Greed comes in many shapes and sizes. Is this humanity today, in a nutshell?
Heaven and Hell
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell is like.” So the Lord led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked inside.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and looked sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “Alright so now you have seen Hell.”
Then they went to the next room and opened the door. This room was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons that were strapped to their arms, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, “I don’t understand.” And the Lord said, “It’s simple, it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy in the other room think only of themselves.”
Feels to me like all we are feeding each other these days is a lot of BS, and the worst of our greed is starving us of spiritual nourishment. But it is said that an attitude of gratitude is the first defense against greed and selfishness. So I say let’s begin with being thankful for what we have, and start using those long spoons for some good.
What are you thankful for today?
Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.+
“For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
-Matthew 8:36
Gratitude is in short supply these days… great reminder!
Love this, Connie. Thank you for your weekly messages!