Every day should be a day for giving thanks, but it seems appropriate that a specific time is set aside each year to express gratitude to God for his goodness to us. For many of us the cup isn't just half full; rather, in the words of the Psalmist, it runneth over. Family, shelter, clean water and work are but a few of the things for which I'm grateful,―not to mention Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

I have a growing conviction, however, that gratitude, from a biblical perspective, is not simply itemizing all our benefits and saying “thank you” to God. This approach implies that the person with the greatest abundance should be the most thankful. What, then, should be the reason for thanksgiving?

One of the books on my summer reading list was The Ego Boom by Steve Maich and Lianne George. The authors observe that North American culture is fixated on the significance of the individual and the pursuit of self-fulfilment and self-actualization. Much of today's advertising, they maintain, plays on this theme. Maich and George describe it as the You Sell. You need this to be a better person. You deserve this. You are special. This is made for you. Every day on my way home from work I pass a billboard ad for an insurance company that declares: It's all about YOU!

It's interesting how suddenly the whole world is so interested in my personal well-being. The irony in all this, of course, is that the more people buy into the advertising—going to great lengths to customize their clothing, coffee, homes and cars—the less unique they become. They become more like the herd, following the latest trend.

This focus on you is not restricted to advertisers trying to hawk their products. Religion has also joined the bandwagon. In our desire to attract people to the faith, we often emphasize God's ability to meet people's individual needs. Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in Washington, D.C., suggests that the decline in church membership in North America is the result of a consumer mentality. Attendance and participation in church life depends on how effective the church is in meeting people's needs and those of their families.

The danger of this overemphasis on the individual is to leave the false impression that the world revolves around us. Are my needs paramount in the overall scheme of things? If so, then the most important goal for my life must be personal fulfilment, regardless of how it's achieved.

What does all this have to do with giving thanks? I have come to realize that thankfulness has less to do with how much or little I have and everything to do with the one to whom I am grateful. To be truly thankful to God moves me from centre stage and acknowledges my dependence on him. The season reminds me that not only is God the Lord of the harvest but also Lord of life … my life.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Major Jim Champ is Editor-in-Chief and Literary Secretary for The Salvation Army. He is also a member of the Governing Board of the Canadian Council of Churches.