Since
we discussed a couple of weeks ago a little bit about the biblical contrast of
monogamy (Genesis 2) and polygamy (most
of the rest of Genesis) and the
problems that ensue with the practice of the latter, I thought I would share a
story from the Greek storyteller Aesop about "The Man and His Two Wives":
"In a
country where men could have more than one wife, a certain man, whose head was
fast becoming white, had two, one a little older than himself and one much
younger. The young wife, being of a happy and lively turn, did not want people
to think she had an old man for a husband, and so she pulled out as many of his
white hairs as she could. The old wife, on the other hand, did not wish to seem
older than her husband, and so she used to pull out the black hairs. This went
on, until between them both, they made the poor man quite bald."
Aesop's
moral was that "no man can belong to two parties at once." So while the story
echoes quite humorously the teachings of Genesis about the pitfalls of any
deviation from the one-to-one pairing for marriage, the moral also resembles
one of Jesus' core teachings -- "No one
can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
wealth." (Matthew 6:24) Why?
Because just like the man with two wives, two objects of your devotion (God
and Greed) will each be trying to pluck away different parts of you. In order
to mold you into the image of Jesus, God must work on chiseling or plucking
away your self-centeredness, your worry, your worldliness. But how can He be
effective in His work if your other spouse (Greed) is chiseling or plucking
away your sense of charity, of trust, of hope, of virtue? If you try to stay
married to God and Greed at the same time, you'll end up with neither. You'll
end up spiritually and physically bald like the man in Aesop's fable.
It's
time for a "Master Check-up." Next time you make a decision about time, money,
or energy...ask yourself which Master is directing your decision. If you sense
that Greed, in its various forms, still has an active relationship with you...it
may be past-due-time for a break-up.
To His Glory,
Caleb
