"Gratitude, like giving, is about regard and respect. (Both words literally mean "looking at" with the prefix re-, ...) Regard is kindly and affectionate, with a measure of admiration in it; respect is a less emotional term, a matter of deference, which requires distance and restraint." (The Gift of Thanks, Margaret Visser, 2008; page 316).
Here we see gratitude in the context of miqdash; and miqdash in the context of seeing and vision.
Regard and respect sometimes oppose each other. Too much respect interferes with people's ability to admire each other and hold each other in high regard.
- Respect is often the antagonist of affection.
- Regard is the next step after trust, where the recipient of a gift readies himself to be altered by that receipt.
- Respect is the next step of deference, where the recipient of a gift restrains himself from altering the giver.
Ingratitude, on the other hand, like hoarding, is about disregard and disrespect. Ingratitude rejects the person giving the gift. When we reject God's beneficence and deny His existence we express ingratitude to what has been given to us.
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