In recent days, the first chapter of St. Paul's letter to
the believers in Rome has become a common touch point for the debate on
same-sex marriage. I am intrigued by these words from this chapter:
“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as
God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish
hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).
It is my contention that living a life of gratitude is the key
to living a rich life. Why is this? When we live a life of gratitude we are
acknowledging that we are not the center of our world. We cannot be
self-centered and grateful at the same time. When we say “Thank you” to the clerk at the store we have
just acknowledged that our lives are lived in community. Selfishness and
gratefulness do not exist in the same life.
Beyond living in the human community, we live in a larger
spiritual reality. Our current spiritual culture is heavily focused on
immanence, the truth that God is close. Gratitude brings us to understand that
we cannot survive without transcendence, the belief that there is a One who
greater than what we can control or manage. Gratitude lends our thinking to a
wildness of bounty that is undeserved. We are graced with goodness beyond our
expectation.
Gratitude is one step toward the Divine; ingratitude is the
first step away from the Divine.
What are you grateful for today?
Ronald Friesen © 2015
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