THE GRATITUDE ATTITUDE
There once was a very rich man. He was so rich, he could have owned many cars, but instead he chose to drive a Ford. He was so rich, he could have owned many computers, but instead he chose an Apple Mackintosh. He was so rich, he could have owned many homes, but instead he chose to live in East L.A.
Because this man was rich, many people in his neighbourhood knew him. And also because the man was rich, many people from outside of his neighbourhood knew him too. Often, his doorbell would ring, and there on his threshold would stand someone who had come to ask for a donation.
Sometimes when the bell rang, it was a neighbour who had fallen into misfortune. The man would smile, embrace his neighbour, and place a generous sum into their hand.
Sometimes when the bell rang, it was a charity representing the starving children of Tijuana. The man would again smile, embrace the charity worker, and write a generous cheque.
One evening, when his door bell was particularly quiet, this man decided to take a walk. He headed off, idling along wherever the road would, amongst the quaint homes of his neighbourhood, past the threadbare trees lining the park.
Every once in a while, a car passed, thumping out the latest hits, and he soon found himself whistling one of these tunes to himself.
Lost in the tune, he came suddenly upon a homeless beggar lying in the midst of the sidewalk. The beggar wore a tattered sweater and ripped pants. He had shoes, but they didn’t even match.
This unfortunate soul lying on the street saw the man and knew him. Certainly, the beggar said to himself, this is the rich man who lives in the lane. Surely he can help me, for he has money at his disposal. But instead of reaching out his hand, the beggar was overcome by a sudden bout of shame and hid his face.
The man stood over this tattered figure. He reached down and touched the beggar’s cheek, but the beggar shrank away from him further. The man’s eye’s clouded slightly and he cracked a weak smile. Forgetting the tune he once whistled, the man slowly turned and walked back to his home.
Upon hearing the man retreat beyond the corner, the beggar opened his eyes and sat up. There at his feet lay $100 dollar bill.
The beggar grabbed the money and headed for the nearest liquor store. Like many beggars, his first thought was to go and spend the money in drinking.
But, before he entered the store, he remembered the compassion of the man’s touch. This inspired him, and the beggar decided then and there to turn his life around.
He headed to the nearest telephone, called a broker and said “Hundred dollars. Invest it all in that company with the nerdy looking CEO. Microsoft!”
Since this was, as it turns out, the late 1980s, it took only a short while before the stock skyrocketed. Yes, good can come of evil – and the beggar found himself very well off indeed.
Back in East L.A. the years passed. The generous man kept to life much as usual – taking evening walks, whistling tunes, answering his door bell.
One day in particular, his doorbell rang, and there stood a finely dressed gentleman in three piece suit.
“You’re rich man, aren’t you?” his guest asked.
“What can I do for you?” the man responded automatically, so accustomed to being asked for things.
“It is not what you can do for me,” answered his guest, “but what you have already done.”
“What have I done for you?” the man asked in surprise.
“You’ve given me a second chance at life. Why, with your generous gift, I was able to invest the money and pull myself out of my poverty. I no longer wallow in the grime and gutters, but I walk along crowded sidewalks with my head held high. I have to thank you for that.”
Suddenly, the man recognized his guest. It was the beggar who’d been lying in the street. The man replied, “What I gave you, you did not ask for. I gave it simply because I saw you there and loved you. I would have given it to anyone in the position.”
“All the more reason to come and thank you,” his guest said.
“But I am rich,” replied the man. “I have many gifts to give. I don’t expect anything in return.”
“Good,” his guest said with a nod. “Because I don’t have anything to offer in return – whatever I have, you gave to me. All I wanted to do was come and thank you.”
The man stared as his guest who reached out and took him into an embrace. It was the same gesture the man had so often offered to those at his door, yet this was the first time someone had offered it back.
Tears filled the man’s eyes as his guest, a lowly beggar off the street, held him in the most satisfying embrace he had ever received.
The Rich Man is God, while the poor man is you or I. God has given us everything we have. He created us, He gave us life (and life again). He gave us love; He gave us talents to do things. All we have springs from what He’s given us.
What can we give God back to show our gratitude? What can we return to Him that he hasn’t given us already? There is only one thing. Our thanks. Our thanks is the only gift we can give to God that He hasn’t given us in the first place.
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