Great Gain

This is absolutely crazy

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” —1 Timothy 6:6-7 (ESV)

Photo by Jessie Nelson on Unsplash

Recently, during Thanksgiving week, I received an average of 97 emails per day.

97.

Every day.

Almost all of them were marketing emails, trying to convince me to buy now before the sale ended. We’ve turned a holiday dedicated to contentment into a week of coveting. Instead of counting our blessings, we’re counting the days until our credit card payment is due. Here’s an earthshattering, groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting, revolutionary thought:

What if Thanksgiving were about being thankful, and not about getting the best deal?

Whoa, slow down. Read that again.

Imagine a world in which the Thanksgiving holiday was actually about giving thanks… 🤯 I know. I’m not sure I can imagine it, either.

Proverbs 30:15 says, “The leech has two daughters: Give and Give.” A leech is never satisfied. It always demands we give it more. Once it latches on, it never stops sucking the blood of its victim. Modern society, with its never-ending marketing campaigns to consumers who are never satisfied, is a leech. We could paraphrase this verse in today’s terminology: “The modern consumer has two motivations: Gluttony and Greed.”

Do you know what one of the fastest-growing businesses is right now in 2025? Storage units. They’re popping up everywhere. Because we have so much stuff, we can’t fit it in our houses. So, what should we do? Why, rent a storage unit, of course! I obviously need that stuff in my storage unit that I haven’t opened in two years. And I have 97 emails a day telling me I need even more… at 70% off regular price (does that mean the rest of the year, the things I buy are 70% overpriced?).

Let’s be honest. We’re sick. We’ve got two leeches sucking the life and joy out of us: Gluttony and Greed. We’re not happy; we’re bored. We’re not content; we’re unfulfilled. And we’ve got another holiday just around the corner. So, let me ask another mind-blowing question:

If Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, what if Christmas is about Christ?

I know, I know. It will take a bit for that to soak in. But let it. And do Christmas differently.