The Progression of No Thanks

The Progression of No Thanks

11/18/13

Growing up I was taught a few lessons about being appreciative of the things that I received, and over time I learned the deeper meaning of why this courtesy is extended to others.  We are not guaranteed anything in this life but it sure does feel good when we receive some of the added gifts that we do not have in our possession.  If we do not learn to be thankful for those things a part of our inner being dies and weeds grow in its place called selfishness.  Self is a dangerous game that individuals play with and it is time that we once again return to our thankful ways and restore the giving spirit once again.

I have mentioned in the past about the holiday of Thanksgiving and some of the reasons why this holiday should be remembered on a daily basis and not just stuck to one day of the year.  Research has shown that ha happy heart is healthier than a sad heart and if one stops and thinks about this point, it would make sense to them.  Being happy and content with your life is one of the most important issues that we can address and if our heart is not happy then the core of our stability is rendered damaged.  A happy heart gives and it also is gracious in receiving at the same time, you cannot have one portion without the other portion, it cannot operate on one side alone.

Many of you know that my parents were and still are in many ways ministers and they just finished re-opening a church.  Well being a pastor means that you are invited to people’s houses for dinner, parties, gatherings, meetings, etc.  While this is a good thing and it was fun to hang out with my friends at these houses my parents still expected me to be respectful and kind to the hosts and to make sure that my conduct was not detriment to their house in any manner. 

As our family was leaving all of the normal hugs, handshakes, and goodbyes were said.  A round of thank you for everything filled the air and I usually stood by and waited for the procession to begin to exit out the door.  This time of the gathering was my signal to say my personal thank you for everything speech  and for the most part I accomplished this task with flying colors.  However, there were other times that my mind was focused on something else or I was tired and wanted my bed, those words did not even come close to exiting my lips.  When it was apparent to my parents that I was not going to say thank you to the hosts, I received a gentle reminder to say thank you and at this moment I automatically looked up and said thank you to the hosts with a big smile on my face.  This was engrained into my being for my entire stay at home and there were no variations to this rule accepted either.

There was an old commercial on television about Butterball Turkeys and how juicy they were.  The beginning of the commercial had a family pulling up to a relative’s house and then all of the family walking up to the house.  The boy tugged on his mother’s skirt and she bent over.  The boy had one question for the mother and it was as follows: Do I have to eat the turkey if it’s dry?  This was hilarious to me and for many people out there very practical because of the circumstances it might have been a question that they had asked in their past.  The mother politely responded with a “yes” and they proceeded to the door of the house.  While this was a funny commercial, it also taught a valuable lesson to that child and hopefully reached the many viewers of that commercial as well.  No matter what is being served to you, always receive it with a cheerful heart and be thankful for that is set before you.

As I had said above, my parents taught me this courtesy all the while I was growing up and to this day I continue to keep those standards along with trying my best to implant them into my daughters.  I know that there are times I still slip and stumble in this area but I do my best to be as appreciative for everything that I receive.  However, there was a time in my life when I really did not have this concept in the forefront of my head and to this day the story that I am about to tell you haunts me and makes me angry with myself for the way I acted.

Some of you know that I was in the Air Force before I moved to Colorado.  For the most part my attitude was great while I was in the USAF and had no problems with the military itself.  The problems that I had were on a personal note and had nothing really to do with the government.  Times were tough of course because I was not a high ranking person within that organization and there were many issues that stemmed from this circumstance that attributed to my actions during this event.  At one point the car that we had broke down and my family needed some transportation as soon as possible.  If it was just myself I would have had no problems with walking since everything that I supposedly needed was within a short distance from the apartment, but I had a new baby and my wife did not need to be left without a car in case something happened.

I knew of a pastor friend in the area and I used him as a contact during this time period.  I had some help from my parents as well in initiating this process and once the ball got rolling things were completed pretty quickly.  The pastor referred me to a friend of his who was a retired Colonel and was living right up the road from the base.  I called his number and told him who I was and how I came to get his number.  After the initial greetings and questions I then proceeded to tell him of my situation and that I needed a car for a few days until ours was repaired.  The gentleman had no qualms about lending me his extra car and asked for my address, phone number etc for his personal logs.

Within a few hours he pulled up in the parking lot of the apartment complex and got out of the vehicle.  I knew what to look for since he had told me what I was going to be driving for the next few days.  A nice elderly gentleman stepped out of the car and gently shut the car door.  It did not take too long for each of us to make eye contact and we both began the trek towards each other.  We shook hands and formally introduced ourselves to one another.  I told the gentleman a few more details about the car and re-iterated how long the car was going to be out of commission.  He stated that he had no problems with this as he handed over the keys to his car. 

