Guilt-Free, Glad Thanksgiving

Introduction

Thanksgiving is a great holiday. I’ve always loved the food and football, but I increasingly believe thanksgiving is one of the most important disciplines of the Christian life. Very few activities will do your soul more good than disciplining yourself to see God’s blessings, acknowledging that you do not deserve them, and relishing how good they are and how good your God is to give them. Thanksgiving breeds worship, it kills complaining, it breeds humility, and it encourages joy. So, Thanksgiving is a great holiday for us to think about today.
To do so, I want to share what God has been teaching me from Ecclesiastes through our men’s Bible study. I’ve really enjoyed our discussion, and you all need to hear what we’ve learned. Ecclesiastes 5:10–20 captures this message perfectly (read).
Solomon addresses one of the trickiest tensions of godliness. Specifically, we’ve all heard the warning in v. 10a. That’s so good, and we need to hear it often because we forget it so easily. We really want to believe money can satisfy.
But sometimes we preach that message so hard that we begin to believe all ambition is evil and every desire for pleasure is worldly. We almost feel guilty about celebrating an abundance on day like Thanksgiving.
I know better than that, but Ecclesiastes has challenged me that I often do a poor job truly enjoying God’s blessing. I’m naturally ambitious and task driven. Before I finish one task, I’m thinking about the next. “I don’t have time for fun.” And I’m a natural pessimist—my mind naturally runs toward what is wrong, not what is good. So, God is convicting me that I don’t enjoy God’s blessings like he wants me to. 
So, we need a holiday like Thanksgiving that calls us to slow down, enjoy God’s goodness, and give thanks. Therefore, I especially want to emphasize the call of vv. 18–20 to really enjoy God’s blessings. But the only way you can truly enjoy them to God’s glory is if you see vv. 18–20 in the context of vv. 10–17. So, heed God’s warning that…

