Thursday, November 19, 2009

Prepare for Thanksgiving

Kansas City’s Congressional Representative, former mayor Emanuel Cleaver, recently circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to drum up support for H. CON. RES. 155, a Resolution he introduced this past June. His cause appears to be languishing in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Cleaver’s Resolution is to make the Wednesday before Thanksgiving a “complaint free” day.
Whereas the average person complains approximately 15 to 30 times per day, resulting in roughly 4,500,000,000 complaints spoken every day in the United States;

Whereas complaining keeps people focused on current problems stultifying their innate abilities to seek and create positive, harmonious solutions;

Whereas complaining has been shown by research psychologists to be detrimental to a person's physical and emotional health, relationships, and to limit their career success;

Whereas the `A Complaint Free World' organization is to be recognized for its efforts to encourage people to redirect their minds toward more positive, constructive, and rewarding lives and for its goal to positively inspire at least 1 percent of the global population (60 million people) to become complaint free;

Whereas thousands of people across the United States, including many students, have already adopted the complaint free attitude; and

Whereas `Complaint Free Wednesday' will be observed on the day before Thanksgiving, providing each person in the United States a day free from complaining in order to prepare for a day of gratitude: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

(1) supports the goals and ideals of Complaint Free Wednesday;

(2) encourages each person in the United States to remember that having a positive life begins with having a positive attitude; and

(3) recognizes and reaffirms the meaning of Thanksgiving by asking each person in the United States to use `Complaint Free Wednesday' to refrain from complaining and prepare for a day of gratitude.


Now before I send you on to the pundits who are having some fun with Missouri’s 5th District Representative, I would like to point out one piece of profundity from the former Methodist minister. Did you catch this line: “providing each person in the United States a day free from complaining in order to prepare for a day of gratitude” ?

My point is that nothing worthwhile comes without preparation. Thanksgiving dinner will not. Neither will genuine gratitude. For Christians, thanksgiving is an extension of worship. Because we’ve been loved by God and saved through Jesus, we are to live every moment grateful to Him and His blessings. Unfortunately, we think good, spiritual things will happen without adequate preparation. It’s why many Christians leave the church parking lot on Sunday morning disillusioned. They experienced no enriching worship. They use words like boring, stale, lifeless and other sundry adjectives to describe the thing they gave no preparation to. They live a week without a relationship with God, no time in Bible reading, serving God, fellowshipping with other believers and instead watch impure TV shows and listen to tawdry music. They probably even bicker and argue with family members as they drive into the church parking lot on Sunday morning, believing that some mystical force will suddenly transform them into thankful, worshipping believers. Their problem? Lack of preparation.

And that is America’s problem as well, Our countrymen will scope out grocery store discounts on turkey; they’ll bake pies and roll out noodles and do other various things to prepare for a dinner on the fourth Thursday of November. Sadly, however, they won’t prepare their hears or their minds to give thanks to their Creator for His magnificent blessings.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!


So, thank you Representative Cleaver. It may not be the most eloquent of all bills, but it is a refreshing reminder of truer things.

For those who can’t resist cynicism, go here.

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