Study in Contrast – Sunday, November 17, 1940
The appreciation of what we have is largely a matter of contrast and comparison. That is one of the fundamental rules of life. Happiness is triumph over sorrow. Goodness represents the overcoming of evil. Prosperity is evaluated in terms of what others have and what we ourselves have been accustomed to having. The blessing of peace is cherished only as the curse of strife is abhorred. And perhaps that is why we are more deeply thoughtful and sincerely thankful as we approach another traditional season of thanksgiving and again make formal and public observance of the goodness of God to us and to those we love, and to our friends and our countrymen.
Looking at the ledger honestly and taking into account all of the assets and liabilities and prospects in an absolute sense, perhaps there have been times when the balance sheet has been more favorable; but in comparison and contrast with the rest of the world we enjoy an unbelievably great share of the things that cause men to cherish life and to live it abundantly. And it is only because of our belief in the assurances of our Father in Heaven that we can live life abundantly and enjoy its fullness. If the laws of life were fickle, unstable, perverse changing and unreliable, there would be little left to live for, to work for, or to be thankful for. Except for the faith of men in the orderly procedure of nature and in the constancy of the laws of God, life could not go on as it does. We believe that a time of harvest will follow a time of planting; that honest work will find its recompense; that good will be returned for good; that the dawn of day will follow the darkness of night – these, and so many more things we do and must believe that it is but a small stop further to believe that there is eternal purpose in it all, that the intelligence of God orders it all, and that no man will go unrewarded for his goodness or unpunished for his perversities. And for all this, and for so much more than cannot be mentioned, we thank Him who made the heavens and the earth and all that in them is – “Now Thank We All Our God.”
As a day of Thanksgiving approaches, it would seem that there ought to be something we could say that would translate into words the fullness of our hearts. But words, at their best, have their limitations, so perhaps a thought would be accepted for a better expression of it – the thought that for every material advantage we enjoy there should be a spiritual appreciation of it, which, perhaps after all, is just another way of saying what has been better said before – that “Man cannot live by bread alone.” Thanksgiving is not so much a counting of the increase of our fields and our factories and our flocks – not so much an appraising of the material things of earth, as it is a time of gratitude for the blessings of heaven.
November 17, 1940
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