Hello there fellas, I kinda borrowed a short story from an unknown author to which really seized my attention. So I thought, the lesson is amazing convincing me that reality hits on every corners of a wall to a one's soul. Some have read and some have not but we'll take this in a Bibical perspective a'yt? I hope you could dig out something with me because this is something that we can ponder about. I'm posting this for another add-up-to-your-learning or maybe a-waste-of-your-time sake but of course, it depends on you.
So I hope you can bear with me cause I'll be buying some of your time.
Now let the story begin... here it goes....
"The Four Wives"
There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives who seemingly had everything. Money, Fame, Means of Food, Business, anything you could say as long as it projects a stable and sustained living. His wives owed a lot to him and all they could give back in return is to submit and respect his authority.
Among his wives, He loved the 4th the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best. BEST IN EVERYTHING...
He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. She is his pleaser and keeps his identity in a higher standard. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men. It worries him at times.
He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always been patient and in fact she's the merchant's confidante. Whenever things get tough, he always turned to her and she would always help him out tiding him through difficult times. She's his comfort when things won't turn out the way he expected.
Now let's not forget, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, it's sad to know, the merchant doesn't love her at all. But with every fiber of her being, the 1st wife loved him deeply, but he hardly took notice of her and it keeps her gloomy all the time.
Now, One day, the merchant fell ill and before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxuriously abundant life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be! What will I do?"... He laid in his bed and got so dejected knowing nothing to do. He got desperate.
Thus in his bed lying, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" but the 4th wife answered, "No way!" with a loud voice and walked away without another word. The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart and couldn't believe that she could say that to him.
The doleful merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" but similarly to the 4th wife, "No! Life is so good over here and I'm going to remarry when you die!" replied the 3rd wife with that serious look. The merchant's heart sank and turned cold. His depression stunned his body made him very weak as if his blood that runs through his veins froze. He felt the pain and weakened him.
He then asked the 2nd wife, crying, sobbing and begging desperately... "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" but with a guilty face the 2nd wife said... "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time! At the very most, I can only send and keep you company until your grave only." The answer came like a mad bolt of thunder and the merchant got so overwhelmed with all the things he heard with his wives. devastated, devoured with depression, heartbroken, dismayed. He experienced more torment not just physically but also mentally.
Then a voice called out all of a sudden : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, old, weak, feeble, frail almost like she suffered from malnutrition. The merchant was shocked, greatly grieved and couldn't believe the state of his fading first wife, and said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have! Look at you now! what have I done?". He lament and regret everything he had done.
There the story ended and please don't mind the ending because that's all the author had wrote. You might wanna ask what happened to them in the end "the merchant and the 1st wife".... well, they we're meant to be inseparable together but one thing for sure I'm certain, it's not a happily ever after. Why?
let's jump to the lesson stage, shall we?
let's jump to the lesson stage, shall we?
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives. Not literally, You got to believe me, presumably speaking, I couldn't agree more on the story... Why? it's like this...
a. The 4th wife is our body whom the merchant loved the most. OUR PHYSICAL BODY whom we regard the most. We put the best make-ups on, we diet, we work-out on a gym to be physically shaped, we jog, we wear the best clothes to stay appealing on the eyes of other people. We find the best in every possibilities for our body to be taken good care of. Maybe some others don't. But all of this, I'm not saying it's not good to take good care of our bodies. If you're doing that, Amen! me too must do that while I'm still alive. We all must! but my point is, it's reality!, that no matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die. PERIOD.
b. Our 3rd wife whom merchant boasted among his friends? It's our possessions, status and wealth which we can also give confidence on us to show off to people. But you see, when we die, they all go to others. If your a manager, a president, like Bill Gates or like Steve Jobs perhaps, or any positions we can assume there is, when we die, they all can be owned by your colleagues or some other people that is capable of handling your position as successors. Maybe even you're money, gadgets, cars, your house and lots...and you can name it all... no matter how nice, expensive or how many they are, still, it won't go with you when you die but it could be inherited by your children or maybe your siblings. Like I said, still, they go to others. They're gonna remarry to someone else like what the 3rd wife did. Now it all make sense doesn't it?
c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends -- our confidants. It's good to have a family that we can trust right? I'm forever grateful to God for putting me in His Kingdom that shows unity, inspiration, hope and love. My Physical and Spiritual family is constantly been there giving me strength. Keeping me on the right track and helped me out gaze on the Savior. They always make me feel brave. But sadly, No matter how close they had been there for us while we're still alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. But let's not be cheerless about that fact for God prepared something grander if we held on to His grace. Let's look on the brighter side. God teaches us to be optimistic.
d. Now, the 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure. We failed to get the point of living. So often we're driven on the wrong purpose and direction. Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our deathbed to lament. We need to have the perspective Jesus had taught us. The goal he showed. He is the only way. The real way.
with that I'd like to share to you this scripture in the Bible...
(2 Corinthians 5: 1-8)
"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord."
SO HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR SOULS???
HOW IS YOUR FIRST WIFE'S SITUATION NOW???
IS IT ALREADY SKINNY, UNHEALTHY AND FELT THE REJECTION???
DO YOU FEEL THAT ARE YOU LIKE THAT MERCHANT???
LET'S TAKE A GOOD CARE OF OUR SOUL!
LET'S TAKE A GOOD CARE OF OUR FIRST WIFE AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HER IN THE END.
THANK YOU GUYS! for really getting this far in reading this one. Indeed, it's a great time sharing with you this story. Hope you appreciate this one and learned something important and bound to be carried always as we're still living. I Hope we could all be reminded by the truth every time. THANK YOU for the time.
yours truly,
-jm bayzon
No comments:
Post a Comment