There were no formal documents for me to sign or to fill out, nor were there any preconditions set upon me, the gentleman fully trusted me and my driving abilities with his car.  The gentleman told me about some of the quirks about the car and as it turned out it was just general conversational information because none of it had anything to do with the short amount of time that I was going to use the car.  After a few minutes, we shook hands again and I gave the gentleman one of the wimpiest, meaningless and cowardly “thank you” phrases that had ever protruded from my lips.  It was one of those moments that if my parents had heard me say this they would have been utterly ashamed of my conduct towards the gentleman.

After a few days my car was fixed and ready to go.  It was taken out of the shop and driven home to where it belonged.  I called the gentleman and said that our usage of his car was over and that he could come get it whenever he desired.  I told him that it was in great shape and that no damage had incurred upon his vehicle.  At this point I had felt pretty good about the entire situation and was excited to have the entire process completed.  We met in the same parking lot and once again greeted each other with a handshake.  I promptly handed over the keys to him and said that everything went well.  Our conversation was quite brief for he had another appointment to attend.  We then said our goodbyes and turned and walked away.  This was the extent of our connection with each other and I never saw or spoke to the gentleman ever again.  More importantly, I never stated a true thank you to this gentleman for the usage of his car.

At the time I did not think about this entire situation but as I look back on it now I have to say that it is a great example of how the kids are becoming in today’s society.  See, I did not know that this gentleman some time before had gone up to the pastor and had offered his car to young servicemen and servicewomen that needed real temporary help.  All of the arrangements had been made long before my situation came into existence.  The gentleman was willing to place his car into harm’s way for someone that he had no clue about but needed help.  I do not know if there were any other categories that this gentleman had in place either, for all I know he could have had a food pantry for the same type of situation of others.  My point is that this person opened his life up to me and I stood there and took what he had to offer and had no real gratitude for his generous offer.  We as humans understand and pride ourselves on the fact that changes or choices we make inside start on an individual level and my selfishness started out on this personal level which is the beginning of the progression of no thanks.

A few years back there was another commercial that became popular and it was concerning people being nice to others while they were out just doing their normal activities.  The setting was in a city and as one knows it can be crowded on city streets, whether driving or walking.  One scene had a man walking and reading a newspaper and not really paying attention to things around him as he approached a crosswalk.  The man continued without looking up just as a car was approaching.  Another man beside this gentleman was paying attention and reached out and grabbed the other man and pulled him back onto the curb as the car passed by.  The man that was not paying attention looked at the other man and gave him a gesture of thanks.

The next scene had a lady who was helping an elderly man across the street just making sure that everything went well as he crossed the road, this too prompted a thank you gesture from the man towards the lady.  The point of the commercial was that if one person does something kind for another person it will instill goodwill in others and trigger them to enact these goodwill measures when necessary or for no real reason at all.  When a commercial deals with this subject then that probably means that it has been noticed by some that these types of gestures are not being demonstrated towards others.

This type of atmosphere is taking hold within many people of the world today.  The attitudes towards many governments, ideologies and philosophies are now reflecting by many people.  Let us take a moment and look at what made this country great.  This country was founded on many principles all of which may not be agreed upon by everyone but we all understand their reasoning behind their establishment.  These principles have been recognized by millions of people ever since they were created yet today, there are many in this country and others like ours who wish to see that these courtesies ignored or even abolished.  The ideas of the younger generations have been indoctrinated to exclude the people of society and the immediate surroundings that are occurring and focus upon their individual wants and grips.

This is a dangerous societal condition that is being promoted now and we must understand that if it is allowed to continue in this manner western society and freedom that we all know about and live in today will be destroyed.  When we look at a mechanism and have more concerns about what others think about us than making sure that a fellow human being makes it across the street safely then we have reached the point that we do not appreciate society and the freedoms that we use; that is taking advantage of a situation and not using it wisely.  I personally witness this scenario each day as I come to work.  The medical field is constantly inundated with these types of people who demand a service but never pay for what they receive, nor are they appreciative of the care that they receive.

We also have noticed that a large percentage of kids who attend school do not wish to be there.  They would rather be out doing something else than sitting in a classroom and learning how to think and survive out in the real world.  These kids are spending all of their time worrying about who they are dating, or how they look or wanting to make sure they have plans for the weekend.  They care nothing about responsibilities or working to obtain the items and wants that they desire; they want things handed to them.  Just think about what our society and future will be when these kids with the attitude that the world owes them everything become the leaders of mankind.

