My family always had Thanksgiving dinner with my mother’s relatives. The plus side of this was that my Grandma Szlavik was a great cook. The down side was that almost every gathering of my mother’s family descended into arguments and yelling. I don’t know why that was. It was somehow an expression of human nature. You gather to celebrate what God has done and end up at odds with others.

We poor humans lose sight of our true purpose so easily. I used to allow people to offer any petition they wanted during the Prayers of the People. One person took that opportunity to pray against the worship committee for not doing something the way he wanted. Oy! (That’s a Hebrew word often translated “woe.”)

It’s odd how the human mind works. Psalm 136 is one of the great litanies of thanksgiving. It starts out “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.” It goes on to name things God created, and then recounts the exodus and conquest where it mentions that God killed Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. Every time I pray that psalm, I wonder why the psalmist just had to mention some people he didn’t like getting bumped off by the Lord. Oh, well, human nature.

I hope your Thanksgiving is filled with thanks for the blessings God has given you without thoughts about those blankety-blank people the Lord really ought to straighten out.

“O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Read Psalm 136 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne