Good News For Youth (GNFY) published under the oversight of the Alkire Rd Church of Christ elders and posted by permission of the editor.
An elderly Carpenter was ready to retire. He told his Employer-Contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
The
Contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just
one more house as a personal favor. The Carpenter said yes, but in time it was
easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy
workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his
career.
When the Carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the Contractor handed the front-door key to the Carpenter.
"This is your house", he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none to well.
So it is with us when we build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best.
At important points, we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the Carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project".
-– Selected, March 2001 –-
|
|