Thanksgiving is the day when we celebrate God’s hand of Providence in bringing about individual liberty and freedom in this great country! The settlers of the Plymouth Colony, known to us today as the Pilgrims, came here seeking a new world in which to find freedom from servitude and bondage to lords and kings. Just 102 settlers arrived in America after 66 days at sea. Their first winter was fraught with trouble; a full half of their company died in those few difficult months. But on March 16 the following spring, the Lord sent them provision in a most unexpected form: an Indian named Squanto. With his help, the Pilgrims began to learn how to survive in this rough new land and to recover from their serious losses of the winter. Contrary to what schools and media now teach, that first day of Thanksgiving was not set aside to honor the Indians, but to worship and give thanks to the true Source of their success: the providential hand of the gracious God they served.
The first winter was not the end of their struggles, however. The Pilgrims owed a tremendous debt to the Virginia Company, the group of wealthy Britishmen who had funded their colony. Their first attempt at repayment was an utter failure. In this initial Plymouth economy, each family worked to contribute to a general fund to repay the debt and provide for basic needs. Regardless of how hard each family worked, everyone received the same amount of supplies from the general fund. This created an incentive to not work as hard as your neighbor, since their hard work would make up for your laziness (sound familiar?). After 2 years under this system, governor William Bradford, taking his inspiration from the Bible, made a decision that would change the world. He instituted a free market system in which every household was assigned their own portion of debt to repay. Once they repaid their debt, anything they produced was theirs to keep. Inspired by the Scriptures, Bradford set up the first economy in the world that was based on principles of individual liberty over socialist tyranny. In the 300 years of our nation’s history since that time, the Lord has blessed our country to become the greatest engine of prosperity and provision the world has ever seen. Our economy is larger than the next 10 biggest world economies put together, and no other country has done so much to provide for the needs of people all around the world!
What do we do today with the example the Pilgrims set out for us? The bottom line is responsibility. Who was responsible for providing for their basic needs? Food? Clothing? Houses? What about their other needs, like education, worship, and justice? The Pilgrims understood that the Lord was the ultimate Provider for all their needs. They did not look to their government to provide for their needs, educate their children, or tell them how to worship. They worked hard to provide for their families, and, most of all, gave praise and thanks to God for His blessing on their colony. Today we should continue to give thanks and remember that we have been blessed to live in the best country in the world, and that this country only remains by God’s gracious hand.
"…let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor, When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord his lovingkindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men…" –Governor William Bradford
Todd A. Courser
Candidate for State Senate 2010
www.votetoddnow.com
