Romans 1:18-21  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and deity; so that they are without excuse: Because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

There are 2 words that jump out at me in these verses. These words are “ungodliness” and “unrighteousness”. These are words that the Bible uses to describe unredeemed mankind. The Bible uses the word “ungodliness” to describe mankind’s lack of reverence for God and the Bible uses the word “unrighteousness” to refer to mankind’s sinful behavior. It is ungodliness that produces unrighteousness and in this condition of ungodliness, or lack of reverence for God, mankind’s primary goal is self-gratification and self-glory.

The Apostle Paul clearly states in these verses that unredeemed mankind is ungodly because he does not glorify God or give Him thanks (v.21) and unredeemed mankind is unrighteous because of his sinful behavior. In verse 18, he says that men “suppress the truth in unrighteousness”. They suppress the truth. What truth? Well, in this context the Apostle Paul is arguing the truth of our responsibility and accountability before God and the clear evidence for God’s existence.

In saying that people suppress the truth, he is saying that they are refusing to acknowledge what they know is true about God and they do this by denying His very existence. They deny His existence even though all of creation speaks of His existence, even though our very conscience speaks of the truth of His existence, and even though His enduring Word of God itself speaks of the truth of His existence!  It is the pride of mankind that causes us to choose as an act of our will to resist and oppose the truth that there is a God.

If that does not sound like many people in our country today, then I do not know what does. We have a nation that has chosen to suppress the truth. America has kicked God out of our schools, we have kicked Him out of our public discourse and unfortunately, many people have kicked God out of their homes. For 230 years America has had the revelation of God in Scripture and we have enjoyed the liberty found within its pages, but instead of acknowledging Him and glorifying Him, we have bought into the evolutionary lie, we have kicked God out of our society, we thank Him for next to nothing and we suppress the truth!

I believe it’s because of ungodly and unrighteous people that we now have a society in America that doesn’t want to recognize God in any way. No longer do people say “Merry Christmas” it has to be “Happy Holidays”. No longer do our calendars call Easter by its name, it has to be the “Spring Observance”. Now we have Thanksgiving coming up and in order to avoid even thinking about being thankful to God by calling the holiday “Thanksgiving”, we hear many people calling it “Turkey Day”!

People love to change the names of any holiday that point to the God of the Bible. They change the name because people do not want to be reminded that there is a God. The reason the do not want to be reminded that there is a God because that reminds them that they are not God! For a lot of families when they sit down to eat a huge feast this Thanksgiving they may have a sense in their hearts that they ought to bow their heads and give thanks for what they have. But, for some, in their desire to suppress the truth that Thanksgiving means we ought to be showing God our gratitude for His blessings upon us, many people will tell themselves its just “Turkey Day” and they will forget all about God.

I say, how far we’ve fallen since the days of the Pilgrims when the Governor of Plymouth colony, William Bradford, proclaimed that they all should “gather at the meeting house” to “render thanksgiving to Almighty God for all His blessings“. Do you know that the Pilgrims celebrated a day of thanksgiving to God even though 349 of them had died & there were only 60 of them left to give thanks? The Pilgrims understood that we must first believe that God “is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

I say, how far we’ve fallen since the days of our Founding Fathers and George Washington who said that “both the houses of Congress have requested me ‘to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God”!

I say, how far we’ve fallen since the days of Abraham Lincoln who said “I do invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in Heaven”!

How far we have fallen from the truth!

Deuteronomy 8:10-14  “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

How is it that we have gotten to this place where we as a nation have become so ungrateful for the blessings that God has given us? I have already said that one possible answer for that is the very denial of His existence, but Moses gives us another answer to that question right here. I think one of the reasons why is we’re so ungrateful is that He has actually blessed us with too much. Maybe we are too prosperous as a nation. After leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, God told the Hebrews that He was going to take them to a land overflowing with milk & honey, to a land filled with vineyards and olive groves and figs.

So, after occupying the Promised Land God warned them that with their tremendous prosperity there would be a danger of forgetting Him. He said that they were going to be tempted to look at all that they have and say to themselves that “My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth” (Deut. 8:17). Moses warned the nation that they could get the attitude of ingratitude and take the credit for what God had clearly given them. I believe that this is the mentality of America today. We are the wealthiest, most powerful nation on earth and yet we refuse to recognize that God is the source of it all! Why is that? Is it because we feel we deserve everything we have? After all, we do say our power and the power of our own hands have gained us this wealth, not God.

All throughout the Psalms the Bible says “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever!” In fact, this exact phrase “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever!” appears dozens of times, over and over again always in the context of reminding the people of God and what He has done for them.

Lamentations 3:23 says that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning. John 1:17 says “the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” and Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” So, what’s God trying to reveal to us all throughout His word? Without a doubt He wants us to know that He’s a God of mercy and grace!

So, this Thanksgiving as you sit down to eat out of the abundance that God has provided for you, invite Him to the table and give Him thanks not just for the food in front of you, but for the mercy and grace that He’s shown you and to those around you. We all should take time this Thanksgiving to reflect not just on the material things that God has blessed us with, but we should also remember that God’s given us something so much greater than just the material things we need and want, He’s given us His Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16 says that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever would believe in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Isn’t that the greatest reason for all of us to be thankful? Not only has God given each and every one of us our life here, but He sent His Son to pay for the penalty of our sin and to die in our place just so we could be given the gift of eternal life in Heaven. This Thanksgiving, give Him thanks because His mercy endures forever, give Him thanks because of His grace, give Him thanks because He meets our physical and spiritual needs, and give Him thanks because He has given us His Son!