The Carpenter

There was once an old carpenter who was planning on retiring.  He had told his boss about his plans about ending his career of carpentry and construction service and living a more peaceful life with his family.  Of course he would feel the economic effects of not receiving a monthly income, however he really needed a life of retirement.  The owner of the company lamented the fact that he was losing one of his best employees and asked the carpenter to build one last house as a personal favor.  The carpenter agreed, however with time it was evident that the carpenter’s heart and thoughts weren’t in the job he was performing.  He wasn’t working with much effort and resorted to the use of materials of an inferior quality.  It was a shameful way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished the job, his boss came to inspect the work that had been performed and handed the keys of the house to the carpenter.  “This is your home,” he said, “my gift to you.” 

What shock!  How embarrassing!  If he knew he was building his own home, he would have worked differently and wouldn’t have been so relaxed about it.  Now he had to live in a home that was built unreliably.

This is the same that occurs with us.  We build our lives in a distracted manner, reacting more than acting, desiring to give less than the best that we could.  On important matters we do not put our best effort.  Then, in shock, we look at the situation we created and see that we are living in the house we built.  If we knew better, we would act differently.  Think of yourself as the carpenter.  Think about your house.  Every day you hammer a new nail.  Construct wisely.  It’s your life that you shall build.  Even if you only had one more day to live, this day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity.  The plaque on the wall should read: “Life is a do-it-yourself project.”  Your life today is a result of your attitudes and choices of the past.  Your future life shall be the result of your attitudes and choices that you make today.

Message of the Month

The Alliance between Science and Religion

Science and religion are the two levers of human intelligence, one revealing the laws of the material world, the other revealing those of the moral world. But seeing that these laws have the same principle, which is God, they cannot contradict themselves. 

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