For years I have proclaimed the truth that until kids hit thirteen, they’re made of rubber. Recently I had a registered nurse back me up on this. Don’t act like what I’m saying is crazy. Any parent can look back on their child’s early years and see this principle in action. I like to compare it to insects. Have you ever noticed just how much abuse most bugs can take before they actually suffer any bodily, er…exoskeletony harm? I mean, you can throw a cockroach off of a roof and he’ll just keep right on runnin’. So long as he doesn’t land on his back, that is. I’m sure there are numerous physics laws in effect that cause this, but I’ll leave explaining those to the scientific type out there.

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November brings different things to different parts of the country. Here in East Tennessee, we get falling leaves, Volunteer and Titans football, and lots of food. The “lots of food” part is especially widespread across the US. Every year on that momentous Thursday, family and friends gather around the table to eat, while outside, turkeys that are still alive count their blessings. We usually forget that Thanksgiving is a meal set aside for the purpose of giving thanks and not just gorging ourselves. Over the past few weeks, I asked friends, family, and acquaintances to send me brief stories from the last year of their lives that exhibit thankfulness. I’d like to share a few of these with you in hopes that you will be reminded to count your blessings at the table this year.

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In 2005 my wife and I moved into an old farmhouse. A far cry from our previous home in the suburbs of Atlanta, it’s located in a tiny, rural community about 45 minutes west of Knoxville, Tennessee. There were many features that drew us city folks, looking for a change of pace, to this particular home. It was a foreclosure, so it had a very attractive price tag. It needed quite a bit of work, but most of it was cosmetic (We were looking for a fixer upper.). It had a good bit of acreage with it, and it had a metal roof. The roof was certainly nothing to be proud of as far as appearance, but it was sturdy and full of character. More character than we’d ever imagined, and a feature we’d grow to appreciate.

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The lyrics of the patriotic hymn “My Country Tis of Thee” bring to mind all the wonderful virtues that Americans once admired and sought to develop in themselves and their children. The Pilgrims came here to raise their families in a land where the moral pollution and apostasy of Europe lay a wide ocean away. Our forefathers died on lonely battlefields so we could enjoy freedom to make the most of the gifts with which God endows each of us. Somehow, I doubt taxing some of us to pay for others to buy new cars would fit into their idea of America.

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Great privilege brings great responsibility. It also tends to produce laziness, complacency, and pride. Those who enjoy much privilege usually also believe very firmly in what they refer to as their “rights.” The funny thing about “rights” is that people’s opinions rarely agree on exactly what rights an individual has. They range from the almost universal right to life to the downright absurd right to eat Twinkies. Here in the United States, we have a Bill of Rights that Congress created in 1789 whice we've added to and modified over the last 200 years. Technically, only the first ten amendments are considered the official Bill of Rights. America has been a country of great privilege since its founding, and I hope we can all enjoy a good exercise in humility by reviewing some of the rights that we are entitled to as citizens of this great land.

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"America is no longer a Christian nation," said a keynote speaker at a conference I attended recently, as he elaborated on our country's moral bankruptcy.

"America is the best country in the world today," some people assert.

"We've got to get back to our Christian roots!" says another faction of the church.

"America oppresses the world and is full of self-absorbed people," still other Christians claim.

I've heard many opinions on the state of our country. I am amazed by how different they are. The range of opinions is wide, even among Christians. I listen to one person tell me about our nation's hopeless state of depravity, then turn around and hear someone else sing America's praises and insinuate that the U.S. is God's chosen country.

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