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Thanksgiving And Responsibility

November is all about Thanksgiving to me. I know some people focus on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when many retailers finally see their sales for the year finally get into black numbers. And each year more and more people see November as a time to get started on Christmas decorations. But for the most part Thanksgiving still rules November.

I’m glad we have a holiday to give thanks. In a society that thinks it is entitled to every luxury imaginable it is good to be reminded of our need to give thanks. I’m not exactly sure how overeating expresses thankfulness but at least it makes us think about it.

I think we also need to be reminded about the responsibility that comes with all that we receive. We live in a world filled with people in need and it is not enough to simply be thankful we’re not in the same boat. We have a responsibility to help meet those needs.

Unfortunately it is not in our nature. One of the first words many of us learned was “mine.” Our parents constantly had to teach us to share. Our instincts tell us to hoard and we obviously have a hard time overcoming that.

This November let’s focus on our responsibility to share. We can talk about the government, the United Nations or any number of other organizations that help meet needs but meeting needs begins with us. Let’s be PEOPLE who meet needs.

© 2006-2011 Zanesville United Brethren Church