The kids of western thinking now find nothing wrong with demanding things without even believing that they should work for what they want.  They find it logical to scream at their parents and demand that they give them everything they want, like the parents have an obligation to complete this task.  How will our country fare when this type of attitude rules the government; oh wait, that attitude is already being promoted within our governmental institutions around the world.  I guess it is just a matter of time when these attitudes will have enough of us older folks saying “no” to them and more drastic measures must ensue to get what they want from us.  What these people do not realize is that this last example is a component of the no thanks progression and if it continues to progress, look out!

I take concern in something that our own President said a while back in that he has authorized certain laws that he has no intention of following yet the stipulations of those laws are still on the books.  This means that even though he says he will not enforce them the words are there for someone else who follows him the authority to enforce them.  None of know how each one of our lives will turn out and the same goes for our country, so why would anyone place words into laws or decrees that could cause future panic and havoc among their constituents?  This type of activity is ripe for a societal overthrow and demolition of its way of life.

If the individual comes first and society comes second then there is only one area left that follows along this progression and that is God. Once the individual has been claimed against itself and society has been usurped the only logical step that can be taken is removing God from the equation.  When I was young, I remember my father telling me that somehow things were going to drastically change within our world and that it would set up a total different way of life for everyone who was still alive on the earth.  Biblical passages mention this state of the world but dad understood that man’s progression would voluntarily take us there unless we stopped and realized what we were actually doing to ourselves.  I have held onto this thought that dad had, and still has, and once I got my head back into place I began to take notice that everything that the Bible says and what dad said is coming to pass as each day passes.  We are voluntarily setting up laws and regulations that would make things so easy for one person who has the right ideas and is popular at that moment to come in and to issue those laws that are on the books and actually enforce them.

Each day we see in inclusion of standards, beliefs and laws that are solely directed at destabilizing the foundations of our country.  It is a choice that we are embracing and not thinking about what the consequences shall be.  We have pushed God aside and thumbed our nose at His ways and means.  As we have read in the Bible, read about in ancient history, medieval history and witnessing during current history, He is allowing us to choose our ways.  It pains God greatly that we are choosing this path for He understands that at some point in time He must intervene as a parent and try to guide us back to Him.  Yet, we continue to live in our selfish mannerisms and thrive in our daily decisions of self guided bliss.  We feel great and even our leaders are concurring with our wants, so how could there be anything wrong with our lifestyle?

This decision to live in this manner states that we have progressed enough to rule out God in our overall life within our society.  We are voluntarily saying that we do not need God or even the ones who accept God’s ways.  Society wishes to remove all aspects of God from our lives, and God will allow this because it is our choice to do so.  However, there shall be consequences to these choices that we have made, and everyone will be included in these consequences.  We have lived with our trust in mankind long enough to see dependency upon our made up ways, and then ignore them when those flawed ways come into light. 

We have progressed from an individual loss, to a societal loss and now vastly approaching the voluntary loss of God within our lives.  The people who call themselves progressives, you are getting your wish my friends.  For you see if one area of our lives becomes progressive for selfish reasons ten the remaining parts of the world is fair game in the future.  I heard one of the late night commentators ask the question about the government takeover of the American auto industry of why would it be a big deal if the government accomplished this duty?  Look at what is going on now and one should know that the government did not stop there and they took over other areas of our lives.  Which poses the question, what will be next?  The wording is in place and can be used at any time, so I guess we have given whomever a blank check with our lives.

Progression begins within your individual life and continues from there.  There are millions of causes around the world that flood our eyes each day.  There is nothing wrong with being progressive, in fact the way God designed our hearts and minds is to be progressive but in order to maintain this truthful meaning we must understand that we cannot be successful if God is not a part of our lives.  If we do not include God in our choices we will definitely be left out because of our flawed methods of thinking.  It is not God’s will to control our lives but to be a part of our lives so that our lives can be made continually better. 

We are getting a good glimpse of how humanity can progress if we leave God out of our equation and if one wants other examples read the Bible and read history and it will become quite evident of these situations.  There is a way out of this progression and for true progression to take place; all we have to do is ask the right person.  Once we allow God back into our lives and our societies we will find ourselves being thankful for the blessings that have been given to us.  We will also notice that we will want to do good things for others and expect nothing in return and most importantly we will once again be restored and well on our way of progressing as God meant for our lives.

DLB