Of gratitude, Mary Baker Eddy writes, "What is gratitude but a powerful camera obscura, a thing focusing light where love, memory, and all within the human heart is present to manifest light" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 164). There is no lovelier trait of human character than an expressed appreciation of benefits received from God. Parents impress the need of this recognition and expression of gratitude upon their offspring as one of the earliest lessons of childhood. Even in gratitude's most attenuated form of politeness and formal murmurings of "Thank you" there is a charm of loveliness that warms and satisfies the heart.
Indeed, so prevalent is the recognition of both the need and the benefit to be derived from the expression of gratitude that our human experience is filled with evidences of it, from national holidays, which are set aside for the purpose of expressing our thanks to God as a nation, to the fervent and heartfelt expression, "Thank You, God," for constant evidences of His allness, His goodness and ever-present love manifested to us as individuals. But to the student of Christian Science a deeper, more significant meaning of gratitude begins to dawn upon his awakening consciousness. Mrs. Eddy in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," associates true gratitude with action, rather than with mere verbal expression of appreciation for benefits already received, stating (p. 3), "Action expresses more gratitude than speech." Indeed, she emphatically states that should words become the substitute for works Christian Science would be lost to mankind.
One dictionary defines "grateful" as being "appreciative of benefits received," and a student of Christian Science in his earnest search for spiritual understanding early learns the necessity of truly evaluating the nature of these benefits. He also learns that the benefits for which it is necessary for him to be grateful are not mere material possessions or gifts. In fact, he learns that gratitude as defined by material sense is not true gratitude at all, but merely gradations of belief shading from ingratitude because of desired objects withheld to verbal acknowledgment of material possessions received and material ambition and sense gratified.
