Pastor's Challenger Article - November 2025
THANKS(IN)GIVING
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart
to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7
Friends,
Mark Pinksy wrote a theology book entitled, “The Gospel According to the Simpsons.” “The Simpsons” is one of the longest running television shows ever. To watch a program, you would not think that it is in anyway religious. Yet Pinsky in his book says that the religious insight in the TV series is nuance and hidden. In one episode, Bart Simpson is asked to say grace at the table. He prays, “We paid for all this stuff ourselves; so God, thanks for nothing.”
Bart’s prayer on the surface seems crass and disrespectful, but his prayer touches a nerve if we examine ourselves more closely. We operate in an economic system which is based on ownership. In other words, what you and I purchase, we claim as ours; thanks is due to our own labors, certainly not because of any outside agency and/or divine initiative.
It’s is when we probe deeper, however, that we begin to see that our material blessings are related to various factors; such as, the country to which we have been fortunate enough to be born, the social class to which we belong, and the social capital (people whom we know) that is readily available to assist us.
Thus, Bart Simpson’s table grace could be viewed as a typical American prayer. After all, we are a wealthy nation. We live in a society where there are various lines of social stratification, and most of us may recall a time when good fortune came about not so much because of what we knew, but by whom we knew.
Maybe a broader prayer for you and I might me, “We are fortunate people, O God, and we pray that you would work through us to be a blessing to others. Amen.” Thus, we begin to see the holiday as the ability to give thanks(in)giving. When we believe that what we have is our stuff, then it’s easy to become hardened and prideful. When we believe, on the other hand, that “to whom much is given, much is required’, then we find it important to give to others, not out of coercion or compulsion, but with a thankful heart.
We give not to be blessed. We give in order to be a blessing. May you have a cheerful Thanks(in)Giving!
Grace & Peace,
Gary
THANKS(IN)GIVING
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart
to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7
Friends,
Mark Pinksy wrote a theology book entitled, “The Gospel According to the Simpsons.” “The Simpsons” is one of the longest running television shows ever. To watch a program, you would not think that it is in anyway religious. Yet Pinsky in his book says that the religious insight in the TV series is nuance and hidden. In one episode, Bart Simpson is asked to say grace at the table. He prays, “We paid for all this stuff ourselves; so God, thanks for nothing.”
Bart’s prayer on the surface seems crass and disrespectful, but his prayer touches a nerve if we examine ourselves more closely. We operate in an economic system which is based on ownership. In other words, what you and I purchase, we claim as ours; thanks is due to our own labors, certainly not because of any outside agency and/or divine initiative.
It’s is when we probe deeper, however, that we begin to see that our material blessings are related to various factors; such as, the country to which we have been fortunate enough to be born, the social class to which we belong, and the social capital (people whom we know) that is readily available to assist us.
Thus, Bart Simpson’s table grace could be viewed as a typical American prayer. After all, we are a wealthy nation. We live in a society where there are various lines of social stratification, and most of us may recall a time when good fortune came about not so much because of what we knew, but by whom we knew.
Maybe a broader prayer for you and I might me, “We are fortunate people, O God, and we pray that you would work through us to be a blessing to others. Amen.” Thus, we begin to see the holiday as the ability to give thanks(in)giving. When we believe that what we have is our stuff, then it’s easy to become hardened and prideful. When we believe, on the other hand, that “to whom much is given, much is required’, then we find it important to give to others, not out of coercion or compulsion, but with a thankful heart.
We give not to be blessed. We give in order to be a blessing. May you have a cheerful Thanks(in)Giving!
Grace & Peace,
Gary
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