Gratitude as a Virtue

Jessica Hooten Wilson, “Gratitude as a Virtue”, in: Church Life Journal (27 July 2020).

"The year 2020 seems to offer us more opportunities to complain and lament than to be grateful. When we conceive of “gratitude” as a virtue rather than an emotion, we see that it does not depend as much on the circumstances as it does on our imagination, our practices, and our habits. How can we cultivate a gracious imagination in which we practice receiving and extending grace, especially when we do not want what we have been given? For ultimately that is the real test of gratitude, is it not? Our courage is tested when we are threatened; our magnanimity is questioned when we are exalted; and our gratitude is proven when we face what appear to be trials."

Read the article here.