what about those things that are annoying, difficult and hard? I think there are blessings to be found in these things as well, if we will just try and take the time to find them.
I encourage all of us to find the things in our lives we should not be thankful for because very often these are the best gifts of all.
With Grace and Peace,
Dan
Categories: Pastors Message