Leadership Thought: So, Whom Did You Invite to Your Thanksgiving Table?

Dear Friends,

Did you ever invite someone to an event that you hoped he or she would decline? 

You felt guilty about not inviting them because they were a part of your spiritual family, but deep within you recognized you would be glad if they didn't come.

We all have had those spiritual "do I have to" decisions that keep us awake at night. Guilt can be a heavy burden.

Thanksgiving is one of those days when we are confronted with the question of whom will we invite to our table. And sometimes we have to invite people within our family with whom we don't always get along. 

Relationally they are just not a very good fit at our table.

They may have hurt us, embarrassed us, or said something unkind about us, and while they are a part of our spiritual family, we wish that they were not a part of our Thanksgiving family.

Peter reminds us that all those who are a part of God's family are being built up into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).

When Solomon's temple was being built, the noise of the cutting, hammering, chiseling and chipping of the stones that would form the temple, took place underneath the city of Jerusalem. 

When the stones were carried to the temple mount, they were then silently fit together.

Pastor and writer Jon Courson, one of my favorite bible commentators, reminds us, "We are living stones being fit together for an eternal temple in heaven. This life is the quarry, which explains why we always feel like we are being chipped and chiseled and cut and hammered."  

"'Why are they part of the family'? 'Why am I sitting next to this block head,' you ask." 

"You know why? It is because they are a part of the family." 

"As living stones, we constantly rub against one another, knocking rough edges off one another in the process. You see, God puts us right next to the very people He knows will smooth us down, so he can build us into a temple of his glory."

"The problem is, I try to get away from the block head I'm rubbing against. But because God puts me in fixes, to fix us, He puts us with people in situations He knows will shape us most effectively. So, if I try to fix the fix God put me in, He will be faithful to put me in another fix, to fix the fix He wanted to fix in the first place!" 

"If we don't learn this, we'll go from fix to fix until finally we say, 'Ok, Lord. I'm not going to try to fix this, or wiggle out of that, But I'm going to embrace and accept where you have me, because I know you are doing a work on me, shaping me for eternity.'" 

In closing, I am reminded of Peter's exhortation who writes, "We should agree and have concern and love for each other. You should also be kind and humble. Don't be hateful and insult people just because they are hateful and insult you. Instead, treat everyone with kindness. You are God's chosen ones, and he will bless you" (1 Peter, 3:8,  The Promise translation).

Please keep these words in mind next Thanksgiving Day, and yes, every other day, for every day should be a Thanksgiving Day for those who are part of the family of faith.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom