Gooble, Gooble...

The sound came from the kids sitting at the table doing their best impression of a Thanksgiving turkey. A few days before two wild turkeys had actually come in our back yard (have the pictures to prove it) which along with the deer, squirrels, snakes, dogs, wild cats, moles, geese, ducks and chipmunks makes us something like Wild Kingdom out here in Snellville. 

Little did I know that their impression would trigger this small mind of mine into thinking about the nature of our society in general and those of us with addictive personalities in particular. We gobble up things, people, money and adrenalin because we believe living large means taking everything we put our hands on. Truth! Why so, because it goes back to Cain and Abel and has trickled down through the centuries, even generating its own mantra not long ago, "He who dies with the most toys wins".

Gobble gobble gobble without regard to how many people it hurts. Jacob and Esau, Saul and David, the Holy Wars, on through the centuries to Hitler, Stalin, corporate takeovers, and the belief that "if it feels good do it" and now we have ISIS and an addiction problem that grows faster than we can stop it. Bad news, hardly. 

Life boils down to a simple belief of faith that God in those who believe is greater than those who are in the world. Because of that we have mercy, grace and receive blessings that are not gathered by gobbling up but by receiving provision from the Lord. When we lay down our toys, the process of receiving real joy in life begins. The need to step over other folks to get ahead subsides. The need to run from problems stops. Medication now becomes dedication. No longer do we act like like turkeys, but as it says in Isaiah we soar like eagles.

Where would this world be if everyone understood that? Back in the garden of Eden, but we can't go back. What we can do is learn from those gobbling turkeys. They are so busy looking down to gobble up food that they don't have time to look up and see there is more to life than gobbling.

Like you, I'll be enjoying my Thanksgiving meal thinking of that poor turkey, but thankful that I have finally learned how to receive and give blessings rather than steal them from others. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Glenn