p. 71 | Ingratitude

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 2, 1875

Ingratitude.

It is an old saying that if you do a man nineteen favors, and, for any reason, decline to do him the twentieth, he will forget the nineteen requests that you have granted, and only remember the one that you have refused—and for that refusal, he will hate you ever afterward.

And this is true of some men; it is true of men of mean and narrow nature; but it is not true of all. It is as natural for a noble soul to cherish a lively recollection of kindnesses received as it is to breathe. And while we are often shocked to see acts of friendship toward others, which have cost us a great deal of time and of labor, entirely overlooked and forgotten, we, not unfrequently, on the other hand, are surprised by the grateful reciprocation of some favor long since rendered, and the very performance of which had passed from our own recollection, until reminded of it by the recipient.

We have always regarded gratitude as a feeling which is hardly susceptible of being taught to any one. A lecture on gratitude, to whomsoever addressed, instead of awakening that emotion, is very apt to engender a feeling of indignation and hatred. People never like to be told to be grateful. And it is of no use to tell them. If it is not natural to a soul to appreciate the good nature of others, it can never be taught such appreciation.