for followers of Jesus, seems to me, because thanking Him for the easily-thankable, obviously-thankable, reinforces control addiction, and surprisingly leads us into an INdependency that encourages God-bless-my-agenda kinda praying by believers, confident-we-know-what’s-best, confident we know how to direct the CreatorSustainer of the Universe.
Thanking Jesus for the harrrd is commanded in Scripture. Thanking Him for the easy, is also commanded, but way-more dangerous. When I ONLY thank Him for the obviously-thankable — when things go my way, when my flesh APPROVES of the outcome, CHEERS the outcome, I’m being lured into a destructive INdependency/control-addiction — an attempt to control my circumstances based on my confidence-I-know-what’s-best. INdependency, not Jesus-dependency.
Impossible to have an agenda unless I’m confident-I-know-what’s-best. Pride, not humility. The unhappiest Christians are confident-they-know-what’s-thankable-and-what’s-not, and they ONLY thank Him for the easily-thankable — things going their way. It’s sooo tempting to thank Jesus when things go your way. Beware. It’s a subtle trap. Instead, in all circumstances, it helps me to thank Him for His genius plan.
I’m not at-all opposed to the Thanksgiving holiday, just pointing out what sees to me its danger.
— Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships, championing Gospel-awareness, self-awareness, and sovereignty-awareness, that believers might be compelling to the seculars around us
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