As I consider the subject of Christian gratitude, I'm struck by the low level of search engine hits on the subject. Under the heading of "thanksgiving" there's a fair bit, including online bible dictionary and theological dictionary entries. But it's noteworthy that these deal almost exclusively with our debt of gratitude to God. It is this that has predominantly occupied Christians down the ages also.
There is vary little on the simple issue of "saying THANK YOU" to other people. The first Church at Jerusalem was of one heart and soul, sharing what they had with glad and generous hearts [Acts 2:46, 4:32]. Gratitude all over the place. But now it has almost become a lost art. Could this be a tacit proof of the individualism that has pervaded Christianity down the years?
Anyway, here are some of the links I found interesting in the course of my musings.
Here is an interesting selection of quotations and one-liners on the subject of gratitude, from Classical, secular and spiritual sources. This one got me thinking:
Next to ingratitude, the most painful thing to bear is gratitude. (Henry Ward Beecher)
Which of us hasn't sat on the horns of that dilemma when we've been kind to someone and they thank us? False modesty this way, self-praise that way...
This piece shows the importance of gratitude in the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some of the quotes are a little odd to Western thinking, but there are some gems here.
Here, the wonderfully named "Sarcastic Lutheran" looks at 'gratitude and whole-life stewardship'.
Also from the Lutheran fold comes this piece on "Radical Gratitude: Experiencing life with thanksgiving by acknowledging God's abundant grace and living in generous freedom" - right next to a large blue GIVE NOW button!
If you're ready to get your brain aching, Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) writes this about gratitude in his vast compendium, Summa Theologica.
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