Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Foolish King (A fable)
This story popped into my head on my way to work this morning. I hope it's not copyrighted, but I know at least something about copyright law (must change at least 200 characters), so I'm good.
Oh, so that's a good plug to have you go read the first few pages of your Bible. Does it say (C)? If so, at least 200 words have been changed. I don't know about you, but I don't want my Bible changed.
O.K. The Foolish King
The jester danced for his king in the courtyard, and the king was amused by the jester's antics. The jester told stories and jokes and made the king laugh. The king was so impressed by the jester this morning, that he wanted to give him a payment. As the king thought about what to give, the jester asked if he might make a suggestion. The king agreed, and the jester pulled two coins from his pocket. The jester held the coins up to the king and said, "Your highness, I am pleased that I have been able to make you laugh and add merriment to your day. I wonder if I might have everything that I can completely hide from you with these two coins?" The jester flipped one of the coins up into the air and caught it as the king thought. "The coins are the largest used in the realm", he said, "but even if he hid an entire piece of gold completely, he has earned it!"
The king agreed and the jester began circling the court as he started his hunt of what his coins might cover. As he held them out in front of him, he passed in front of the members of the court. Their interest was captured as he paraded dramatically around the room. He would hover over the ring of one noble or the necklace of another and would occasionally hold the coins together - sometimes apart. Who would loose a ring? Who would loose a necklace? The king leaned forward and was growing curious about what he would settle on. Finally, as if suddenly remembering the word "everything", the jester placed the coins over the kings eyes and hid the entire kingdom from his sight!
Now, every good fable needs a morale.
The king had been tricked because he did not pay attention to the language of what was being said. That's pretty easy to do if you're not paying attention. The word "everything" means everything! "Nothing" means nothing. "All" means 100%. "No one" means no one. "No" means no. Now, consider the following:
Thou shalt have NO other gods before me. - Ex 20:3 (emph. added)
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with ALL thine heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy might. Deut 6:5 (emph. added)
I am the way, the truth, and the life: NO man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 (emph. added)
Giving 100% to God means necessarily that we give 0% to anything else. While that's difficult to do (and dare I say - impossible according to my Bible), it's always the goal. To willfully give >0% to prayer to any other entity other than God is to give <100% to God. God wants 100% of our prayers, so according to my Bible, I can't waste prayer on dead ears. If, however, someone can find in the Bible a prayer to Moses or Abraham or anyone other than the Trinity, I'd be interested in seeing that.
Oh, so that's a good plug to have you go read the first few pages of your Bible. Does it say (C)? If so, at least 200 words have been changed. I don't know about you, but I don't want my Bible changed.
O.K. The Foolish King
The jester danced for his king in the courtyard, and the king was amused by the jester's antics. The jester told stories and jokes and made the king laugh. The king was so impressed by the jester this morning, that he wanted to give him a payment. As the king thought about what to give, the jester asked if he might make a suggestion. The king agreed, and the jester pulled two coins from his pocket. The jester held the coins up to the king and said, "Your highness, I am pleased that I have been able to make you laugh and add merriment to your day. I wonder if I might have everything that I can completely hide from you with these two coins?" The jester flipped one of the coins up into the air and caught it as the king thought. "The coins are the largest used in the realm", he said, "but even if he hid an entire piece of gold completely, he has earned it!"
The king agreed and the jester began circling the court as he started his hunt of what his coins might cover. As he held them out in front of him, he passed in front of the members of the court. Their interest was captured as he paraded dramatically around the room. He would hover over the ring of one noble or the necklace of another and would occasionally hold the coins together - sometimes apart. Who would loose a ring? Who would loose a necklace? The king leaned forward and was growing curious about what he would settle on. Finally, as if suddenly remembering the word "everything", the jester placed the coins over the kings eyes and hid the entire kingdom from his sight!
Now, every good fable needs a morale.
The king had been tricked because he did not pay attention to the language of what was being said. That's pretty easy to do if you're not paying attention. The word "everything" means everything! "Nothing" means nothing. "All" means 100%. "No one" means no one. "No" means no. Now, consider the following:
Giving 100% to God means necessarily that we give 0% to anything else. While that's difficult to do (and dare I say - impossible according to my Bible), it's always the goal. To willfully give >0% to prayer to any other entity other than God is to give <100% to God. God wants 100% of our prayers, so according to my Bible, I can't waste prayer on dead ears. If, however, someone can find in the Bible a prayer to Moses or Abraham or anyone other than the Trinity, I'd be interested in seeing that.
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P.S. Gal 1:8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
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