A Chinese preacher, whose wages were twenty-two dollars a month in 1911, refused the offer of the post of consul at fifty dollars, that he might be free to preach the gospel to his countrymen. His countrymen said of him: "There is no difference between him and the Book."
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Henry Van Dyke, in The Outlook, expresses the spontaneous nature of true gratitude:
Do you give thanks for this, or that? No,
God be thanked,
I am not grateful
In that cold calculating way, with blessings
ranked
As one, two, three, and four-- that would be hateful!
I only know that every day brings good
above
My poor deserving;
I only feel that on the road of life true Love
Is leading me along and never swerving.
Whatever turn the path may take to left or
right,
I think if follows
The tracing of a wiser hand, through dark
and light, Across the hills and in the shady hollows.
Whatever gifts the hours bestow, or great or
small,
I would not measure
As worth a certain price in praise, but take
them all
And use them all, with simple, heartfelt
pleasure.
For when we gladly eat our daily bread, we
bless
The hand that feeds us;
And when we walk along life's way in cheer-
fullness,
Our very heart-beats praise the Love that
leads us
God be thanked,
I am not grateful
In that cold calculating way, with blessings
ranked
As one, two, three, and four-- that would be hateful!
I only know that every day brings good
above
My poor deserving;
I only feel that on the road of life true Love
Is leading me along and never swerving.
Whatever turn the path may take to left or
right,
I think if follows
The tracing of a wiser hand, through dark
and light, Across the hills and in the shady hollows.
Whatever gifts the hours bestow, or great or
small,
I would not measure
As worth a certain price in praise, but take
them all
And use them all, with simple, heartfelt
pleasure.
For when we gladly eat our daily bread, we
bless
The hand that feeds us;
And when we walk along life's way in cheer-
fullness,
Our very heart-beats praise the Love that
leads us
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