Coach's Corner

Thanksgiving

There are a whole host of demands in life! There are demands on our time, finances, relationships, and on us personally. Life and demands go together. We most definitely live in a demanding culture.

The argument of nature vs. nurture has raged on as long as there has been human beings. Do we have intrinsic reasons for who we are and how we behave or are we shaped by our environment and influenced more acutely by outside forces?

Well, most of us can be demanding! Maybe it's because we've been nurtured by a culture that has taught us that in order to get what we want, we need to 'demand it!' Or, maybe it's because by nature human beings have a 'lower nature' that calls us to demand their own way?

I love October for lots of reasons: Being with family over a nice hot Turkey Dinner, playing some football with a bunch of other middle-aged men who for just a moment pretend were 16 again. The fall colours are pretty amazing to watch, but whether it's a death blow to my lower nature or whether it is a clear call to go upstream in a demanding culture - Thanksgiving invites me to be less demanding and to become more grateful.

C.S Lewis once said that he feels badly for the person who does not believe in God because when they're walking along the beach and they see a breath-taking sunset - they have no one to thank! I recognize that there are some people who struggle to believe in God, but if you are on an honest search, why not consider spending some time looking upclose at nature and the detail and beauty that the fall season reveals. Is it not reasonable to make the faith assumption that an intelligent and beautiful being created this world and the harmony and order that goes with it. Every season comes in it's time - year after year, decade after decade as this massive globe spins on an invisible axis.

Who do you have to thank these days? Is it a parent, spouse, friend, co-worker, employer ... God? Everyone has someone to thank, in fact, living a grateful life is a sign of being well-adjusted. Not one of us is self-sufficient, or self-caused; each of us has someone specific to acknowledge who has given us what we have today. Our lives don't come from our selves, they are given to us from above.

I hope you can take some time this month to reflect on how you're doing with the demanding spirit that is often associated with our nature or with how well you are doing at resisting the cultural pull that often attempts to encourage us to remain demanding.

"Thank you" - two words that liberate us from being demanding and always help us to alter our perspective - we have many people to thank and one God above whom we owe our very lives to.

A Scriptural thought to reflect on this month - "The earth is the Lords and everything in it; the world and all who live in it" - that's you and that's me!!

Yours for being thankful ... and less demanding,

Dave Larmour
Lead Pastor

Posted October 01, 2007