I.  Blessings make bad masters (vv. 10–17).

I worded that carefully. Blessings, wealth, riches, and material things are generally good gifts of God. But they make bad masters. Yet that’s what we do time after time. We invest all our hopes and dreams in material things. We hope in a full bank account, a new car, a bigger house, or a little peace and quiet to bring satisfaction. The thing is not bad; the problem is that we look to it for ultimate meaning, significance, and satisfaction. So, be warned—blessings make bad masters. Solomon fleshes this out with 6 wise words of caution. 1st, blessings make bad masters because…
You will never have enough (v. 10). God is so clear and direct. And you know he’s right. You’ve heard, for example, how John D. Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men who has ever lived, responded when asked how much more money he needed to be satisfied. He said, “Just a little bit more.” And you know the feeling. You’ve never got paid on Friday or brought home a new car and thought, “That’s enough. I’m satisfied.”
But then you turn around and tell yourself that the next big sale, the next vacation, or the next promotion will be enough. You know why companies spend so much money on advertising? It works. You believe their gimmicks. 
So, hear God’s warning (v. 10a). Teenagers, memorize that, and make it core conviction for how you plan your future. You might think you’re the exception, but you’re not. Money and things well never satisfy. 2nd, blessings make bad masters because…
More money means more responsibility (v. 11). You’ve probably heard the stories about the professional athlete who grew up in poverty. A guy from inner-city Detroit gets drafted and gets a $1 million signing bonus. He thinks, “I’m rich!” Then the government takes half of it, and every aunt, uncle, and travel coach comes out of the woodwork asking for a cut. His big paycheck is gone in a flash, and he’s hardly enjoyed it.
As well, it’s hard for wealthy people to have friends. Every time someone is friendly, you wonder if they are looking for something. Or whenever a friend is struggling, you fear that he is condemning you for not solving it. 
More money means more responsibility. So, Solomon imagines rich man watching helplessly as others eat up his profits before he has a chance to enjoy them. Folks, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. You want to believe that the rich and famous are so much better off than you are, but it’s never that simple. 3rd…
More money means more stress (v. 12). In this verse sleep reflects stress level. The poor working man sleeps well because he’s done something worthwhile, and God has provided his daily bread. His life is simple and not too stressful. 
In contrast, you generally grow rich by taking on tremendous responsibility. You work long, stressful hours. Hundreds of employees depend on your decisions for their paycheck. Then they whine and complain when you demand discipline. Account holders are breathing down your throat at all hours of the day, and it’s hard to leave the stress in the office. 
The janitor is jealous when he sees the boss pull out in his Audi, but Solomon says it’s not as great as it appears. The janitor sleeps like a baby while the boss tosses and turns all night and wakes up with a splitting headache. He doesn’t even notice his Filet Mignon because of all the things on his mind. Being rich is not as awesome as we often think. 4th… 
Money brings no guarantees (vv. 13–14). The older you get, the more you are tempted to make security your master. You rely on insurance for this unforeseeable crisis and that. You have savings to shield you from big expenses, and you have a retirement account to carry you to the end. 
I’m not here to discourage responsible planning. The Bible commends it. But do not forget that God is sovereign, not you. Solomon tells a story about a man who made security his master. He saved everything he could, but he lost it all to the point that he couldn’t provide for his son. 
Maybe you hear that, “What an idiot. I’ll never much such a foolish investment.” You’re missing the point. You’re not God. You can’t build high enough walls to ensure your security or a quiet retirement. Stuff happens. 
You can’t even guarantee that you’ll live long enough to enjoy it. You probably know someone who dropped dead of a heart attack just as he was getting ready to enjoy the fruits of his labor. Money brings no guarantees. If you make it your god, you are bound to be disappointed. 5th…
We all die poor (vv. 15–16a). I hope you live a long life, and you never make a bad investment. Many people do. With a little luck, a lot of hard work, and good planning, maybe you can enjoy good health and financial security for a long time. You have some control. 
But you know what you can’t control? Death. Someday, you will die. And vv. 15–16 warn that you can’t take any earthly blessing with you beyond the grave. I’ve been to some elaborate funerals. I’ve seen finely dressed dead people in beautiful caskets. But the dead person doesn’t enjoy it. He’s dead. We all die poor. 
That’s depressing, right? It is if you worship at the altar of materialism. But you don’t have to. Job was incredibly rich, and God took everything away. Did he despair? No. Why? In Job 1:21 he uses similar language to v. 15 but with a God-centered perspective. When he lost everything he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job had wealth, but he didn’t worship wealth; he worshiped the Lord. So, he still had an anchor when his material foundation was swept away. The only anchor that can carry you through devastating loss and even death is the sure promise of the gospel. Christian, praise the Lord, that you don’t have to fear dying naked because you know that death is gain, and you will be clothed in glory. Keep your focus there. 6th…
Greed leads to misery (vv. 16b–17). In the context of Ecclesiastes, v. 16b describes a man who seeks ultimate meaning and significance in earthly pursuits. He grasps for money, power, prestige, etc. He very well may achieve them. But they can’t guarantee joy. Rather, v. 17 warns that many successful people, “eat in darkness…”
Think of Scrooge working late into the night and coming home to an empty, quiet, dark, and cold house. There’s been a lot of talk lately in society about people my age waking up to this reality. The world told us to chase a dream career and don’t let family and religion get in the way. Now they’re hitting middle age, and they are living like Scrooge. It’s getting too late to have a family or to build meaningful community. They are looking ahead to lonely, dark life. 
Greed leads to misery. Blessings make bad masters. Teenagers and young adults, don’t sell your soul to worldly success and pleasure. It will leave you pitiful, bitter, and sick, just as v. 17 warns. Heed Solomon’s warning.
But what’s the solution? Is Solomon telling you to be miserable? Maybe we should all become monks, hide in a cold room, and eat graham crackers until we die. Is Solomon saying you should cancel your Thanksgiving feast? Absolutely not because while blessings make bad masters, vv. 18–20 add that… 

