Cal Thomas: Thankful for a better kingdom

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is November 23rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Up next: WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on how to have a happier Thanksgiving.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: There are two old songs whose lyrics seem to resonate as we approach another Thanksgiving observance. One is you've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative. Don't mess with Mr. In- between. The other was a song by the Everly Brothers. That lyric said problems, problems, problems all day long. We have a choice. We can embrace the affirmative or we can focus on the problems. The two are not mutually exclusive.

We live in an age of entitlement that would have shocked the greatest generation. We are more prosperous in the financial sense than any generation that has ever lived. And yet we seem angrier as our politics grows more corrosive.

What difference would it make if we started being thankful instead of so negative? It certainly would improve individual attitudes and collectively might raise our national psyche to a healthier level. A Gallup poll found one in six Americans say they are depressed or receiving treatment for depression. That's an increase of more than 7% points since 2015 when Gallup first began polling on the topic. Granted some of this is clinical depression but could a focus on negative things cause others to be depressed.

There's another song that should be sung this Thanksgiving and during the year. The 1978 lyric composed by Henry Smith says, “Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks for the holy one. Give thanks because he's given Jesus Christ, his son. And now let the weak say we are strong, let the poor say we are rich because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks.”

That song reminds us, there are two kingdoms. One is of this world that is passing away. The other is the Kingdom of God which will never pass away. Give thanks for that kingdom and you will have a happier Thanksgiving.

I'm Cal Thomas.

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