YESTERDAY climaxed the maiden National Day of Thanksgiving declared by His Excellency President John Evans Atta Mills. And as was to be expected, thousands of Ghanaians from all walks of life and different religious denominations thronged the Independence Square in Accra and other venues in the regional capitals to offer thanks to God with their hearts, hands and voices for the many wondrous things that He had done for us as a people and a nation.
Indeed, our Muslim brothers and sisters started the event last Friday when they congregated at the Central Mosque in Accra for a special prayer and thanksgiving service for the nation.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, the Daily Graphic wholeheartedly welcomes the institution of this special day, which is expected to be an annual affair, and we congratulate the President on his vision and foresight.
The fact is that thanksgiving constitutes a common element in the religions of humankind and both the Bible and the Quran bear eloquent testimony to this. For instance, the Quran recognises thanksgiving as the most essential of the four pillars of worship, while the Bible encourages us to give thanks in all circumstances because it is the will of God.
To make the occasion more unifying and meaningful, we suggest that one particular day in the year be set aside for Ghanaians, regardless of their religion, colour or creed, to congregate and observe thanksgiving.
Just as the first Friday of December each year has been designated National Farmers Day, the Daily Graphic thinks it will be worthwhile and more propitious if we proclaim a particular day in the year as thanksgiving day.
Perhaps July 1, which is our Republic Day, could as well be designated a national day of prayer and thanksgiving.
Other nations give thanks, of course. The Netherlands, Grenada, Canada and the US all celebrate a national holiday of thanksgiving and in all cases a statutory date has been fixed for the celebration. In the US, for instance, it is the last Thursday in November each year, while in Canada Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October because by the end of November it is too cold to be much thankful for anything.
While we still ponder over the choice of a statutory date for prayer and thanksgiving, it is important to remind ourselves that another important issue we cannot gloss over is forgiveness. This is another moral trait both the Quran and Bible strongly recommend. The Quran, for instance, says “...But if you pardon and exonerate and forgive, Allah is ever-forgiving, most merciful” (Quran 64:14) while the Bible instructs us to forgive as the Lord forgave us (Colosians 3:13, NIV).
But the questions we must all earnestly answer are: Do we as a people and nation have a forgiving spirit? Are we ready to bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances we have against one another?
What we must remember is that God’s readiness to forgive and prosper us is contingent on our own ability to forgive others.Therefore, let us make a conscious effort to forgive out of obedience to the Lord. It is a choice, a decision we must make before standing to raise “holy hands” before God in thanksgiving.
Whether we like it or not, the vicious cycle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is assuming alarming proportions in our political and social live and it would take us nowhere. The earlier we nip the canker in the bud, the better it will be for all of us.
Finally, let us ponder on the following words of Martin Luther King Jr: “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
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