God is a Giver
Around this time of year we are encouraged (forced?) to be thankful. In many respects this is a beautiful tradition. To be mindful of the ways we've been blessed, is deeply formative. Especially in a culture which idolizes autonomy, it's good to remember how deeply indebted we are to countless acts of kindness and how much we've been shaped by the people in our lives. But often in light of the ceremony of it all, gratitude can become selfish and trite.
So, how do we avoid becoming self-centered in our thanksgiving? Only being thankful for things that benefit us personally. How do we avoid the annual trap of being inauthentic in our gratitude? Coming up with something to be thankful about because everyone is doing it. This is particularly challenging because the origin story of this holiday is rooted in greed, violence, and hypocrisy. So, how might we see our thanksgiving redeemed?
True thanksgiving begins with a right view of God's nature and character. In particular, that God is a giver. James explains that, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (James 1:5). God is a giver. God is the giver. He's naturally generous. And when we realize the utter centrality of God's giving heart we begin to see how dependent we are on him. In fact theologian Miraslov Volf says, "our very existence is a result of God's grace, if God were to stop giving, we would stop existing" (Free of Charge). In other words God doesn't simply give nice gifts to otherwise capable, self-sufficient, and middle-class beings. God's persistent generosity keeps us alive, physically and spiritually.
We are utterly dependent on God as a giver.
In our sin we respond to God's generosity in many different ways. But a couple stand out as problematic. Sometimes we give God something in return–like our good works or church attendance. Other times we act as if his generosity is deserved. After all, we might say, we're good people who do good things and God should be generous to me. Both responses are violations of the gospel. God is the creator and keeper of all things. He doesn't need anything we have, he already owns it all. And the good news is that God does not give us what we, by our own habits and hearts, deserve. The only thing the Bible says we inherently deserve is death. Volf goes on to describe how the giving nature of God transforms us. When we truly experience the generosity of God we aren't forced to give a gift in return, but we acknowledge how undeserving we are and respond in love and gratitude. After all, that's why God gave us a gift in the first place ... love.
When God's giving nature is the epicenter of our gratitude it is neither self-center nor inauthentic. Why? Because we realize our relationship with God is grounded and kept in love. Namely his deep and abiding and unmerited love for us. This is what Paul is so enamored with at the conclusion of Romans 8, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:32,35,37). God is a giver who loves us. And when love drives the gift and gratitude, we are not forced into thankfulness we are awakened to it.
