By St. Luke of Crimea
The root of ingratitude is human’s greediness: no matter
how much a person gets, it is not enough for him, he does not thank for it but
slanders because he did not get more.
Do we really get little from God? If ostriches and
jackals thank God even for water He gave them in a desert, do we really get
less than they do?
We get much more! God honored us with mind, which animals do
not have; God gave us His law, which shows us the way in our life. Of course,
God cares for us more than for ostriches and jackals. Earthly fruits grow for
us, the earth gives us all the necessary cereals. He helps us in everything we
do. The sun is shining on us, the rain is pouring on us, both on good and bad
ones.
What is even more important is that God did not spare
even His Only-begotten Son and sent Him to earth to be crucified, diminished
and beaten by people.
And all of these is not enough for us! We are still
ungrateful. How foolish we are!
Ancient wise man Jesus the Son of Sirach said: “Take
all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy
humiliation keep patience” (Sirach 2:4).
Accept with pleasure, accept gratefully everything
what God sends you for it is for our good: all our sorrows are sent by God for
our salvation. Through these sorrows God leads us to good, and He wants us to
accept what He sands not only without murmur and slander, but with gratitude.
Even when God takes our close people – our father and
mother, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters – we have to bow humbly before
His will, which is always good and saving, and thank Him for everything, even
for the things that seem the worst to us.
Know and remember that gratitude to God, proclaimed in
our prayers, together with our repentance can change our heart entirely. If we
are always grateful, if we confess our sins then little by little our spiritual
sight becomes clearer and we receive the ability to see what is in our heart.
We learn to look after ourselves and notice the things that cannot be seen by morally
depraved people We receive the ability of deeper concentration. The complete purification
of the heart and gratitude to God give us the greatest grace of God.
This is why it is so important and necessary to thank
God always.
Translated
by The Catalog of Good Deeds
Source:
http://pravlife.org/ru/content/svt-luka-krymskiy-rasskazal-chto-v-samom-korne-mozhet-izmenit-nashe-serdce
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