1 Thessalonians 5:18 - In Everything Give Thanks - November 23, 2022

Tomorrow Americans will recognize one of the three most universally celebrated holidays of the year – along with Christmas and Easter. Outwardly, these holidays all look pretty similar: family and friends gather for food and fellowship. However, theologically speaking, there is one thing that sharply distinguishes Thanksgiving from the other two. Do you know what it is? In contrast to Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving is 100% law. When you boil it down, Thanksgiving Day is essentially an annual ritualistic obedience to our mothers’ persistent demand that we say “thank you” when we receive something. Kind of a strange thing to celebrate, isn’t it? Even in the Bible, and especially here in 1 Thessalonians, thanksgiving is a matter of the Law. Listen to the verses preceding our text: brothers, we ask you to take note of those who work hard among you, who exercise leadership over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love, on account of their work. Live at peace with each other. We also encourage you, brothers, to admonish those who are idle. Encourage those who are discouraged, help those who are weak, and be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil with evil, but instead, always strive to do good to each other and to everyone else. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:12-17). Law, law, law. And after all that, now Paul says in everything give thanks? My response is: really?

In everything give thanks? Paul’s original Greek allows for no exceptions. It’s just what it sounds like. We are to give thanks in everything – in every moment and every situation. He’s not just telling us to sit down at the table tomorrow and count our blessings. He’s not only telling us to say thank you when the surgery is successful, he’s telling us to say thank you after the doctor informs us that we have stage 4 cancer or early onset dementia. He’s telling us to be grateful not only when our children come to visit but when we find out that our daughter had a miscarriage or that our son is getting divorced. He’s telling us to be just as thankful in times of poverty as we are in prosperity; in times of pain as we are in times of pleasure; in times of sickness and of health – equally.

And if that doesn’t sound hard enough, Paul uses a little preposition that might push you over the edge: ἐν – that is, in everything give thanks. Right in the midst of sickness, sorrow, problems and pain we are to give thanks. Our world will talk about finding the silver lining in the storm clouds, of taking lemons and making lemonade, of making the best of a bad situation – but typically they’re talking about after the trial or challenge has passed. But right in the middle of it? Who can do that? Have you? I’m not sure who’s able to do it – I only know that God commands it. This is not a suggestion; it’s a command: in all things you must give thanks. It’s a present active imperative. This is a behavioral policy God demands from his children. It must be your policy to be thankful in everything, every situation, every circumstance – no matter how hard or painful. Really?

Now, there are those who try to stuff the breadcrumbs of this difficult command into the turkey of mankind’s natural religion. They say, “Yes, of course, you should give thanks to God in everything – because if and when you do, he will turn that curse into a blessing; that pain into pleasure; that sadness into joy; that poverty into prosperity.” You’ve heard that before, haven’t you? If you’re suffering, it’s just God snapping his fingers to get your attention, saying “what’s the magic word?”, to count the blessings he’s given you and throw some gratitude in his direction. Yep, just like when your mom made you say thank you when someone gave you something – because otherwise you may not receive a gift next year – so you have to give thanks to God from time to time if you expect to continue receiving his blessings. But that’s not true and that’s what Paul says. He doesn’t say to give thanks in everything as a way of manipulating God into turning the clouds into sunshine. He’s not giving a Christian veneer to the pagan concept of “the power of positive thinking.” He simply commands: in everything give thanks.

Really? Why? Why should I give thanks in all circumstances, even the bad ones? Paul cites three reasons. First, he says that we must give thanks in everything because this is God’s will. In other words, we give thanks because God says so. And that’s the reason why most people will be gathered around tables giving thanks tomorrow – well, maybe not because God says so, but because the government does. But there’s a danger in this motivation. There’s a danger in giving thanks simply because you’re told to. I’ve called Thanksgiving Day as the most idolatrous day in America. Why? Because many, if not most, people – sadly, even Christians who don’t want to offend their unbelieving family members – will give thanks to no one and nothing in particular – which is idolatry. And this idolatry is the root of the distinct lack of gratitude most people have the other 364 days of the year: it’s easy to give thanks to an idol when you’re sitting in a warm house eating good food with your family – it’s not so easy to give thanks to an idol when you’re laying in a hospital bed or standing at the graveside of a loved one. In the end, if the only reason we give thanks tomorrow is because God or government says so, then we might as well forget it, because mere lip service is not pleasing to God (Matthew 15:8).