II.  Blessings bring joy under God (vv. 18–20).

Some people want to claim that Ecclesiastes is a godless, despairing book. But to make that argument you have to completely ignore a passage like this. Solomon wants you to have God-centered joy. But it won’t happen accidentally. 
How can you enjoy your life to the glory of God? How can you have a great Thanksgiving even if you burn the turkey, Uncle Joe is a grouch, and your football team loses? You can still have joy if you heed 3 challenges from King Solomon. First…
Recognize God’s goodness in the good things you enjoy. At first glance, it may seem like vv. 18–20 completely undermine what Solomon just said in vv. 10–17. How can he say riches won’t satisfy and then tell you to be satisfied in the things you have? Is Solomon crazy? No, God makes all the difference. 
After not mentioning God at all in vv. 10–17, vv. 18–20 mention God 4xs. Verse 18 calls you to recognize that everything you have is a gift of God. Verse 19 says riches are a gift of God, and he empowers you enjoy them. Verse 20 says God gives gladness of heart. 
Why does God change everything? Think of it this way. In September we got to visit the Statue of Liberty. I had never considered how huge the base of the statue is, but it’s big! You have to climb 215 stairs just to get to the top of the base. It’s 162 more to get to the crown. Why is the base so big? It’s because the statue is huge and heavy and because such a significant statue needs to be up high. If you set the Statue of Liberty on a fragile, small base, it would look ridiculous, and then it would crush the base.
Similarly, you were made in the image of God with a longing in your heart that only God can fill. However, sinners want to replace God with materialism. They invest all their significance, all of their hopes, and all of their dreams in material things. They make blessings their master. But materialism can’t support the structure. 
Pleasures fade too quickly and circumstances change. What do you do if your life ambition is to be happy, and you are not happy? It’s crushing. It’s why so many people look happy on the outside, but inside they are depressed, angry, and bitter. So. Ecclesiastes warns that if you invest ultimate meaning in riches, you are sure to be disappointed. 
That’s because you weren’t made for riches; you were made for God. And if you seek your ultimate significance in God, then you can really enjoy his blessings because you’re not asking them to be something they can never be.
For example, there are many people in miserable marriages, and it’s not because they married someone miserable. It’s because they depend on their spouse in an ungodly way. They want their spouse to give them ultimate significance, meaning, and joy. And when their spouse can’t do that, they’re crushed and bitter toward their spouse. They don’t need a new spouse; they need a new foundation. We could go through the same exercise with anything in this world.
You were made for God, so build your life on the Lord. Get saved! From there love him, worship him, hope in him. 
Then, when the foundation is right, it transforms how you look at blessings. They don’t have to hold up the whole statue; you can just enjoy them for what they are—good blessings from God.
So, heed God’s word. God has given you life, and God has given you immense blessings. Slow down and see them. The Israelites in the wilderness were not bitter at God because he hadn’t blessed them. He delivered them from slavery, he parted the Red Sea, and he fed them every day. They were bitter because they arrogantly believed they were entitled to more. 
Don’t be that way. Repent, humble yourself before the Lord and see all the ways he has been good to you. You live in America. You have family and friends. You have a warm house, plenty of food, and nice clothes. We get to worship God together, and you get to listen to me preach (I’m joking)! Most importantly, you’re going to heaven someday. God is good! God has been good to you. 
Don’t just enjoy the things. See God in them. Praise him for his goodness. If you do that this Thanksgiving, you will honor the Lord, and you will grow closer to the Lord, and you will have joy. Discipline yourself to recognize God’s goodness in the things you enjoy. Solomon’s 2nd challenge in vv. 18–20 is...
Enjoy God’s blessings (v. 19). I’m not sure that we always believe that. We often feel guilty when we really enjoy the things of this world. Of course we should feel guilty when we cross over into materialism and the lust of the flesh. And Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Christians should be generous, not greedy. 
But when you keep blessings in their right place, God wants you to really enjoy them. God doesn’t want you to feel a little guilty and sour the whole time; he wants you to have joy (9:7–9). 3:4 also said, “A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” God’s not saying never be serious or sad. But there’s a time to laugh and dance. Have a good time. “Let your clothes be white.” Laugh with and enjoy “the woman whom you love.” 
Why? Our God is full of joy. He’s not a bitter old grouch. No, God is full of joy. Therefore, you don’t give the world a full picture of God when you are always sullen. The world must see joy to truly see God. Give thanks that our God is good, he is happy, and he wants you to be happy. The Westminster Confession was right to say that our duty is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 
So, I want to urge you to really enjoy your Thanksgiving. Don’t just hope it happens because something will kill your joy. You’ll get stressed, the kids will misbehave, and Uncle Frank will say something rude. Make a choice to put aside all the stresses of life and the frustrations around you and to see the goodness of God. See the people you love, see the good food, see gospel grace, and enjoy the moment. 
Again, don’t worship the moment. If you go into Thanksgiving determined to have the perfect celebration, you are stuck in vv. 10–17. You are worshipping things and experiences, not the Lord, and you will surely be disappointed. But when you worship the Lord, you are free to enjoy whatever blessing he gives.
So do that. Life is short, and it is always changing. If you are more worried about the turkey than the people eating it with you, you will regret it someday. How tragic it would be if Uncle Frank’s rude comment killed your joy. Determine that you will enjoy God’s blessing. If that’s going to happen, you must heed Solomon’s 3rd challenge in vv. 18–20…
Leave your worries with the Lord (v. 20). That’s a very convicting verse for an anxious soul like myself. It’s very easy for me to be occupied with this burden or that decision, this frustration or that concern so that I do not often consider gladness of heart. How do you fix that. 
It begins with faith and ultimately faith in the gospel. The key to not worrying about the years of your life is to be anchored to the hope of the gospel. “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” If I die tomorrow, I’ll be with the Lord. If my life down here stinks, and I don’t get to do a bunch of fun things, it doesn’t matter. I can look forward to eternity in glory. 
Some of you are crippled by fear of tomorrow so that you cannot enjoy today. Trust the Lord. Cast your cares on him. Enjoy where God has you. Make a choice to leave the office in the office and to really come home to your family and enjoy Thanksgiving. 
Maybe you think that’s too hard. “Pastor, you don’t understand. I have big burdens and real problems.” Notice that God helps us enjoy his blessing. Verse 19 says he “empowers” us to enjoy his gifts. Verse 20 says “God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.” Isn’t that great. When you draw near to the Lord, he takes your burdens and empowers you to have joy. So, seek the Lord and watch him fill you with joy.

Conclusion

Blessings make bad masters. Don’t invest them with meaning and hope they can’t support. But blessings bring joy under God. Trust the Lord. Then glorify him by really enjoying his gifts.