Gratitude: a soul "curved out" toward God
I think that gratitude is the key to happiness. Gratitude is not, strictly speaking, one of the fruits of the Spirit enumerated in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), but it is perhaps a meta-fruit, that is, it embraces and gives rise to all of the fruits. All of the denominated fruits seem to flow from a heartfelt gratitude.
Gratitude is a type of theological virtue, or again, a meta-virtue. (The theological virtues are faith, hope, and love--or charity. I Cor. 13:13.) For gratitude is essentially an orientation of the soul. Pace St. Augustine, instead of being curved in upon oneself, the grateful soul is curved out toward God. From this position, faith, hope, and love may enter in. Gratitude, in other words, is the pre-condition of the receipt of the theological virtues. It too is a gift.
posted by Bill R @ 4:52 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Is it a gift, or is it more a pre-requisite? We are saved, therefore we must be grateful...?
Saurkraut,
You'll often get this from me: it's both! Gratitude, like the fruit of the Spirit, is a gift. But like the fruit of the earth, it must be tended and watered. We are saved and therefore we should be grateful. But like other gifts, we need to exercise it. Therefore, there is no MUST, only a MAY!
Excellent point.
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