What do We Have to be Thankful for?

By Selwyn Duke

Among the beautiful messages in the 1937 film Captains Courageous is one relating to
thankfulness. When spoiled rich kid Harvey says to Portuguese fisherman Manuel
about Manuel’s father, “[H]e didn’t do much for you; I mean, he didn’t leave you
anything,” it evoked quite a reaction. Manuel passionately replied in his
broken English:

He leave me this hurdy-gurdy [a
musical instrument] that his grandfather leave him. He teach me how to fish, how
to sail a boat. He gave me arms and hands and feet, feeling good outside… and
he teach me how to feel good inside. My father do all this; he have 17 other
kids, beside. What else a father do, huh?

This dialogue presents two very different perspectives. One
always wants more; the other knows we have already gotten more. And don’t we see
both — one perhaps all too frequently — represented in our society today?

One is apparent in the violent protests around the world, in
which people cause mayhem because, by their lights, they haven’t gotten what’s
coming. The other is represented by people who, by a higher light, know we
haven’t gotten what’s coming — and that this actually is something for which to
be very, very thankful.

As to the first perspective, when we don’t get what we
consider a birthright, we’re usually upset, aren’t we? “I want what’s mine!” we
may think. And as we’ve seen, this can manifest itself not just with the fruits
of our own hand (e.g., salary), but with handouts.

In contrast to the anger and unhappiness of this protest
mentality is the “present” mentality, which was colorfully expressed by G.K.
Chesterton when he said, “Goods look a lot better when wrapped as gifts.” We appreciate
presents because they’re a bonus; they’re things we don’t deserve. They tend to
make us, in a word, happy.

What follows from this, however, is that if we continuously
received gifts, we could be consistently happy. But how can one cultivate this
happiness-inducing present mentality?

While trying raise my ire many years ago, someone close to
me said about my faith, “Catholicism is a religion for losers.” Yet there was a
funny thing about his statement.

He was right.

Yet there was a point he missed.

We’re all losers.

And one needn’t be a believer to understand the value of the
message here. In fact, given our time’s irreligious climate, I always like to
point out the utilitarian aspects of authentic faith. For there is something
that is not a matter of faith but of fact: man’s nature. We operate by certain
psychological principles, and something is clear when taking them into
consideration: faith works.

As to the aspect of Christianity relevant here, it’s one
that works quite well to remedy a problem of man’s nature: that spirit of
entitlement. For what do we really deserve? Christianity teaches that since
we’re all sinners, we actually deserve damnation. Yet its message is also that
we won’t get what we deserve because God sacrificed for our sins and is
merciful. And there is that greatest gift of all He offers: salvation.

Upon accepting the above, everything does appear a gift
because we realize that we, being losers who lost Eden, deserve nothing. All is
icing on the cake, from the air we breathe to the pencil we use. Oh, this
doesn’t mean we won’t ask our boss for a raise or seek better deals when
shopping; there can be legitimate reasons for doing so such as the imperative
of putting food on your family’s table. It doesn’t mean we may not sometimes
protest. But a wise person protests not because he deserves something, but
because the Truth, the good, deserves something: to be defended. And understanding
what we really deserve certainly doesn’t mean that we’re unduly beholden to the
government; it is just as wrong for the sinners within it to have a spirit of
entitlement — to feel they have some special hold on the citizenry —  as it is for anyone outside of government.

So while someone else close to me once complained about
Christianity and said “they beat you down” (with clerics’ talk of our
sinfulness), she missed the point as well. It is a beat-down that builds up.
It’s only when our ego shrinks that our happiness can grow; it is only when we
become less that what we’re blessed with seems like more. This is why, contrary
to the earlier pagan creeds, Christianity has always stressed humility. It is
why one of the faith’s symbols isn’t a conquering Caesar flanked by centurions,
but Jesus riding a lowly donkey. As the prophet Zechariah wrote, “Behold, your
king comes to you, triumphant and victorious. He is humble and riding on an
ass….” It is the triumph of humility.

So now perhaps we can know why Chesterton also said, “Thanks
are the highest form of thought.” When we’re thankful, we’re recognizing the
reality that everything is a bonus; we’re showing the gratitude owed by one who
continually receives gifts. And this is easy to understand. After all, what do
we think of someone who is done a favor and won’t even say “thank you”? How lofty
does his mindset appear at that moment?

We certainly don’t want to be that fellow. Yet the attitude
in question here isn’t like being an optimist, either; the thankful person sees
the glass as completely full because he is a realist. Our glass actually is
full.

For whether God gave us arms and hands and feet and whether
we feel good outside or not, He teaches us how to feel good inside. He gave us
everything we have and the whole world around us, besides. What else a Father
do, huh?

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           © 2012 Selwyn Duke — All Rights Reserved

2012-11-22 21:40:45

Source: http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2012/11/what-do-we-have-to-be-thankful-for.html