In my room there are two desks. One stands on one side of the room, underneath a window. The other stands on the opposite side of the room, underneath a window of its own. Through the first desk's window comes the morning sunlight, and after the day has passed, the second desk's window lets in the light of the evening sun.
But I did not set out to tell you about the sun's patterns; I wanted to tell you about these desks.
The first one looks exactly the same as it did the day it was purchased. It's paint looks lovely and it stands there so strong and new - so pristine and fresh. Every drawer opens smoothly, and every leg stands straight and steady. It's a very beautiful desk.
The second one is spattered with paint and ink. It's original paint has been chipped or worn off around the edges. Only three of it's legs are still standing firm - one of them is propped up against the wall. It's in desperate need of some tender loving care, and it's drawers can barely shut they're so full of papers.
I said at the beginning that these two desks are identical. And though they are identical in basic shape and form, the word "identical" is not really the truth anymore. From the outside eye, it may seem that one of these desks is beautiful, the other is ugly. One has been treated well! The other poor thing has been misused and abused. But here's something that not everyone sees: one of these desks is full of life.
So can you tell me which desk is the one to be pitied?
~ Epilogue ~
So one day, I'll get sick of that regal yet lonely desk and I'll sell it. I won't even care enough about it to move it gently - it will go in the back of my pickup truck and it will get smattered with bugs and wind.
I'll drop it off at Salvation army, where the smell of smoke will seep into the very grain of its wood. It won't last too long though - it's too nice of a desk by their standards. Someone will pick it up and they will get their every penny out of it and more. They will use it and it will be lived in and it will, in time, earn its scars.
So perhaps the one to be pitied in this little metaphor... isn't a desk at all.
Aww, too easy a puzzle. You've tilted the reader to the answer and not even given the other desk a fair chance to make its case.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read 'A Little Princess' by Frances H Burnett--very good book. She deals with the same issue: which is the true servant? Is it the perfect, but perfect because untried and untested? Or the low one, dirty, abused, marked-up that proves its worth though its substance and strength is used up in that proving?
ReplyDeleteWell, FH Burnett has a very strong answer.
And, of course, the very same question was posed by Jesus in Luke--who is the neighbor, who truly serves God: those who keep their hands clean and observe the forms of the law or the despised Samaritan who takes pity?
ReplyDeleteOf course, you could argue that the priest and the Levite who passed by the mugged man had not had the benefit of Jesus's teaching and were doing the best they could, inadequate as it was....