Giving Thanks

Intro. Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, was a great British author in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. He was very famous and made a great deal of money at his trade. A newspaper
reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the
money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word.” Mr. Kipling raised his
eyebrows and said, “Really, I certainly wasn't aware of that.” The reporter cynically reached into
his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here's a $100 bill Mr.
Kipling. Now give me one of your $100 words.” Rudyard Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a
moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, “Thanks.” Well the word
“thanks” is certainly a $100 word. In fact, I would say it is worth more than that. That is one word
that is too seldom heard, too rarely spoken, and too often forgotten.1
Yet once a year we are especially reminded to give thanks to God. Our annual Thanksgiving
holiday was observed just a few days ago. If any nation ought to be thankful to God and grateful for
His goodness, it ought to be America. However, too often Thanksgiving Day has not been a day of
giving thanks for too many people. For them it is hardly more than an excuse to be off from work, a
day to indulge in eating too much, and an opportunity to watch a few more football games or go
Christmas shopping. On a positive note, most people use the Thanksgiving holiday as an
opportunity to get together with their family. But too often very little of the holiday is genuinely
given over to giving heart-felt thanks to God. I commend those of you who have gathered here
today. You have taken time out of your weekend to worship God, and give thanks to Him.
Thanksgiving is not complete without such worship.
So today, I want us to fulfill the true purpose of Thanksgiving, and meditate upon the
importance of giving thanks to God. I hope to show you...