Thankful In General?

Cornelius Plantinga Jr. once made the pointed comment that “it must be an odd feeling to be thankful to nobody in particular” [“Assurances of the Heart” Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 13]. He was commenting on the odd phenomenon of finding, especially around the American celebration of Thanksgiving, so many people thankful “in general.”

To be thankful “in general” is very strange, he concluded. “It’s a little like being married in general.” Of course, his words are not dismissing the thought that it is good to give thanks in all circumstances. Rather, he is asking can one be thankful in general without acknowledging from where or from whom it comes?

What do YOU think? Can we be thankful in general? Numbers 11:20 implies we can't...“You have rejected the Lord, who is among you.” [Adapted from a devotional by Jill Carratini. Click pic above to read it in its entirety].