Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1912-11-23
THANKSGIVING DAY.

no intention whatever OF setting apart
day for the sole purpose ofturkey-eating of
and general festivity. Their motive
was far deeper and far more serious
than that. 1t was the genuinely religi-
GUS motive of returning thanks to the
Givsr of all good gifts for the favors
bestowed upon Us as people or nation.
To the truly appreciative man, every
day will be. in sense, day of thanks
giving for individual benefits received.
He will not confine himself to stated
periods; least of all. to cas psltry day
in the year. But Thanksgiving Day is
expressly consecrated to the giving of
thanks by the whole people in unison,
for the national advantages which they
enjoy, for the success of our arms, the
establishment and preservation Of our
free Republic, for the immense material
wealth lavished upon our country, etc.
1t is not rare to fnd nations losing sight
of the original intent and purpose of
their national holidays, and converting
them into base or common uses what
was intended for their moral uplift.
God grant that this may never be true
of our national day of thanksgiving, for
certainly no other nation under heaven
has more reason to be thankful than
the people of this liberty-loving and
liberty-giving land.
An old cynic has defined gratitude as
a "lively sense of future benefits" and
If We consider it not as it really is or
should be, but as it is only too COM
monty practiced amongst us, We shall
find great deal of truth in his defini-
ton. The Master once delivered a SER
mon on the subject of ingratitude-an
illustrated sermon. The occasion was
the cure of ten lepers. He said little,
but the little He did say struck, and
still strikes, home. Ten men bssought
Christ to heal them. The ten were
healed. Only one of the ten returned to
give thanks. And the Great Healer,
looking upon him, querisd sadly: "And
where are the nine others? ?" Have
they so soon forgotten2 Yes, they got
what they wanted and that was the end
of it. They went their way rejoicing,
rocking little of Him to Whom they
owed their rejoicing. We all know that
this is not solitary or very exceptional
instance. 1t is common enough. 1t
might be we'll for US to ask ourselves on
this day if it is not case of "pE TIE
FABULA NARRATUR." The favor seekers
can be numbered by the millions, but
those whe return thanks are compare
lively few and far between, and even of
those who do, perhaps quite a large pro-
portion have solely or principally in
view the obtaining or further favors,
thereby justifying the cynic's notion of
gratitude. Men may be duped or i'm
posed upon by such insincere profess
sions. They may, and often do, mistak o
the hollow sound for the true ring. But
not so the Almighty, Whose all seeing
is not to be mocked or hoodwinked, and
of those whose gratitude is only make
belief He may we'll say what he said OF
some others long ago: "These people
honor Me with their lips, but their
heart is far from Me-" In fact, it is hard
to get some people to admit that they
have something to be thankful for. In
their overweening pride and selfishness,
they act as though God were made for
man-not man for God. They seem to
regard what is done for them as their
due or birthright. They are the very
people who get far more than they de
serve, and infinitely more than they
give; the people, indeed, who give
nothing that they are not absolutely
forced to give. Were their deserts meas.
ured by human standards, or weighed
in the scales of strict human justice,
they would fare worse than they dc
with Almighty God. They are not hall
as reasonable with their Maker as they
| aiO WIN tbClI l0llOW- W-mcu. 1u0y b6luOul
think of applying the Golden Rule in
their dealings with Him.
The odium which attaches to the in
CRATE is truly well deserved. Gratitude
is not only dictate of reason, but like
wise an instinct of the brute creation
and the man who lacks it is, in that ont
respect at least, inferior to the brute
1t is to be hoped that none Of US viii
deserve that stigma tomorrow, by for
getting the Giver in the midst of Hi
Gifts. While entering fully into tn,
festive spirit of the day-it behooves III
to keep we'll in mind its more seriou
side and to let our hearts 60 out il
genuine gratitude to Him from Whom
all blessings flow.
| Rev. JAS. A. MOONEY.
Il An oxchopna covc. Rnhharoo