Which is why Paul adds this is God’s will…in Christ Jesus. What is God’s will as revealed in Christ? Paul spelled it out in his first letter to Timothy: God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This means that whatever happens to you, whatever you’re going through in life – the good, the bad and the ugly – comes from God as he revealed himself through Jesus with the goal of the salvation of your soul – more on that later.

Let’s flesh that out a bit: how are God’s will for our salvation and our thanksgiving related? Well, there’s one thing that will be absent from many – if not most – Thanksgiving tables tomorrow: that even as we give thanks for what we have, we forget what we deserve. If we were to honestly review our thoughts, words and actions of the past year, we’d have to confess that we deserve nothing but punishment now and forever. What did our worrying about things that are outside of our control – which is unbelief – deserve? What did our lust and greed and pride and despair – and the millions of other sins we committed over the past year – deserve? Giving thanks to God in everything, every situation, is sheer nonsense until we realize that we don’t deserve anything but his wrath and punishment.

So tomorrow, as you give thanks for the blessings God has given you this year – consider taking some time to thank him for what he didn’t give you; what he gave to Jesus instead of you. He sent Jesus out of heaven’s never-ending feast to this earth to live a perfect live in a fallen world in your place. He sent Jesus to suffer thankless people, the torture of a Roman whip and cross, and the darkness of a damned death in hell for your sins and mine. Tomorrow, thank God for giving Jesus what we deserved for our ungrateful lives of sin and thank him for giving us what we don’t deserve for Jesus’ sake.

Paul cites one final reason to give thanks in everything. 3) In the original Greek, the words for you come last. That means they receive emphasis. “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will in Christ Jesus for you.” We give thanks to God in everything – because in Jesus, everything that we have and experience in this life is for us! The sun shines, the rain falls, the fields produce grain, there is food at the grocery store and gas at the gas station for you – but, in the same way, the physical, financial, and psychological troubles are for you. Why? Because God wants to do more for you than feed, clothe and make you happy in this life. He wants to save you for eternity. If he was willing to hand his own Son over to sin, death and the devil in order to save you – don’t you think that he’ll do anything to save you, even if it means making you hurt for a while (Romans 8:32)? Hebrews tells us to endure suffering as discipline. God is dealing with you as sons. Is there a son whose father does not discipline him? …we have earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them…they disciplined us for a little while, according to what seemed best to them, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may have a share in his holiness (Hebrews 12:7, 9-10). And even if it takes a little bit of poverty or a little bit of pain to save you eternally – isn’t that a reason to give thanks in any and every situation?

And to prove that no matter what is happening in your life out there – he comes to you here to assure you of his continued care and love and guidance. He points you to the baptismal font as a guarantee that you are his child – and that nothing can change that. He absolves your sins daily and weekly – his assurance that even if you are suffering pain or loss in your life, it is not a punishment for your sin – because Jesus already suffered for your sins. He offers you tangible proof of his love in Holy Communion – an appetizer for the feast that he has prepared for you in heaven. Incidentally, you may have heard some of your Catholic friends refer to the Lord’s Supper as the Eucharist. That comes from the Greek eucharisteo – which means “thanksgiving.” Think about that for a moment. Is there anywhere that our loving Lord can’t or won’t come to us with his true body and blood to assure us that whatever we’re facing in this life is for our good? He comes here regularly. He will come to your house when you can’t come to his. He will find you in the hospital room, the nursing home, the death bed – even in jail. Which reminds us that no matter where we are or what we are going through – in everything – yes, literally everything – we can and should give thanks.

In everything give thanks, Paul says. Really? We’re tempted to respond. Really! He says, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Whatever you have experienced over the past year (good or bad), whatever is on the table tomorrow (or whatever is not because you can’t afford it) and whoever you will gather with (or won’t for whatever reason) – these are God’s gifts to you to keep you on the narrow road to salvation. We don’t give thanks just because the government tell us to. We give thanks in everything for this is God’s will for you in Christ. Really? Really! Happy Thanksgiving! Amen.