A wise king built a beautiful
palace. He had amassed a lot of wealth for his country. He preserved this
wealth as solid gold in a well-guarded treasure house within the palace. He
built several safety devices and secret passages within the palace. The details
of these arrangements were kept in secret.
There was a secret passage from the palace to
the nearest forest for the escape of the royal family and major officers in
case of an emergency. The treasure house had a secret door which was known only
to the king and his faithful treasurer. The treasure house had a majestic false
door which was never opened but was always guarded by armed guards.
The
country was invaded by a mighty emperor with a heavily armed army. They reached
the palace and planned to plunder it. The king, with his family and officers
secretly escaped to the forest through a secret passage from the palace. The
victorious enemies led by the emperor and his commander-in-chief reached the
closed door of the treasure house. They used all their might and skill to break
and open the door. Finally the door was broken and suddenly there was a
torrential gush of sea-water from the room which filled the area killing the
mighty army of the enemy and all its
leaders.
Unknown to others, the king had made a secret
tunnel from the treasure house that led directly to the sea. The room was much
below sea level and so sea water could
gush in as soon as the door was opened by force. That was an ingenious
arrangement made by the intelligent king to protect the treasure of the
country.
Later, when the enemies had
perished, the king returned to his palace. With the assistance of his skilled
engineers, he could seal the connection to the sea. The water was emptied to
restore the treasure in an intact form. The people of the country praised the
wisdom of their king.
A pious queen of
Sweden was a champion of charity. She sold her jewels and used that money to
build hospitals and orphanages for the poor people of her country. One day she
was visiting the inmates of a convalescent home she had built for the poor
patients recovering from illness. She met a bedridden woman and talked to her,
enquiring about her health. The woman shed tears of gratitude . Her tears fell
on the hands of the queen, who was supporting her. The queen later remarked to
her aide about those teardrops, "God is sending back my jewels to
me!"
We take every effort
to preserve our treasure on earth. We waste a major share of our time, health
and energy to amass fame, wealth and glory.
Money may fetch
us amusement, but not happiness; a bed, but not sleep; books, but not brains; a
car, but not safety; companions, but not friends; education, but not wisdom;
flattery, but not respect; food, but not appetite; a house but not a home;
luxuries, but not culture; medicines, but not health; ornaments, but not
beauty; a violin, but not music. Money is like sea water; the more we drink,
the thirstier we get.
Jesus Christ advised his followers, “Do
not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy,
and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves
in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and
steal..... No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the
other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and money " Let us save our riches
in heaven.
..........................................................................................................................................
© By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University
of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School,
Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath,
Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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