The Proper Perspective

Happy Sunday. Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great week. A young college student wrote this letter to her mother: "Dear Mom, sorry I haven't written sooner. My arm really is broken. I broke yet, and my leg too, when I jumped from my burning dorm room on the third floor.

"My meth lab that I used to make a lot of extra cash blew up and started the fire. Have you heard anything from the FBI or the ATF? Anyway, I was in the hospital for a few days. While there, I fell in love with a musician named Spike. He was there because 35 of his piercings became infected.

"Since I could no longer set foot on campus because of legal reasons, I moved in with Spike. He is great. I must admit that I am pregnant. Spike and I plan to marry soon. However, his probation officer says we can't go out of town on a honeymoon. I hope things are fine at home. Love, Susie.

"P.S. Mom, none of the above is true, but I did get a C in biology and I flunked chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in the proper perspective."

Today we're going to talk about the proper perspective, and Thanksgiving is a time to figure all of that out. Before we get to the proper perspective, let's look at how we are not to be. We find interesting words in Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 1 to 5. Paul tells Timothy this:

"You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They'll be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They'll consider nothing sacred. They'll be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self-control.

"They'll be cruel and hate what is good. They'll betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the powers that could make them godly."

And then Paul tells Timothy, "Stay away from people like that." That was written 2,000 years ago, and it sounds like today, doesn't it? Did you notice the word "ungrateful" there? Thanklessness is a trait of unbelievers. Being ungrateful is a horrible way to be. Paul tells Timothy to avoid people like that.

I read a story of a husband who began to take his wife for granted. In their first year of marriage, the wife caught a cold, and the husband said, "You don't look as beautiful as usual, dear. You should go to the hospital. I've already arranged it. I know the food there is bad, so I've hired a caterer to bring you your meals. The limo was outside waiting for us."

The second year of marriage, she had another cold. He said, "Honey, you don't look so good. I've called the doctor. Go get some rest. He'll be right over." A year later, she caught another cold. Her husband says, "You know, you look bad. When you're done cleaning the house, you ought to take a short nap."

He began to be more ungrateful, and in year four, after she caught her annual cold, her husband said, "Would you quit walking around the house barking like a seal? You're going to give me your germs." Being ungrateful will ruin whatever it touches.

Some of you will go shopping on Black Friday. It's been 10 years. Jeanie and I lived in Indiana, and we were shopping. Actually, she was shopping at Dillard's; I stayed in the car. She bought 16 purses. You heard me right, I said 16.

When she came out of the store with two arms full of bags, I smiled. It didn't bother me one bit. She'd spent well over a thousand dollars; I can't remember the amount. And as you wonder why she would do that and why I would be happy about it, I need to tell you that I have information that you do not have. That's important to remember: I have information that you do not have.

She bought them on clearance, and then they were half off of that, and then they were ten dollars off of that. She bought them to sell on eBay. She made a lot of money selling purses that year.

Back to Thanksgiving. God tells us this in Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice." When God tells us to rejoice, we need to know that God has information that we do not have. In First Thessalonians 5:18, we are told to "give thanks in everything." When God tells us to give thanks in everything, we need to remember that he has information that we do not have.

Now let me apply this to something from my life. My mother died when I was 10. My father remarried, my stepmother from Mississippi. As a result of that, I went to visit Mississippi, and because I loved it, I chose to go to college at Mississippi State.

I was called to the ministry while I was there in college. I met Jeannie, my wife, there. I do not rejoice that my mother died, but I do rejoice that God was there all along the way. He had information that I did not have.

The proper perspective will happen when we trust God. When we trust God, we will be thankful. When we are thankful, everything changes. Happy Thanksgiving.

Pray with me. Lord, if we made a list, we could spend the rest of the day, or the week, or the month listing things that have come from you that are blessings. As we sit around tables this week, let us celebrate with family and friends. Maybe it'll be a phone call or an email, but there's people that we need to tell that we love, that we love them, and what they mean to us.

Help us to put the problems of this life in the proper perspective, and help us to trust you, knowing that you have information we do not have. Father, thank you for this time together. In Jesus' name, amen. Happy Thanksgiving.