Any pursuit on worldly things such as money, fame, power and pleasure will always end up making the pursuer wanting for more but never getting satisfied. On the other hand, pursuit for knowledge, skills and loving others makes us full and would happily still want more. With the former it makes the pursuer unhappy. The latter makes the pursuer thankful. What’s more the latter gets to multiply his joy because what he additionally acquires feels like a bonus. In contrast the former may get more but feels he still has less.
This
reminds me of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. They are all very famous people and have
altered the world with their inventions.
They too are all very rich.
They’re worth billions and yet they have not retired. They could have just stopped working, went on
a world tour, savored everything that money could buy and still have much money
left. But they are still in pursuit of
knowledge and inventions because it gives them more satisfaction than
wealth. They’ve proven the premise in
the first paragraph.
The
foundation of the virtue of gratitude is that one feels and realizes he has
been blessed and is appreciative of it.
Francis Schaeffer said, “The beginning of men’s rebellion against God
was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart.”
So true, Adam and Eve instead of focusing on what they had, focused on
what they had not. And what did our
first parents have that they should had been thankful for? Freedom from death, ignorance, and pain. Ownership of the entire world. They had more lands than the Ayala’s and
Aboitiz’s combined. Being in the state
of God’s love and grace. They had
everything but felt lacking something.
And what was that something? In
the end, there are only two things to ultimately choose in this world: created
things or the creator. They chose the created thing: themselves. They wanted to be a god for themselves. The devil chose the same thing. He then infected Adam and Eve with the same
disease.
What
happened to our first parents can be summarized by what Max Lucado said, “The
devil doesn’t have to steal anything from you, all he has to do is make you
take things for granted.” This too can
happen to us, when we forget we have been given much, the roof on our heads,
the food on our table, and the loving people around us. The key is to be happy with the simple and
then be thankful. If not, we could feel
miserable.
We
should have the attitude of George Hubert, when he said, “You O Lord has given
so much to me, give me one more thing—a grateful heart.” Our thanks to God should always precede our
requests of Him. St. Paul advises us in
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, “Pray without ceasing.
In everything give thanks.” John Mason said, “Don’t find yourself at the
end of your life saying, ‘What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d appreciated and realized it
sooner.’" An anonymous poem says it
all:
Thank
God for dirty dishes; they have a tale to tell.
While
others folks go hungry, we’re eating pretty well.
With
home, and health, and happiness,
we
should not want to fuss; for by this
stack of
evidence, God’s very good to us.
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