“If we are ungrateful for Life, Truth, and Love, and yet return thanks to God for all blessings, we are insincere and incur the sharp censure our Master pronounces on hypocrites. In such a case, the only acceptable prayer is to put the finger on the lips and remember our blessings.” (Science and Health, page 3)

Gratitude is not merely some mantra to get us to feel better about ourselves. Giving thanks when we are not feeling truly conscious of God’s blessings is being hypocritical and it isn’t going to help us find favor with God or men, or reveal the healing we may desire.

If we are still engrossed in our lack, our misery, our material circumstances, or the behavior of others, our thanksgiving has no sincerity. An honest and quiet recognition of God, of the Truth of our Life, will awaken us from the mesmerism of ingratitude and any reason for it. We can’t talk our way into seeing God’s blessings revealed. It is Truth, a genuine honesty and receptivity that must and can open our eyes and call out our natural songs of praise.

Being grateful is not about counting the good in our human lives (the pros) while remaining still well-aware of the opposite (the cons). True gratitude is not human argument. It is a rest in God’s presence, in the awareness that good is All and therefore right where we are. It is a silent consciousness that Love is bigger than the human picture presents and that our coffers are more than full of blessings because our lives are full of the great treasures of divine Love.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.