Giving Thanks to the King of Kings
By Steve Bietz
Burke County
One of my favorite quotes on thankfulness is one shared by Will Rogers. He said that at Thanksgiving we should “Be thankful we are not getting all the government we are paying for.” Will Rogers was born on November 4th, 1879 in the Indian Territory. We call it Oklahoma today. Will Rogers was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. I believe it is very fitting that we can celebrate Thanksgiving and the legacy of Will Rogers all in the same month each year. That cowboy lasso trickster was such a wonderful voice for everything that we should be thankful for and a voice for where we needed to make changes. Will Rogers was a moral voice with the knack to never offend a single person. His earthy anecdotes and folksy style allowed him to poke fun at just about everybody with no one ever screaming that he was being politically incorrect.
When I was a young teen, my family visited the Will Rogers Memorial Museum, located in Claremore Oklahoma. I suppose that I was like other kids during the late 60s when I visited the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. I was fascinated by cowboys. But here was a cowboy who lived, not by his 6 shooter, but instead lived by a moral compass. Some of his quotes show off that wonderful moral compass.
“Never miss a good chance to shut up.”
“If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.”
“Lettin’ the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.”
“Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.”
“There are a terrible lot of us who don’t think we come from a monkey, but if there are some people who think that they do, why, it’s not our business to rob them of what little pleasure they may get out of imagining it.”
Will Rogers was raised a Methodist, but he said he traveled so much and mixed with so many people in all parts of the world and enjoyed working with every denomination to the point he was not sure what religion he was. Will Rogers said: “Which way you serve God will never get one word of condemnation out of me.”
I already shared with you my favorite Will Rogers quote on thankfulness. Here is my favorite Will Rogers quote of all. “The Lord didn’t leave any room for doubt when He told us how we should act. His example and the Ten Commandments are plain enough. And the Lord kept the Ten short. They may not always be kept, but they can be understood. They’re the same Ten for everyone.”
Will Rogers was once asked while attending the Academy Awards, what was his favorite movie. Quick was his response that his favorite was the Cecil B Demille, 1927 film, King of Kings. It was a silent film depicting the last week of the life of Christ. He said about the movie, King Of Kings, “The only way you could make a greater picture would be to have a better subject, and I doubt if there will ever be a better subject during our lifetime than the story of Christ.”
I feel the same way. There is not a better subject than the sacrifice that Jesus made for our salvation. I hope and pray that you will lift up your voice in thanksgiving for our King of Kings, not only each November, but every day of the year.
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Steve Bietz is the pastor at Morganton Seventh Day Adventist Church. You can read more good Christian news from Pastor Steve Bietz HERE.
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Blue Ridge Christian News covers Burke County, McDowell County, Mitchell County, Yancey County, Madison County, in North Carolina, and Christian news from around the country.
