According to Noah Webster’s legendary 1828 dictionary (the only one that really matters), the word “blessed,” used as a past participle, means, “Made happy or prosperous; extolled; pronounced happy.” Conversely, Webster defines the word “spoiled,” a past participle, as “Plundered; pillaged; corrupted; rendered useless,” and defines “spoilful,” an adjective, as “Wasteful; rapacious.” Where am I going with this? Well, seeing as today is Thanksgiving, I believe a fitting article—an article of appreciation—is in order, and my use of Webster’s definitions will (hopefully) make sense shortly.

I’ve recently noticed an increasingly disturbing amount of cynicism among my peers—a sort of pessimistic outlook that translates into a negative view of the United States. Voicing their apparent disappointment in American prosperity, these “perspectivemongers” consistently slam themselves and their fellow citizens by calling us all “spoiled” just because God has blessed the United States of America. “After all,” they say, “people all over the world die of hunger and disease every day.” Yes, that’s true—just like the many other declarations of desolation that these people love to make. However, the “perspectivemongers” don’t realize that they are no better off than those of us who “take our blessings for granted.” After all, we “spoiled Americans” aren’t the only ones griping when they’re the ones complaining about complainers.

As Americans, we are fortunate to live in the greatest nation on earth. God has truly blessed us with this opportunity; he has not, as some would have you believe, spoiled us by allowing the United States to prosper. You see, the word “spoiled,” as in “spoiled brat,” describes either someone corrupted by too much good fortune, someone who squanders their wealth, or someone who, despite great prosperity, is not grateful for God’s blessings. Nowadays, most people also use the term “spoiled” to refer to a person “born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth” who does not have to work hard to get ahead in life. Yes, many Americans are clearly spoiled (mostly celebrities come to mind), but no one can credibly make the claim that the United States of America is a spoiled country in general; on the contrary, it is a blessed country. God has chosen to bless us, or “make us happy and prosperous”; he inspired the Founding Fathers to establish a nation with a Republican form of government where any man can worship freely, raise a family, enjoy his life, and simply work hard to earn an honest wage. In response, we can do our part by thanking God for his gifts—especially on Thanksgiving, a special day we set apart to “praise our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens,” as Abraham Lincoln once so eloquently declared.

So rather than mope around, questioning God’s decision to bless us incalculably, let’s rejoice in our prosperity and always remember to give thanks to our heavenly Father! God doesn’t want us to feel burdened or guilty because of His blessings; instead, He wants us to delight in Him and simply voice our gratitude. After all, feeling bad won’t help the oppressed.

I’ll leave you with I Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (KJV).

Prosperity Verses for Future Reading

Psalm 23:1, Psalm 112:1-3, Proverbs 3:10, Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 10:22, Isaiah 48:17, Isaiah 62:7, Malachi 3:10-11, John 10:10, Romans 3:16, Romans 5:16-17, Romans 8:15-17, II Corinthians 8:9, II Corinthians 9:6-11, Galatians 3:1-29, Galatians 4:1-6, Galatians 6:7-8, Ephesians 1:12-21, Ephesians 2:10, Hebrews 4:3-11, I Peter 5:7