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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
November, 1938
but soon forgotten,” because of the lack of gratitude to, and loving remembrance of, the departed one. Many a grave is filled in before its time through thoughtlessness and base ingratitude. God deliver us from causing an early grave! “Over the casket pitiful we stand And place a rose within the helpless hand, That yesterday mayhap we would not see When it was meekly offered. On the heart That often ached for one approving word W e lay forget-me-nots; we turn away And find the world is colder for the loss Of this so faulty and so loving one. Think of that moment, ye who reckon close With love—so much for every gentle thought The moment when love’s richest gifts are naught, When a pale flower upon a pulse less heart Like vain regrets exhales its sweets in vain.” Friend, is there a mother's or friend’s heart you could cheer by a kind word of thanks? Have you forgotten to say "Thank you”? Well, delay no longer. Take your pen and write to that one who deserves your grati tude. A three-cent stamp may save a soul from despair. There is Spiritual Ingratitude The Bible speaks about offering the sac rifices of thanksgiving, giving thanks unto the name of the Lord (Heb. 13:15). Let our response be: "O my soul,. . . forget not all his benefits” (Psa. 103:2). If only men, yes, even cleansed men, would praise the Lord for His goodness, how happy His heart would be! There may be some ex cuse for the heathen as they manifest a thankless spirit—though Romans 1:18-21 holds every man responsible for a measure of gratitude. Those blessed by the knowl edge of God, however, are doubly without excuse. As we have seen, it was nine cleansed, healed men who took the gift of health without thanking the Giver. And God always suffers more when Ingratitude is shown by those who dwell beneath His shadow. Do you praise Him, and that continually, for Himself, for His transcendent attributes, for His beloved Son, for His Holy Spirit, for His infallible Word, for His grace and salvation, for His day, for His church? May our thanks ascend to Him for these un speakable gifts! Yes, and may our Thanksgiving lead to Thanks-living. God grant that lips and life may be in complete harmony! A tongue of praise is ever sweeter when behind it there is a heart of purity.- A “Hallelujah" from the lips of an inconsistent Christian is but a sounding brass and tinkling cymbal. By lives of loving obedience and earnest con secration, may we express our sincerest gratitude to the Master, who by His sacri fice deserves praise for evermore.
thousands mourn.” Yes, we live in an un grateful world. Heartlessness is the haunt ing shadow in many a heart and home. Few wounds so deeply enter the noble and generous spirit as those caused by iftgrati- tude. The greater the kindness and com passion shown, the greater the weight of unmindfulness seems to be. Ingratitude has broken many a kind heart—it ultimately broke the Saviour's. How could men be so cruel? Ingratitude! It is selfishness. Thankless lives are usually selfish lives. Ingratitude withers up the finer qualities. The con stant thankless reception of the benefits of God and man makes one greedy. Rivers of goodness flow into the life, but nothing in the way of praise flows out. It may be that “the nine” when cleansed felt they had received only what was their due. Alexander Smellie suggests what their erroneous reasoning may have been: "The loathsome disease was an injustice and a grievance, and health was their right and they need not be profoundly thankful.” How we need to guard ourselves against such self-conceit and pride! Because grati tude is the atmosphere in which the fairest flowers bloom, may we ever strive to live in that rare air. Social Ingratitude What a happier, sunnier world this would be if people only knew how to be grateful for the blessings of civilization, the comforts of home, the amenities of life! At this Thanksgiving season let each of us think and thank. In Philippians 4:6-8 there is a close relationship between the words "think” and “thanksgiving.” May grace be ours to pause and praise! Gratitude is sadly needed in the intimate associations of life. How miserable we feel when we remember the deeds of those to whom we ought to have been grateful! There is a striking phrase in the story of Joseph: “Yet did not the chief butler re member Joseph, but forgat him” (Gen. 40: 23). Luke reminds us that the one cleansed leper whose lips became vocal with praises was a stranger, a Samaritan (vs. 15, 16). The rest were Jews. So Jesus got more from a stranger than from His own. How like life this is! Think of broken hearts—broken by the ingratitude of childrenl “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child!” Our Father above knows something about this, and we hear His grieved reproach: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider” (Isa. 1:2, 3 ). Sometimes people have to die before they are appreciated, but instead of cov ering dead bodies with beautiful wreaths, let us impart a little more cheer while our friends are with us. Yes, and gratitude might help them to live longer! Often tomb stones are silent liars. “Gone, but not for gotten" is’ a favorite epitaph. One feels like stealing out some midnight and chang ing it on a stone or two whose story he knows. The words might better be, "Gone,
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