Question for Theists: The Proble with Thanking God

[Kingpin]

Ok, so modern day Thanksgiving was proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln in an 1863 proclamation says that it is:

"…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…"

My family and I have a modest meal on Wednesday of thanksgiving week and we spend Thanksgiving day and Friday serving meals at food shelters in Detroit.  We have time to give to those less fortunate than us and it is important to me to teach my kids that there are those in this world that do not have things as nice as we do and we can help them.  My kids LOVE working at the Gleaners food bank because the boxes they prepare are geared for kids their own age, so its special to them knowing they are helping other kids out.  

I agree that the hypocrisy of a great deal of religious folks is being thankful and a bit egotistical with what we have while forgetting the less fortunate.  I believe teaching my kids to be thankful does not mean saying a prayer and gorging on food and playing games but showing to them those that are less fortunate and being moved to do something about it.  In that way we humble ourselves and realize how good we have it and those that are less fortunate can be blessed by our willingness to help them and be thankful as well.

lkingpinl - - that's wonderful.  My family and I will be doing something very similar.  We need more folks to follow your example.  You know, it just struck me - - the theists that I respect in real life . . . I respect them because they behave like that.  They don't preach.  They don't judge.  They just ARE Christians who spend their time reaching out and helping others.     (I'm blue today.  Not because I'm sad.  Because I want our baseball team to win their playoff game tomorrow!)      

Thanks Fuzzy, but I feel it's the only way to be.  That's why I've said it many times, my favorite quote is "preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words."  Far too many Christians are judgmental and have superiority complexes.  We are all the same, and I feel we have an obligation to help those where and whenever we can and be humble.  My kids learned far more about being thankful by being subjected to depravity and doing something to address it.  We do the same at Christmas.  Kids get a small thing, but we spend a lot of time volunteering and doing toys for tots stuff.  It's far more rewarding.