Leaving the Creator Out Of The Picture

By Roshel

She had been watching a man on a TV show talking about the journey of his life. Now in his 80s, his was almost literally a rags-to-riches story. Born in a humble family in a remote village, he had gone on to become a business tycoon, presiding over a vast commercial empire. And along with this, he had been deeply engaged in various social initiatives, seeking to help people in different ways.

A remarkable feature of the man, she thought to herself as he shared his life-story, was that despite his many worldly attainments, he seemed endearingly humble, down-to-earth, and good-hearted and enthusiastic, even at his age, to contribute positively to humanity. Another thing that was particularly striking about him, she reflected, was his enormous sense of gratitude, which was a reflection of his humility. He was deeply grateful to many people who had played a key role in shaping the course of his life: his parents and siblings, the folk of the village where he was born, his teachers and classmates, his friends and seniors at various places where he had worked, and so on. As he relayed his story, he kept repeating how indebted he was to them. Without their help, love and concern, he would never have become what he had, he stressed. No amount of expression of thanks could compensate for all that they had done for him, he repeated.

She found the man’s enthusiasm in expressing his gratefulness to the many people who had played a major role in his life very touching. Not many people readily acknowledge the good done to them by others or even admit, without being prompted to, the role played by other people in their achievements. Clearly, this man was different. She hadn’t seen or heard anyone celebrating their gratefulness to others so willingly and enthusiastically before!

But just then, a thought came to her: “It’s of course great that he so unstintingly acknowledges the debt that he owes to other people for the role they’ve played in his life. They aren’t many people who would do that, and so, he’s quite an exception. But, sad to say, his gratitude list is woefully incomplete. He’s not mentioned the Creator even once, the One Who brought him into being, Who blessed him with many opportunities, Who arranged for all those people to come into his life whom he fondly remembers—and rightly so—for all that they did for him. It’s great that he feels indebted to all these people, but how can his gratitude list be complete if he leaves the One Who made all those people possible in the first place completely out of the picture? And, if he hasn’t thanked, or even just mentioned in passing, the One who blessed him with all the opportunities that he received in his life, surely his acknowledgement of his indebtedness is woefully inadequate.”

Why might it be, she thought to herself, that in expressing his gratitude, the man had not once mentioned the Creator, without Whom none of the man’s achievements, and even his very existence itself, would have been possible? Did he do it inadvertently? Or, was it that he did not believe in the Creator? Or, was it that he had led his life, as many do, without caring about the Creator at all, completely indifferent to Him, so that the very thought of the Creator had vanished from his mind? Or, was it that he did believe in the Creator but was reluctant to mention Him for fear of being thought of as ‘unscientific’ or ‘backward’ by others? Possibly only the Creator and he knew!