by Bruce Becker



Thanksgiving is made up of two words, Thanks and Giving. Definition of thanks: 1. An acknowledgement of a favor, gift, or benefit; gratitude. 2. An expression of gratitude: to give thanks. Definition of give: 1. To make a gift of; bestow.

I have forgone the historical development of Thanksgiving Day as a Holiday because it matters not how it got here. The fact is it is here and it is considered to be of enough importance that, to impress upon us the significance of the day, it is a paid national Holiday on which we are encouraged to give our thanks to God and do some serious eating with friends and relatives . The only question we need concern ourselves with is "why?" Why is this day called Thanksgiving Day so important.

Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of freedom. When we give thanks to someone , we are saying, "I am grateful for the benefit I have received from you." The benefit can take the form of food, shelter, clothing, health, wealth, opportunity, understanding, companionship, etc, etc. Always our thanksgiving is for some greater sense of freedom that we are experiencing in ourselves. We are grateful to and give thanks for anything that helps us to break through or approach breaking through the sense of limitation or bondage in ourselves. To the degree that we are being lifted out of our bondage, to that degree are we thankful and giving thanks to who or what is bringing about that freedom.

Since Thanksgiving Day is a holiday set apart to give thanks to God, if we are to understand Thanksgiving Day, we must first understand this God to whom we give thanks. Most major religions today have only one God: they may have different names for God, but there is only one God.

The most common definition for God is "Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscience," which is all presence, all power, and all knowledge. Because it is not possible to comprehend or conceptualize Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience, in giving thanks to God, we are giving thanks to something that is beyond our understanding.

This limited understanding defines the bondage we experience. Since God is all in all, there being nothing beyond all power, all presence, and all knowledge, any greater understanding or awareness of God is a greater sense of freedom. Because a greater understanding or awareness of God and, therefore, a greater sense of freedom can only come from God, we give our thanks to God for the gift He/She/It bestows upon us. In this case, a particular day has been set aside, Thanksgiving Day, in which to say, "Thank you God."




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