Once a man reached heaven. He wanted to see every nook and corner of it. He expressed his desire to God. How could God refuse his devotee’s desire? Thus, God sent an angel to escort him.
While the man was moving about with wide-open eyes through the rooms and avenues of heaven, he saw a host of angels writing down something very hastily. He has seen such a sight only in exam halls when the students rush through their answer papers as the bell rang. This writing was even faster.
“What are they writing? Is there some examination going on here?” he enquired.
“Nothing of that sort. They are writing down the petitions raised from the earth! They have to submit all of them before God,” the angel answered.
The man was happy to hear that. No prayer of men is unheard before God, he thought.
When they proceeded further, he saw another group of angels. They were writing something very slowly and leisurely.
‘These angels must be idle. That is why they are writing so sluggishly’ he thought. He shared his thoughts with his escorting angel. Neither did he spare a chance to find fault with angels. “If these angels write so sluggishly, how can the prayers of men reach God? It is because of the idleness of these angels many prayers are unheard and unanswered. And people blame God for it!” he expressed his indignation to the angel.
The angel replied: “This group of angels are not dealing with petitions. They are writing down the gratitude of men and women from the earth. Only very few people express gratitude for the blessings received. That is why the angels are writing slowly!”
This may be a mere story. But, hasn’t it got a solid message to convey? We, who are ready to go to any extent to gain what we desire, forget the way we travelled and the persons who helped us, once we have obtained our desire. Often we do not even think about the need of thanking someone who helped us to obtain it.
It is very important to be persons of gratitude. Being grateful is an expression of man’s innate goodness. Even though we receive some services because we pay for them, we need to be thankful to them because we needed their service. But, alas! We have turned so ungrateful!
How can we, who forget to thank tangible people whom we often meet, thank the unseen God? Only those who are grateful to men will be thankful to God. Even though you are not able to express your gratitude, at least make sure that you do not cause trouble to them. Be human! Be grateful!
