PERSPECTIVE
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the King coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before – such was its splendor, majesty and strength.
People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. He loved the horse as a dear friend. Even though poor and tempted, he never sold the horse.
One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. The entire village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten any price you wanted. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune!"
The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"
The people said, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but philosophy is not needed. The simple fact is that it is a curse that your horse is gone."
The old man spoke again, "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I do not know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can not say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"
The people laughed. They thought the man crazy. They had always thought him a fool, otherwise he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. Instead he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand-to-mouth in the misery of poverty.
After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned but he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the people gathered and spoke. "Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was truly a blessing. Please forgive us."
He responded, "Once again, I see it different. I can only say the horse is back and that a dozen horses returned with him. We do not know if it is a blessing or not. We see only a fragment of the whole. We dare not judge. We read only one page of a book at a time… only one word of a phrase."
"Maybe the old man is right," they said. So they said little more aloud, but deep down they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. With a little bit of work twelve wild horses could be broken, trained and sold for much money. For sure, they thought, it was a blessing.
The old man had a son, an only son. He began to break the wild horses. He fell from one and broke both legs. The villagers gathered around the old man to cast their judgments. "You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken legs and now in your old age you have no one to help you. You are poorer than ever."
The old man spoke, "You people seem obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? Life only comes in fragments."
A few weeks later the country engaged in war. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the injured young man was exempt.
The people came crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. They enemy was strong. They might never see their sons again.
They said, "You were right, old man. God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken…they will mend. But at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever!"
The old man spoke again. "You always draw conclusions. No one knows. It does not profit to call anything a blessing or a curse, for God is at work in everything for good to those who are called according to His purpose."
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Be joyul always; pray continuosly; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes. 5:16 NIV
Date this page was last edited: Wednesday, January 27, 1999.
